LAKE CHARLES – McNeese baseball dropped game two of its series against Abilene Christian, falling 7-6 Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, the Cowboys fall to 13-14 overall (6-6 Southland Conference), while Abilene Christian improves to 15-12 overall. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m. and will stream live on ESPN+.
McNeese struck first in the opening inning when Danny Barbero lifted a fly ball to right field, allowing Bryce Fontenot to tag and score from third base for a 1-0 lead.
Abilene Christian answered in the third inning. Zandt Payne doubled down the right field line to score Ryan Jones and tie the game at 1-1. Diego Cardenas followed with an RBI single to right-center field to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.
Grant Watkins then extended the advantage with his 15th home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field that made it 4-1.
The Wildcats added another run in the fourth inning when Payne singled to right field to score Nick Arias, extending the lead to 5-1.
McNeese responded in the bottom half of the inning. Kaden Schuck doubled to left-center field to drive in Hayden Stringfellow and DJ Pinkerton, cutting the deficit to 5-3. Bryce Fontenot followed with a single and later scored on a throwing error, tying the game at 5-5.
Abilene Christian regained the lead in the fifth inning when Gavin Brzozowski delivered a two-RBI single to left field to make it 7-5.
The Cowboys answered in the bottom of the inning when Easton Dowell reached on a fielding error by the second baseman, allowing Stringfellow to score from second and cut the deficit to 7-6.
However, McNeese was unable to push across the tying run, as Abilene Christian held the Cowboys scoreless over the final four innings.
The Wildcats' starter remained undefeated, improving to 3-0 after allowing four earned runs on seven hits over four innings while striking out three and walking one. Brady Coe earned his third save of the season, tossing two scoreless innings while allowing just two hits.
McNeese reliever Elliot Burrows took the loss, falling to 0-1 after allowing two runs while walking one and striking out one in two-thirds of an inning.
Up Next
Mar. 29 – vs Abilene Christian
Mar. 31 – vs UL Lafayette
Apr. 2 – at UNO
Apr. 3 – at UNO
Apr. 4 – at UNO
Apr. 7 – at Grambling
Denotes Conference Game
Indicates Home Game
