The McNeese Cowboys baseball team defeated the Northwestern State Demons 10-5 in the first round of the Southland Baseball Tournament on Wednesday morning in Hammond. The Cowboys move into the winner’s bracket of the event.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Northwestern State sent Tyler Bryan to the mound to start this tournament. He was effective in the first, inducing contact on all three batters, and retiring them in order in the first inning.
He was opposed by Zach Voss of the Cowboys. Voss also had a solid first inning. He allowed one base runner via a hit by pitch, but that runner was erased when catcher Grant Mangrum threw him out trying to steal second.
Bryan’s efficient first inning was quite the opposite in the second. The Cowboys started it off with an Elliot Hebert triple. Then, RBIs from Braley Hollins, Peyton LeJeune, Mangrum, and two from Cooper Hext gave McNeese a 5-0 advantage. Hebert came back up and got his second hit of the inning, driving in two more and making it 7-0 Cowboys in just the second inning. Bryan lasted just 1 1/3 innings for the Demons.
The Demons would cut into the deficit in the bottom half of that second inning. After a leadoff single, Bo Willis launched a two-run homer to put NSU on the board and cut the lead to 7-2.
After that home run, Voss was able to settle in for McNeese, which is very important for their chances in this tournament. He got through the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings without allowing a run.
McNeese would add an insurance run in the top of the seventh via an NSU error. That was answered, however, in the bottom half. The Demons sent their second two-run shot of the day over the wall, this one courtesy of Daniel Burroway. That made the McNeese lead 8-4.
The Cowboys added their final two insurance runs in the top of the ninth, this time on an error and a sacrifice fly. The Demons did load the bases in the bottom of the ninth and score one run, but McNeese escaped with a 10-5 win.
BIG NUMBER: 7
McNeese put up a seven spot in the second inning. That was massive, as it allowed Voss to settle in on the mound and gave the Cowboys some breathing room throughout the bigger portion of the contest.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Zach Voss
To make a run in this tournament, McNeese was going to need some length out of their starting pitchers. Zach Voss answered that call in the first game, going six full innings. While he did allow four runs, his ability to get the Cowboys deep into the game should be a big help going forward in the rest of the event.
UP NEXT: McNeese will move to the winner’s bracket, where they will face the winner of (1) Lamar and (8) Incarnate Word tomorrow at 4:00 PM.