The Southland Conference Softball Championship series began on Thursday and went in McNeese’s favor as the Cowgirls won game one 1-0 in 10 innings.
On Friday, both teams returned to Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond. McNeese couldn’t take advantage of multiple opportunities to take a late lead and ended up losing 7-6. The conference championship will need a third game to decide who will head to the NCAA Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Pokes were the away team in this game, and their batting lineup faced a familiar foe. Reagan Smith, who was Lamar’s starting pitcher in game one, was in the circle for the Cardinals again on Friday.
Maddie Weeks singled in the opening inning, and Corine Poncho doubled down the third base line. Those two hits put both runners in scoring position with two outs. Jada Munoz couldn’t capitalize and grounded out to shortstop, stranding Weeks and Poncho.
It was a nightmare start for Brookelyn Taylor in the circle for McNeese. The first three batters Taylor faced were either hit by a pitch or doubled, putting Lamar up early, with runners on first and second. The Cardinals picked up two quick groundouts that advanced the runners, and Taylor was credited with a fielding error after she couldn’t corral a ball hit by Mackenzie Wright. That play resulted in another run and a runner on the base paths. Riley Whitley followed that up with an RBI single into right field.
That was enough for McNeese head coach James Landreneau to make a pitching change in the first inning, replacing Taylor with Kadence Williams. She got the Cowgirls out of the frame on her first pitch when Sicily Windham hit a fly out. The Cardinals were up by three with six innings to go.
McNeese threatened to score again in the second inning when Maddie Taylor walked and advanced to third after stealing second and reaching on a fielding error. Nyjah Fontenot also walked to load the bases with one out, but Lamar’s third baseman, Gracee Hess, caught a Kassidy Chance lineout. She then ran back to tag third base before Taylor could get back, resulting in a double play and no runs on the board for the Cowgirls.
The Cardinals added to their lead at the bottom of the second as Roxy Thompson led off with a walk and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Hess. Ariel Flores was the one who brought home Thompson and put Lamar up by four with a fielder’s choice.
McNeese cut into the Lamar lead at the top of the third. With one out, Smith allowed a pair of runners by walking Rylee Cloud and hitting Poncho with a pitch. Munoz came up clutch this time as she hit a three-run home run over the left field wall. The Cowgirls then took the lead in the fourth, and it began with Chance walking. Munoz then went back-to-back, with the moon shots, this time sending the ball way over the scoreboard. That put the Pokes up 5-4.
That pair of crooked innings for McNeese was enough for Smith to come out of the game and for Ava Prejean to make an appearance in the circle.
Lamar reclaimed the lead in the fifth, and it was set up by an infield single by Isabella Flores. Cala Wilson walked, and that was enough for coach Landreneau to bring Maddie Taylor into the circle. The worst possible thing happened in the at-bat after the pitching change as Cimara-lei Wesling hit a three-run blast to give the Cardinals a two-run advantage.
In the sixth, McNeese failed to put any runs on the board after Poncho doubled into left field, Taylor walked, and both stole a base to move into scoring position with two outs. Gwinn Hall pinch-hit for Alexis Dibbley and struck out swinging to leave both runners on base.
The Cowgirls needed to score at least two runs to stay alive in the seventh and gave themselves a chance with a couple of base opportunities. Meiko Dominguez walked and advanced to second after a groundout by Malayna Daigle. Chance gave her team a chance to come back with an RBI double into left-center field. Weeks and Cloud couldn’t come up with any hits, and McNeese fell at home on Friday, 7-6, forcing a game three in Lake Charles on Saturday.
BIG NUMBER: 12
Friday was a game of missed opportunities for McNeese. In seven innings, the Pokes left 12 runners on base, with most of them being in scoring position in a one-run game. Lamar had just four runners stranded in the game.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Cimara-lei Wessling
Wesling may have only had one hit in the elimination game, but it was the most important hit of the evening for Lamar as she hit a three-run home run at the bottom of the fifth. That gave her team the lead and eventually the win as the Cowgirls fell 7-6.
UP NEXT: The winner-take-all game three between the McNeese Cowgirls and Lamar Cardinals will go down on Saturday, May 9th. First pitch from Cowgirl Diamond is scheduled for 6:00 PM.