The McNeese Cowboys didn’t start hot in the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament, losing 7-6 to the Northwestern State Demons in the opening matchup. On Friday, the Pokes had one more chance to stay alive as they took on the top-seeded Southeastern Louisiana Lions. The Pokes jumped out to an early lead and faltered after, losing 7-4, ending their 2025 campaign.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Despite being the host team, Southeastern was classified as the away team and stepped up to bat first. The Lions managed to get a couple of runners on base, but both Conner O’Neal and Logan Walters were stranded when Giovanni Licciardi lined out to end the inning.
McNeese jumped to an early lead, putting up a three-spot at the bottom of the opening inning. The top third of the lineup recorded hits to open the frame, two went into left field, and the final hit landed in center field. The Pokes scored their first run in an unconventional way as Lions starting pitcher Lakin Polk tossed a wild pitch, allowing Bryce Jones to draw first blood. Mack Brousseau followed that up with a triple into right-center field to bring in another run. Larry Edwards Jr. also doubled to put the Cowboys ahead 3-0 through the first frame.
Cooper Golden was McNeese’s starting pitcher, lasting six innings on the mound. The junior left-handed pitcher gave up multiple hits throughout his outing, but none were strung together to put up any runs.
After that explosive start, the Cowboys’ offense slowed down in the following innings. In the fourth, Easton Dowell singled into right field and was safe at second after a failed pickoff attempt by the Lions’ defense. Dowell was left on base, though, as Seth Fontenot and Davis Meche popped and flew out to end the frame. Then, in the next frame, Marcus Huesohn hit into a double play to end the inning.
The scoring drought subsided in the seventh for Southeastern Louisiana when O’Neal walked to open the inning and Walters followed that up with a single in center field. A fielding error was costly for McNeese with Licciardi at the plate. The Cowboy relief pitcher Jake Blackwell missed the throw on the bunt, advancing Licciardi to second, Walters to third, and O’Neal home for the Lions’ first run. With two outs, Peyton Woods tied the game with a two RBI single into right field, tying the game heading into the seventh inning stretch.
Despite putting runners on first and second in the eighth, Blackwell dialed in with a pair of strikeouts to end the inning. McNeese went three-up-three-down in the seventh and eight, opening the door for Southeastern Louisiana to take their forst lead in the ninth. The Lions did just that.
A pair of punch outs at the top of the ninth left the Lions behind the eight, but Woods was hit by Blackwell’s pitch and Parker Coley singled down the third base line. Jude Hall pinch ran for Woods and advanced to third base on Coley’s hit. Hall then stole home to put Southeastern ahead.
Southeastern wasn’t done, though. Leadoff hitter Dane Watts walked and TJ Salvaggio doubled into right-center field to put two more runs on the board. McNeese decided to intentionally walk O’Neal and Walters put the Lions ahead by four with an RBI double. Before those last three runs, Blackwell was replaced by Max Swenson, then he was taken out for Parker Morgan, who secured the final out with a grounder by Licciardi.
McNeese was down to their final three out and Edwards Jr put together a run for the Pokes with a solo home run over the left-center field wall. A couple more batters got on base with Matt Stancliff walking and Dowell recording another single. Fontenot’s fly out advanced Stancliff to third but Meche grounded into a double play, ending McNeese’s season with a 7-4 loss.
BIG NUMBER: 0
The end of season struggles for McNeese continued into the Southland Tournament as they went 0-2 and eliminated in Friday’s loss. The Pokes concluded with a three-game losing streak and were 2-9 in their last 11 games.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Logan Walters
Walters was money from the plate on Friday, going 4/6 with a couple of base hits, an RBI recorded, and a run scored. The offense prodcution and opportunities on the base paths led to a 7-4 loss for the McNeese Cowboys to end their 2025 season.
UP NEXT: The McNeese Cowboys baseball team will return to diamond action in 2026 when they begin their spring schedule.