LAKE CHARLES – McNeese baseball needed just seven innings to cruise past Prairie View A&M in a 16-1 run-rule victory Wednesday behind a 10-run first inning.
With the win, the Cowboys improve to 10-10 overall (4-5 Southland Conference), while Prairie View A&M falls to 4-5 overall (0-3 SWAC).
McNeese wasted no time setting the tone, erupting for 10 runs in the opening frame. The inning began when Matt Stancliff stole second, allowing Bryce Fontenot to score on a throwing error by the catcher.
Two batters later, Marcus Heusohn singled to left field to bring home Stancliff and give the Cowboys a 2-0 lead.
After DJ Pinkerton was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Simon Larranaga followed by getting hit as well, forcing in another run. Connor Schneider then added a sacrifice fly to center field to extend the lead to 4-0.
The Cowboys continued to capitalize on Prairie View A&M miscues, as Pinkerton later scored on another catcher error. Fontenot followed with an RBI double to push the advantage to 6-0.
Danny Barbero capped the explosive inning with a grand slam—his fourth home run of the season—giving McNeese a commanding 10-0 lead after one inning.
Prairie View A&M got on the board in the top of the second inning on a solo home run by Ryland Duson, cutting the deficit to 10-1.
McNeese quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning. Schneider scored on a fielder's choice, and Stancliff added an RBI triple to extend the lead to 12-1.
In the third inning, Pinkerton delivered again, launching his first Division I home run—and first as a Cowboy—to make it 13-1.
The Cowboys added another run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly from Larranaga, scoring Landon Kerkmaz to push the lead to 14-1.
Isaiah Keller capped the scoring in the sixth inning with a two-run home run, marking his first Division I homer and first in a McNeese uniform.
On the mound, McNeese used a committee approach, with six pitchers combining to allow just one run on five hits while striking out seven and walking one.
Starter Connor Achee earned his first career win, tossing one scoreless inning with one strikeout.
Prairie View A&M's starter was tagged with the loss, dropping to 0-3 after allowing six runs on one hit while walking three in just one-third of an inning.
Up Next
Mar. 20 – vs Southeastern *
Mar. 21 – vs Southeastern *
Mar. 22 – vs Southeastern *
Mar. 24 – vs Southern
Mar. 25 – vs Louisiana Christian
Mar. 27 – vs Abilene Christian *
Mar. 28 – vs Abilene Christian *
Mar. 29 – vs Abilene Christian *
Mar. 31 – vs UL Lafayette
Denotes Conference Game
Indicates Home Game
