Cowboys complete sweep over UIW with 10-4 win on Sunday

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese baseball got another impressive starting performance on the mound against Incarnate Word, this time with Christian Vega throwing six innings of one-run, two-hit ball while the bat power continued its dominance on the weekend as the Cowboys beat the Cardinals 10-4 to complete a four-game Southland Conference series sweep.

Vega (1-3) picked up his first win on the season and did not allow a hit until the fifth inning when he gave up a lead-off single.

By that time, the Cowboys (18-14, 12-7 SLC) had already built a 6-0 lead with all of those runs coming in the third inning.

The sweep put the Cowboys back near the top of the league standings.

“I thought the guys did a great job all weekend,” said head coach Justin Hill. “But you can’t get caught up in the moment of winning all of them. It’s not that time of the year yet. I’m proud of the guys battling and getting some good at-bats.”

Reid Bourque, who had a tremendous weekend at the plate by going 8 for 14 (.571) with a home run, four doubles and nine runs batted in, sparked the rally with a lead-off solo homer to put the Cowboys up 1-0. Later in the inning, Tré Obregon popped a two-run, two-out single to increase the lead to 3-0 then Jake Dickerson hit his second home run of the weekend with a three-run blast to make it a 6-0 game.

Bourque added his second RBI of the game on a bases loaded walk in the fifth, then in the sixth, Nate Fisbeck hit an RBI double while Dickerson knocked in two runs on a single to center field to put the Cowboys up 10-1.

UIW (12-15, 8-12) added three runs in the eighth to close the gap to 10-4.

Dickerson ended the day going 2 for 4 from the plate with five RBI and a run scored. Fisbeck (2 for 4, RBI, 3 runs), Obregon (2 for 5, 2 RBI, 1 run) and Payton Harden (2 for 3, 2 runs) joined Dickerson with multiple hits on the day.

McNeese will next be in action on Friday when it visits Sam Houston to open up a four-game league series.