The McNeese Cowboys baseball team was defeated by the Nicholls Colonels 15-1 in seven innings in the Southland Tournament Championship on Saturday night. The loss ends the season for McNeese, and propels the Colonels into an NCAA Regional for the second straight season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
With a spot in the NCAA Regionals on the line, McNeese started Zach Voss for the second time in the day and third time in the Southland Tournament. Voss worked an effective top of the first, posting a zero.
The Cowboys offense, which has been on fire in the tourney, got back to it in the bottom of the first. Cooper Hext got the scoring going with a solo home run to put McNeese up 1-0.
Voss would get the first two outs of the second, but also allowed two baserunners. That ended his day, and the Cowboys went to Cameron LeJeune out of the bullpen. The first batter he faced was Parker Coddou, who promptly mashed a three-run homer to left center. That gave Nicholls a 3-1 lead.
Unfortunately for the Cowboys, their hot offense cooled off after that first inning home run. Dylan Farley was able to settle in for Nicholls, and he started to put up zeroes after the first.
Nicholls got back on the scoreboard in the fourth, as Gerardo Villarreal doubled home a pair. That made it 5-1. but the Colonels opened things up in the following inning. Six runs would score, including two more on Coddou’s second homer of the game. By the end of the frame, the lead was 11-1.
In the top of the seventh, the Colonels added four more, making the lead 15-1. With the 10-run rule in effect, McNeese had their season come to a close after seven innings.
BIG NUMBER: 15
The Nicholls offense could not be stopped in this game. They scored 15 runs to allow for a dominant performance.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Parker Coddou
Coddou set the tone for Nicholls with a big three-run homer in the second inning. He followed it up with another home run later on, totaling five RBIs.
UP NEXT: McNeese has their season come to a close. Nicholls will find out their Regional assignment on Monday.