After posting a 32-15 regular season record, the McNeese Cowboys baseball team entered the Southland Conference Tournament as the No. 5 seed. Justin Hill’s group opened the tournament by taking on the No. 4-seeded Northwestern State Demons. McNeese held a lead through the majority of the game before a late rally in the ninth by NSU. The surge gave the Pokes the 7-6 loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
It took a few innings before either team’s bats began to heat up. No one recorded a hit through the first two frames, and there were a pair of walks. The walks happened back-to-back as McNeese’s Marcus Huesohn and Larry Edwards Jr. put runners on first and second base. Both were promptly thrown out at a double play, and Easton Dowell struck out to send the game to the middle of the second inning.
Sergio Lopez was the Cowboys’ starting pitcher on Thursday afternoon and started well by not allowing a hit and punching out a couple of Demon batters through two innings. Northwestern’s starting pitcher was Carter White, who struck out McNeese’s leadoff hitter, Simon Larranaga. That changed in the third.
At the top of the next inning, McNeese took their first lead. Bryce Fontenot led off by reaching on a fielding error by the shortstop, and Grant Mangrum hit a two-run home run past the left field line.
Northwestern responded at the bottom of the frame with Brooks Leonard beginning with a double down third base. Leonard advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, and Hudson Brignac was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners. On a wild play, Demons leadoff hitter Reese Lipoma’s single scored a run on the board, and Brignac, on the tail end of the play, scored on a throwing error by second base. That tied the game at two through the first three innings.
McNeese reclaimed the lead in the fifth. Fontenot officially recorded a hit with a double down the left field line and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Conner Schneider’s RBI groundout to third base allowed Fontenot to head home and put the Pokes ahead again.
Northwestern State didn’t wait long to respond and take its first lead. At the bottom of the frame, with two outs, Samuel Stephenson’s double in left field set up another home run, this time a two-run blast by Rocco Gump to put the Demons ahead 4-3.
Justin Hill’s group didn’t shy away and came right back to overtake the Demons with a three-run sixth inning. Edwards Jr. singled, and Dowell walked to put runners on first and second. Northwestern made a pitching change after that, moving on from White to Dylan Marionneaux. Both runners stole bases before Mangrum hit a two-RBI single up the middle. After a single by Schneider and a fielder’s choice on a Bryce Jones hit ball, Conner Westernburg stepped up and drove in another run and a double out in left. McNeese was ahead 6-4 through six.
The Demons added another run in the eighth when Clay Jung hit a solo shot against Lopez to cut it to a one-run game.
Marionneaux kept McNeese a bay through the final handful of innings, allowing just a single in the ninth. The offense of the Cowboys went cold and left the door open for a comeback at the bottom of the ninth.
Northwestern State did just that. McNeese made a pitching change to begin the inning, going from Lopez to Alexis Gravel. The relief pitcher for McNeese struggled, giving up a single to pinch-hitter Bryce Johnson and hitting Brignac with a pitch. Coach Hill made another substitution to Eric Nachtsheim. That swift adjustment didn’t make a difference, though, as Lipoma singled to load the bases and Stephenson capped the rally with an RBI single to bring in two runs, winning the game for the Demons 7-6. That loss leaves McNeese with one more chance to stay alive in the Southland Conference Tournament.
BIG NUMBER: 8
Thursday’s loss is a continuation of the recent trend for the Cowboys. Since April 26th, McNeese has lost eight out of the last 10 baseball games they’ve played. Three of those losses have come against Northwestern State and were all within the last week.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Dylan Marionneaux
Northwestern State’s relief pitcher stepped up when the Demons needed him to. Marionneaux pitched the final four innings, allowing a single hit and run to McNeese before shutting them down in the seventh, eighth, and ninth, leading to a 7-6 loss for the Pokes.
UP NEXT: The McNeese Cowboys baseball team now finds themselves in an elimination game. That next game will play out tomorrow at 1:00 pm at Pat Kennelly Diamond, and the opponent will be the loser of the Southeastern and UNO matchup.