LAKE CHARLES – Owning the nation's longest baseball win streak at 12 games, McNeese will conclude its five-game road trip against eighth-ranked LSU Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. at Skip Bertman Field, streamed on SECN+. The Cowboys are off to their best start in program history at 27-5 (14-4 SLC) while the Tigers own a 31-6 (10-5 SEC) record.
 
McNeese is coming off a three-game sweep of UIW on the road while overcoming their largest deficit of the season, six runs, Sunday afternoon for a 14-6 victory. It marks the seventh series clinched and third swept this season by the Pokes.
 
The Tigers suffered a three-game sweep over the weekend to then-ranked No. 9 Auburn with all three coming down to four runs or less. They recently defeated fellow SLC opponent Nicholls in last week's midweek 5-3 in Thibodaux.

McNeese recently experienced a surge in the 11Point7 Mid-Major Power Rankings by moving up to 10th in the latest edition, leading all three SLC squads with Southeastern in 15th and Houston Christian at 23rd.

The Cowboys broke the program record for the best start Friday night against UIW on the road with its 25^th victory in 30 games. The team sits tied atop the SLC Standings with Southeastern and Houston Christian at 14-4 on the season.

Following the weekend, the Cowboys rose to 26^th in RPI and lead the SLC who has five teams within the Top 100. The No. 26 spot is currently ranked above six SEC teams, 10 ACC squads, 10 Big 12 programs, and 16 Big 10 teams.

Conner Westenburg was named the Southland Conference Hitter of the Week Monday afternoon, the first time he's earned the award this season.
 
The senior center fielder enjoyed a monumental week, hitting 10-for-18 through four games with a .556 average, earning one double and two triples for six runs batted in. Both of his triples came Sunday against UIW to complete the series sweep, marking the second time Westenburg has earned two triples in a single game this season. On Sunday, Westenburg went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, scoring four runs, two RBIs, and earning one walk.

Westenburg scored nine runs with the first coming against Big 12 opponent Houston in the top of the 10^thinning as he crossed home on a wild pitch to seal the victory. He continued to push forward with one run on Friday, three on Saturday, and four on Sunday in the series finale.
 
During his fourth season donning the blue and gold, he has batted .344 with 44 hits in 128 at-bats. Twenty of those hits have come in the form of extra bases with eight triples, seven doubles, and five home runs. The eight triples currently lead all of Division I baseball.
 
Following Tuesday's game against LSU, McNeese returns home to host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a three-game series starting Thursday evening at 6 p.m.
 
Series Preview
• Marks the 47th meeting between the Cowboys and Tigers.
• LSU holds the all-time series lead 34-12 over the Cowboys with the programs first meeting in 1983.
• Coach Hill has faced his alma mater 10 times at the helm of McNeese, defeating them thrice.
• McNeese last defeated the Tigers on the road in 2019 in a 2-0 outing.
• Coach Hill and Coach Johnson have met three times while at their current programs.
 
McNeese Notes
• Coach Hill has led the Cowboys off to their best start in program history at 27-5 with the former program best holding for 34 seasons since the Pokes went 24-5 in 1991.
• The Pokes' 12-game win streak is the longest in the nation and broke the team's program record for consecutive wins. The Cowboys' prior best was 11 games in 1988 and 1989.
• The Cowboys are ranked 10th in the 11Point7 College Baseball Week 9 Mid-Major Power Rankings. The squad has been ranked for four consecutive weeks this season and five weeks overall. Southeastern and Houston Christian join the Pokes from the SLC in 15th and 23rd respectively.
• Conner Westenburg was recognized as the SLC Hitter of the Week after hitting .556 through four games with a perfect 4-for-4 game, earning 10 hits, six RBIs, two triples, and a double on the week.
• McNeese has taken seven series over opponents this season in eight opportunities, most recently sweeping New Orleans at home and UIW on the road over the last two weekends.
• The Cowboys scored a season-high 21 runs against Alcorn, the most the offense has produced in a game since 2022.
• The third inning has been critical for McNeese as they are 16-0 when leading after the third and have lost four games when trailing after the third.
• Easton Dowell leads the team with a .413 average on the season with Conner Westenburg (.344), Larry Edwards Jr. (.333), Marcus Heusohn (.330), and Davis Meche (.310) also hitting over .300.
• McNeese is ranked 12th in the nation with 15 triples and leads the Southland. Arizona leads the nation with 24.
• The Pokes are 22nd in the nation in ERA at 4.01 and third in the Southland. The squad's 3.02 strikeout-to-walk ratio is ranked eighth in the nation and atop the SLC.
• McNeese is tied 19th in the nation with three shutouts. 
• Conner Westenburg leads the nation with eight triples with eight and leads the SLC. He has twice hit two triples in a single game this season.
• Cooper Golden has started nine games, tied for the 18th most in D1 Baseball.
• 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.
• McNeese defeated ULL on the road for the first time since 2019 and completed the season sweep for the first time since 2003.
• 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.
• 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
• LSU is coming off a three-game series sweep by Auburn over the weekend.
• LSU defeated Nicholls in last weeks midweek 5-3 in Thibodaux.
• The Tigers have earned series sweeps over Purdue Fort Wayne, North Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi State, and Oklahoma.
• The purple and gold are 22-1 when playing at home.
 
Last Time Out
• McNeese swept UIW 3-0 over the weekend, claiming 11-6, 8-1, and 14-7 victories.
• After trailing 7-1 in Sunday's game, the Cowboys overcame their largest deficit this season for a seven-run victory.
• Conner Westenburg was recognized as the SLC Hitter of the Week after hitting .556 through four games with a perfect 4-for-4 game, earning 10 hits, six RBIs, two triples, and a double on the week.
• Cooper Golden, Alexis Gravel, and Paul Coppinger were each credited with a win on the weekend.
• Marcus Heusohn batted .571 over the span of four games with eight hits and five runs scored. He batted in six baserunners while earning three doubles and a home run.