After finishing first in the standing, the McNeese softball team earned the number one seed in the Southland Conference Tournament and had to take on the number four seed Incarnate Word. The Cowgirls went down early and came back to tie the game but a two-run sixth inning by the Cardinals was the differnce as McNeese fell 3-2 and now have one more life to stay alive and win the torunament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
McNeese senior starting pitcher Shaelyn Sanders struck out Cardinals leadoff hitter Ayla Gonzales but then gave up a solo home run over the right-center field wall to Victoria Altamirano.
The Cowgirls found themselves with two outs after Crislyne Moreno and Samantha Mundine popped up and lined out to begin the bottom of the first. Incarnate Word’s starting pitcher Samantha Portillo walked Alexis Dibbley and Corine Poncho but then Emily Phillips struck out looking to end the inning.
Following that opening frame, neither offense could do much in the following innings. Sanders struck out four more batters over the next four innings and allowed just one hit to Gonzales in the third.
For McNeese, they didn’t record their first hit until the bottom of the fourth when Poncho doubled down the infield line and then stole third after Phillips was retired again. Bella Perez hit a pop fly into center field for the second out but Dariane Cram made the throw to home plate and catcher Jaisy Caceres made the tag to save the run and end the fourth inning.
After a hitless fifth inning for the Cardinals, the Cowgirls tied the game at the bottom of the frame. With two outs, on an 0-2, the nine-hole hitter Brilee Ford went yard over the left field wall to even the game at one.
Incarnate reclaimed the lead at the top of the sixth. Sanders allowed a single to Altamirano and a double to Jillian Guiterrez to put runners on the corners. Maddison Guillen then hit a sacrifice fly to score Altamirano but a throwing error by Mundine allowed another run to go on the board as McNeese was down 3-1.
The Cowgirls had a scoreless sixth but Sanders didn’t allow another hit in the seventh to give her team another chance. With one last chance to make up a two-run difference, McNeese’s Phillips and Perez got out but Reese Reyna hit a single and Mariana Torres hit an RBI double to make it a one-run game. Portillo however forced Ford to ground out at second to secure the 3-2 over McNeese and move on to the next round.
James Landreneau’s group is still but is out of extra chances to stay in contention and win the Southland Confernce tournament.
BIG NUMBER: 2
Both starting pitchers stayed in for the entirety of the game as McNeese’s Pitcher of the Year Shaelyn Sanders allowed five hits and three runs while also having six strikeouts. On the Cardinals side, Samantha Portillo recorded similar stats with five hits allowed but gave up two runs, and retired five batters.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Victoria Altamirano
The sophomore utility player was big for the Cardinals’ success with a solo home run in the first inning and then scored again in the sixth to elevate Incarnate Word 3-2 over the Cowgirls.
UP NEXT: The McNeese softball team will be back later tonight as they face Houston Christian Univeristy. First pitch at North Oaks Park in Hammond, Louisiana is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.