HAMMOND – McNeese baseball (28-23, 16-14) returns to action Thursday afternoon as it takes on Nicholls (25-24, 15-13) to open Southland Conference Tournament play in the Hammond Bracket. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Cowboys are coming off a 3-0 conference series sweep over Northwestern State, with two of the three games extending into extra innings and two ending in shutouts. Eric Nachtsheim increased his season strikeout total to 116 after tossing six innings with 11 strikeouts in game two, moving into a tie for second place in program history for strikeouts in a single season and sitting five shy of the program record. Offensively, McNeese recorded 15 runs on 26 hits over the weekend while holding the Demons to just four runs.

The Colonels are coming off a weather-shortened weekend against Southland Conference regular season champion Southeastern, where only one game was completed before the final two contests were canceled due to rain. Nicholls dropped the lone game 12-2 in eight innings.

When the two teams met earlier this season, McNeese claimed two of three games on the road against the Colonels. In game one, Matt Stancliff went 5-for-5 at the plate, finishing a triple shy of the cycle and becoming the first Cowboy to record five hits in a game since Payton Harden against HCU during the 2022 season. Nachtsheim made his first career start in game two, pitching a then-career-high six innings while allowing one earned run on eight hits. Hayden Stringfellow and Korey Cooper led the Cowboys offensively in game three, each going 1-for-2 at the plate.

Series Information: vs Nicholls

• Location: Hammond, Louisiana 
• Last 5 Meetings: 4-1
• Last Meeting: March 1, 2026, | Loss 3-2 at Nicholls

 
Records:

• McNeese (28-23, 16-14)
• Nicholls (25-24,15-13)

 
Gameday Notebook:

• This will be the 24th overall SLC Tournament Appearance for the Cowboys
• McNeese is 35-37 overall in SLC Tournament games
• Third straight season the Cowboys garner the #5 seed and will play in Hammond
• Eric Nachtsheim was named SLC Relief Pitcher of the Year, marking third Cowboy to garner said award.
• Danny Barbero and Eric Nachtsheim were named 1st Team All-Southland Conference
• Isaiah Keller and Connor Walker were named to the All-Defensive Team
• McNeese coming off a 3-0 series sweep against Northwestern State which included two shutout victories
• Easton Dowell hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the 11th to win game one 1-0
• Jaden Bahl got the win in game one moving to 2-1 after tossing 3.1 innings with two K's
• Starter Cooper Golden and Jaden Bahl combined for the shutout against the Demons in game one
• The Cowboys offense accounted for six doubles in game two against the Demons
• With increasing his strikeout total to 116, Eric Nachtsheim sits tied for 2nd place in program history for strikeouts in a season.
• Cowboys hit four home runs in game three on Saturday courtesy of Keller, Barbero, Pinkerton, and Walker.
• Connor Walker and Hayden Stringfellow went 2-for-3 at the plate in game three with Walker hitting a home run.
• Garett Blanchard tossed a career high six innings pitched while striking out a career high seven while allowing zero runs on two hits.
• Blanchard, Blackwell, Morgan, and Wick combined for a shutout in game three 
• Danny Barbero leads the team with 18 multi-hit games this season as well as 14   multiple RBI games on the season and 11 homeruns.
• Matt Stancliff leads the team in multiple run games with 13 on the season
• Easton Dowell will enter the tournament on a five-game hitting streak and a reached safely/reached base streak of 18.
• Danny Barbero enters the tournament on a 10-game reached safely and reached base streak.
• Matt Stancliff leads the team in stolen bases with being 21 for 21 on the season
• Nachtsheim leads the pitching staff in strikeouts on the season with 116 in his 17 appearances.
• Cowboy pitching staff has recorded 498 strikeouts in 460.2 innings pitched this     season.
• The pitching staff is now 21 strikeouts away from tying the record for strikeouts in a season set back in 2022 and 22 strikeouts away from setting a record.
• 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 13^th 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.

 
HAMMOND BRACKET
 

Thursday, May 14
Game 1	#4 Nicholls vs #5 McNeese	1 p.m.
Game 2	#1 Southeastern vs #8 HCU	6 p.m.
Friday, May 15
Game 3	G1 Loser vs G2 Loser	1 p.m.
Game 4	G1 Winner vs G2 Winner	6 p.m.
Saturday, May 16
Game 5	G3 Winner vs G4 Loser	1 p.m.
Game 6	G4 Winner vs G5 Winner	6 p.m.
Sunday, May 17
Game 7 (if necessary)	G6 Winner vs G6 Loser	1 p.m.