The McNeese Cowgirls entered the Southland Conference Softball Tournament as the top seed. Justin Hill’s group won their first three matchup and advanced to the championship series. Their opponent was Southeastern, and Samantha Mundine gave McNeese the series lead with a walk-off single to give Justin Hill’s squad the 3-2 win.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
McNeese’s starting pitcher on Thursday was Maddie Taylor, who forced Southeastern’s first two batters, Shelby Morris and Chloe McGee, into groundouts. The Lions then loaded the bases in multiple ways as Maria Detillier reached on a fielding error, Cydnee Schneider hit a single, and Brilee Ford walked to load the bases. The Cowgirls got out of the opening inning unscathed with another groundout, this time from Maddie Watson.
At the bottom of the second, McNeese scored the game’s first run, and it began with a leadoff single by Reese Reyna, who advanced to second on a wild throw to the base. Miscommunication was a factor in the play. Sarah Allen drove in Reyna with an RBI double into left field and put the Cowgirls ahead 1-0.
After Southeastern pitcher Macie LaRue had a five-pitch, three-up-three-down third inning, the Lions tied the game. Watson led off the top of the fourth with a double that was a one-hopper off the wall. Breanna Fontenot pinch ran for Watson and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Colleen Kulivan. Kailey Dixon hit into a fielder’s choice on an 0-2 count. The Cowgirl infield chose to throw to home, but the throw wasn’t there in time as Fontenot scored the tying run.
The Cowgirls threatened to score at the bottom of the fifth. Leadoff Kassidy Chance walked and advanced to third on a single by Nyjah Fontenot. Southeastern went for the out at third, and the unsuccessful attempt gave Fontenot enough time to get to second base. Head coach Rick Fremin made a pitching change after the hit to Britney Lewinski.
Lewinski’s first batter faced was Jada Munoz, who struck out on a 1-2 count. Samantha Mundine walked to load the bases, but Reyna grounded out to Lewinski to keep the game even.
The Lions took their first lead in the sixth when Watson hit a solo home run over the left field wall with two outs. Taylor closed out the inning with a pop-up by Kulivan as the freshman reached a pitch count of 96.
Rylie Bouvier responded at the bottom of the frame. To begin the inning, the senior infielder went yard over the right-center field wall to even the game at two apiece. Allen walked with Rylee Eyster, pinch running for her. Eyster advanced to second on a wild pitch, and Fontenot also walked to put runners at first and second. Southeastern got out of the inning when Chance hit the ball to the second baseman, putting Fontenot in no man’s land, which led to a double play to end the sixth.
After three groundouts by the Lions, the Cowgirls stepped up at the bottom of the seventh. Nyjah Fontenot singled and advanced to second on a throwing error. Munoz laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Fontenot to third, and Mundine walked it off with a single into right field. That play gave McNeese the 3-2 win and the lead in the Southland Conference Softball Championship series.
BIG NUMBER: 1
Top-seeded McNeese is now just one win away from securing the conference tournament championship. They’ll have two more chances to get that final win. If they get it done, this will be the 10th tournament championship the program has won.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Samantha Mundine
In a low-scoring affair, Mundine came up clutch for McNeese. The sophomore from Luling, Texas, walked once and recorded one hit, but it was the biggest one, driving in the winning run at the bottom of the seventh. That walkoff hit gave the Cowgirls the 3-2 over the Lions.
UP NEXT: Game two between the McNeese Cowgirls and Southeastern Lions is set for Friday, May 9th. The first pitch from Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.