LAKE CHARLES – McNeese baseball (21-19, 10-11) continues its four-game home stand Friday as it hosts UTRGV (18-23, 12-12) in a three-game conference series. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The Cowboys are coming off a 4-3 midweek comeback victory over Louisiana Tech. McNeese's offense was paced by
Isaiah Keller, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI, and freshman catcher
Connor Walker, who finished 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Jake Blackwell earned the win in relief to improve to 6-0 on the season, while
Eric Nachtsheim recorded the final out to pick up his third save.
UTRGV enters the series following two midweek games against Little Rock, falling 5-4 in game one and 15-10 in game two. Thomas Williams led the offense, going 5-for-9 across the two games with a triple, two doubles, four RBIs, and two runs scored.
Series Information: vs UTRGV
- Location: Lake Charles, LA
- Last 5 Meetings: 2-3
- Last Meeting: April 27, 2025, | UTRGV, 5-3 at UTRGV
Records:
- McNeese (21-19, 10-11)
- UTRGV (18-23, 12-12)
Promotions:
- Friday
- Youth Sports Night - The 50 Confirmed teams have received an email with information about the event. Registered teams will parade on to the field for the National Anthem, their team names will be called as they enter the field,
- Post game Fireworks, presented by the McNeese Alumni Association
- Happy Hour Half-Priced Beer (5-6:15pm)
- Saturday
- Lake Charles Toyota Fan Hangout - Beginning when gates open at 12:30pm, be sure to stop by the Lake Charles Toyota tent for some delicious food, enter to win some various raffles (which will be announced during the game), and there will also be fun jumps for the kids.
- "The Jeaux" T-Shirt Giveaway for the First 125 Fans.
- Sunday
- Signature Sunday - Post game Autographs & Kids Run the Bases
- Trading Card Giveaway (First 50 Kids 12 and Under)
Gameday Notebook:
- Cowboys coming off a midweek 4-3 win against LA Tech
- Jake Blackwell picked up his 6th win on the year pitching one inning in relief for the Cowboys against the Bulldogs
- Eric Nachtsheim picked up his third save on the year pitching the final inning against LA Tech
- Isaiah Keller hit two doubles against LA Tech while going 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI
- Connor Walker hit a double against Tech while going 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI
- Cowboys dropped the series at TAMU-CC over the weekend
- Eric Nachtsheim picked up his fifth win on the season Friday at TAMUCC pitching in relief to move to 5-1 on the year.
- Danny Barbero hit home run #6 and #7 and double #10 and #11 in Corpus over the weekend
- Matt Stancliff hit home run #5 and #6 in Corpus over the weekend
- Connor Walker hit home run #5 in Corpus over the weekend
- Easton Dowell hit his seventh double on the season over the weekend in Corpus
- Isaiah Keller hits home run #3 in Corpus over the weekend
- DJ Pinkerton hit home run #2 and his first triple in Corpus over the weekend
- Hayden Stringfellow hit double #8 and #9 in Corpus over the weekend
- Isaiag Keller will enter Friday's game with a six-game hitting streak
- Danny Barbero and Matt Stancliff lead the team with 13 multi-hit games this season
- Danny Barbero leads the team in home runs with seven.
- Marcus Heusohn and Danny Barebo lead the team in doubles with 11.
- Matt Stancliff leads the team in stolen bases with 19 on the season
- Nachtsheim leads the pitching staff in strikeouts on the season with 87 in his 13 appearances.
- Cowboy pitching staff has recorded 408 strikeouts in 366.2 innings pitched this season.
- The Cowboys return three of their top four hitters from the 2025 campaign, highlighted by Easton Dowell, who led the team with a .369 batting average. Marcus Heusohn also returns after posting a .327 average and 15 doubles, the third-most on the team, while Larry Edwards Jr. hit .316 and drove in a team-high 47 runs.
- Simon Larranaga returns to the Cowboys after leading them last season in homeruns with 12 on the year.
- Cooper Golden returns as the lone weekend starter from last season after compiling a 3-3 record and 4.71 ERA in 14 starts and 15 appearances.
- Cowboys will play 32 home games this season.
- Head Coach, Justin Hill is entering his 13th season at the helm of the program and is the school's all-time winningest coach with a 365-284 overall record and 180-143 conference record.
- Cowboys return 20 players from last year's team, as well as welcome 21 newcomers to the roster.
- The 21 newcomers for the Cowboys hail from Bossier Parish CC (5), Navarro College (3), Rose State College, LSU-E, National Park College, Hill College, Butler, UNLV, Tyler Juco (2), Delgado CC, Central Missouri, Mississippi College, UT Tyler, and High School (2).
- Three of the Cowboys' opponents this season advanced to the NCAA Regionals last year – Kansas, Houston Christian, and LSU, who won the College World Series against Coastal Carolina.
