HAMMOND – McNeese baseball (15-4, 6-3 SLC) carries in a three-game win streak to Hammond when it challenges Southeastern (17-3, 6-0 SLC) as the squads meet in a top four matchup in the league. The series at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field begins Friday at 6 p.m. followed by games at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday respectively with all three games streamed on ESPN+.

The Cowboys have clinched two of three conference series on the season, sweeping Nicholls 3-0 to open Southland play before defeating Lamar 2-1 in the third weekend of SLC action. The team's only fallen to Houston Christian 2-1 on the road.

Southeastern owns a six-game winning streak, stemming back to its Sunday game against Memphis and recently defeating UL-Lafayette 7-1 at home. The Lions sit second in the conference, undefeated alongside UTRGV as the Cowboys are currently fourth.

Easton Dowell, a redshirt sophomore, leads the team with an even .400 batting average, earning 24 hits in 60 at-bats, tallying a team-leading nine doubles alongside four home runs. Dowell has hit .800 in his prior three games with eight hits, earning five against Lamar and three versus John Melvin University.

Six different pitchers have recorded a victory within conference play for the Cowboys with three holding an ERA under 4.00, all making at least two appearances. Seniors Sergio Lopez and Alexis Gravel have paved the way on the mound with ERAs of 1.19 and 3.09 respectively. Both have combined for a 5-2 record with Lopez earning three saves on the campaign.

The Cowboys have won three regular-season series against the Lions dating back to the 2022 campaign. Last season, the squads split the Friday and Saturday games before the Pokes took the series finale.

After challenging the Lions, the Pokes return to Joe Miller Ballpark to host Southern and Dillard in a pair of midweeks.

 Series Preview
• McNeese and Southeastern first met in 1953 with the Lions holding the all-time series lead 113-98-1.
• The Cowboys claimed the series at home during the 2024 season 2-1. The Pokes are 6-4 in the last 10 meetings.
• McNeese has claimed the last three regular season series the squads have played and split a four-game series in 2021.
• When Coach Hill and Coach Barbier meet Friday, it'll mark the 25th time the coaches have met with the latter leading 14-10 between the two.

McNeese Notes
• Coach Hill is off to his best start at the helm with a 15-4 start and the Cowboys' best start since 2000 when the program also started 15-4.
• McNeese defeated ULL on the road for the first time since 2019 and completed the season sweep for the first time since 2003.
• The Cowboys were ranked 24th in the 11Point7 College Baseball Week 3 Power Rankings. UTRGV and Southeastern are currently ranked 16th and 18th respectively.
• McNeese tied a program record for runs scored in an inning with its 12-run bottom of the sixth against Dillard that has remain unmatched since the Cowboys did so against Texas State in 1999.
• Seth Fontenot went 2-for-3 with two RBI singles and a walk in his first start followed up by going 3-for-4 with an RBI in his second start.
• Easton Dowell leads the team with a .400 average on the season with Larry Edwards Jr. (.338), Davis Meche (.308), and Conner Westenburg (.303) also hitting over .300.
• McNeese has claimed two shutouts on the season with the first being a 1-0 win over Oakland (Game 1) before defeating UL-Lafayette 3-0 at home in a midweek duel.
• The Pokes are 32nd in the nation in ERA at 3.76 and third in the Southland. The squad's 2.93 strikeout-to-walk ratio is ranked 23rd in the nation and atop the SLC.
• McNeese is tied 29th in the nation with two shutouts. 
• McNeese is ranked 27th in the nation with eight triples.
• The third inning has been critical for McNeese as they are undefeated when leading after the third and have lost all four games when trailing after the third.
• By sweeping Nicholls 3-0, it marks the first time since 2021 the Cowboys have opened conference with a series sweep when they swept Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
• McNeese swept Oakland 3-0 in the teams' first ever meeting.
• Alexis Gravel was named the Week 2 SLC Pitcher of the Week after his 12 strikeout performance against Oakland in the series opener.
• McNeese had back-to-back walk-off victories against Oakland with Mack Brousseau hitting walk-off solo home run Saturday and Matt Stancliff hitting a walk-off RBI single with the bases loaded Sunday.
• McNeese's series wins over Oakland and Wichita State are the first in program history for each respective school.
• 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.
• 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
• Southeastern carries in a 17-3 record on the season, only falling to Tulane, UL-Lafayette, and Memphis on the season.
• SLU has swept Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin in SLC play.
• The Lions went on the road and defeated Memphis 2-1 in a three-game series.
• 11.7 ranked SLU 18th in its most recent Mid-Major rankings, the second straight week the Lions have been ranked.
• Dane Watts and Giovanni Licciardi are batting .431 and .400 on the season.
• Six batters for the Lions own an average of .300 or better. 

Last Time Out
• McNeese defeated John Melvin University 10-1 Wednesday evening after putting together the game last minute following a late cancellation by Mississippi Valley State.
• The Cowboys recorded eight doubles against John Melvin, just one shy of tying the program's record.
• Easton Dowell and Simon Larranaga each recorded 3-for-4 outings against the Millers.
• McNeese defeated Lamar in the series 2-1 after falling in the opening game.
• Lamar won the first game 8-7 before McNeese claimed the latter two 9-8 and 9-4 respectively.
• Brady Corcoran and Paul Coppinger each recorded their first victories with the Cowboys on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
• McNeese and Lamar had back-to-back 10-inning games on Friday and Saturday with each squad claiming one game.
• The 25 runs scored against Lamar are the most by the Cowboys in a three-game series this season.
• The series win is the fourth this season in five and second in conference play out of three.
• Easton Dowell hit .556 against the Cardinals with nine at-bats and five hits, recording a double and walk-off home run.
• Eight players making at least nine at-bats on the weekend hit over .300.