AUBURN, Ala.--- McNeese softball split a pair of games Saturday on Day 2 of the Jane B. Moore Memorial with a 3-2 win over Rutgers and a 3-1 loss to No. 19 Auburn for the second straight night.
McNeese (11-8) will play Rutgers for the second time in the tournament at 9 a.m. Sunday morning.
McNeese took advantage of two Rutgers wild pitches that scored
Rylie Bouvier and Nijah Fontenot in the fourth inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Rutgers evened the score two runs in the bottom of the fifth off a two RBI single to right field to even the score at two apiece.
Ryann Schexnayder, who replaced starter
Kadence Williams with one out and runners on first and second in the fifth, got Stephanie Kraska to fly out for the second out then walked Jayden Hutchinson to load the bases. Schexnayder got out of the bases loaded jam by getting Jayla Fuller to fly out for the third out to leave the bases loaded.
McNeese took advantage of several Rutgers miscues in the top of the seventh inning when pinch hitter
Rylee Eyster led the inning off by reaching on an error, went to second on a pass ball and third on a wild pitch. Eyster scored the essential game winning run on a throwing error and a 3-2 McNeese lead.
Rutgers got the tying run on in their bottom half of the seventh inning on a Hailey Stripling single.
Lindsay Davis got LA Matthews to ground into a double play for the first two outs. B. Briggs single to second and Kraska single to right, putting runners on second and third. After a Cowgirl pitching change,
Maddie Taylor got Kelsey Hoekstra to fly out to center to end the game.
Davis improved to 1-1 on the year with the win and Taylor picked up her first collegiate save. Davis tossed 1 2/3 shutout innings and allowed four hits. The Cowgirls collected four hits and was led at the plate by
Nyjah Fontenot's 2 for 3 plate appearance.
Auburn (18-1) took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a solo homerun by AnnaLea Adams.
Kassidy Chance's RBI single in the fifth tied the game at one all but the Tigers retook the lead 2-1 on its second solo homerun of the game off the bat of Anna Wohlers then added an insurance run in the sixth.
The Cowgirls picked up four hits with Chance collecting two of the four. Taylor fell to 5-3 on the year with the loss after allowing all three runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.
