BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas - McNeese baseball will take to the road Tuesday to challenge top-ranked Texas A&M in the first midweek battle of the season at Blue Bell Park. The 6 p.m. game is slated to be streamed on the SEC+ Network.

The Cowboys went 2-1 over the weekend with a series victory over Wichita State while the Aggies carry in a 3-0 record after sweeping Elon over opening weekend.

Easton Dowell, a redshirt sophomore, owns the highest batting average with at least 10 at-bats, swinging .455 on the weekend with five hits, one coming as a double and another as a home run. Dowell was an important part of Saturday's victory, hitting the homer to give the Pokes a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Twelve pitchers made an appearance on the weekend with nine making their Cowboys' debut. Senior Sergio Lopez and junior Caleb Strmiska each earned victories on the weekend.

Following the midweek game, the Cowboys return home to host Oakland as the squads meet for the first time in either program's history starting Friday at 6 p.m.

Series Preview 
• McNeese and Texas A&M opened the 2024 season against each other in College Sta­tion with the Aggies winning the series 3-0. 
• The Aggies hold a 28-5 all-time series lead with the first meeting occurring in 1976 and the last in the 2024 season. 
• Marks the first meeting between Coach Hill and Coach Earley. 
• Texas A&M's Assistant Coach Will Fox spent time playing and coaching under the tutelage of Coach Hill at McNeese. 
 
McNeese Notes 
•McNeese claimed an opening series victory over Wichita State 2-1, marking the first time they've defeated the Shockers in a series in program history. 
• McNeese is ranked fifth in the nation with three triples on the weekend. 
• The Cowboys return 18 members from the 2024 roster and added 23 over the offsea­son headed into 2025. 
• Coach Hill guided the Pokes to a 32-27 record on the 2024 season to mark his ninth season of earning 30+ wins in a season. 
• Conner Westenburg was named to the Southland Preseason All-Conference First Team. 
• Simon Larranaga earned recognition on the SLC Preseason All-Conference Second Team. 
• The Cowboys officially began practice on Friday, January 24 with an intrasquad to get things started. 
• On February 1, the Cowboy Alumni Game was hosted, seeing multiple players return with alumni Jace Peterson, Grant Rogers, Cayne Uekert, Payton Harden, Ty Abraham, Cooper Hext, Matt Fontenot, and numerous others making an appearance. 
• Peyton McLemore was added to the coaching staff as an assistant coach/pitching coordinator while Peyton LeJeune also joined as a Student Assistant Coach.
 
Scouting the Opponent 
• The Aggies swept Elon during opening weekend at Blue Bell Park, winning 4-2, 16-6 (7 inn.), and 12-6 (8 inn.). 
• Coach Earley is entering his first season at the helm after serving as the hitting coach. 
• Texas A&M made an appearance in the 2024 College World Series Finals against national champion Tennessee. 
• Four Aggies were named to the Preseason All-SEC First Team in Gavin Grahova (3B), Jace Laviolette (OF), Hayden Schott (DH/Util.), and Ryan Prager (SP). 
• Two additional members of the squad were named to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team in Wyatt Henseler (2B) and Caden Sorrell (OF).
 
Last Time Out 
• McNeese defeated Wichita State 2-1 over the weekend for the first series victory over the Shockers in program history. 
• Nine pitchers made their debuts for McNeese over the weekend. 
• Sergio Lopez and Caleb Strmiska picked up the victories over the weekend for the Pokes. 
• Alexis Gravel recorded a 0.00 ERA through four innings of work when making the start for the opener Friday. 
• Sergio Lopez recorded the next lowest ERA for pitchers throwing over 4.0 innings at 1.80 over five innings of action. 
• Three Cowboys earned an average over .400 with at least six at-bats with Davis Meche (.500) leading the way followed by Easton Dowell (.455) and Conner Westenburg (.429).