Cowboys get series win in 10-0 run-rule victory over HBU

HOUSTON – Jonathan Ellison threw six innings of shutout ball while allowing just three hits and the McNeese offense posted 13 hits in a 10-0, run-rule Southland Conference win over HBU on Sunday to win the series.

McNeese improved to 12-7 overall and remained near the top of the league standings with a 6-1 record. HBU fell to 3-16 and 1-7.

A total of five Cowboys posted multi-hit games – Tré Obregon (2 for 4), Nate Fisbeck (2 for 2), Jake Dickerson (2 for 4), Cooper Hext (2 for 4) and Brett Whelton (2 for 4).

Ellison (1-0) picked up the win while Brad Kincaid threw the seventh inning, striking out two and walking just one. HBU’s Daxton Tinker (0-4) took the loss after he allowed four runs and eight hits in 4.2 innings.

For the third time in the four-game series, the Cowboys jumped out early with a score in the first inning.

Obregon got things going with a two-out walk and Fisbeck followed with his 10th double of the season to score Obregon and put the Cowboys on top 1-0.

In the second, Reid Bourque led off the frame with a single. Hext followed by reaching on a fielder’s choice when his grounder to the pitcher was thrown off the mark in an attempt to get Bourque out at second.

Whelton laid down a bunt single to load the bases and after the first out of the inning, Payton Harden hit a grounder to score Bourque to make it a 2-0 lead. A run in the third off a Hext RBI single gave the Cowboys a 3-0 lead and then another run in the fifth inning off an RBI single by Fisbeck, put McNeese up 4-0.

The Cowboys got a big sixth inning after Kade Morris started things off with a single and Harden followed by reaching on a hit-by-pitch. Morris scored on a Huskie fielding error to make it a 5-0 lead, then an Obregon grounder scored another run to increase the lead to 6-0. The third run of the frame crossed the plate after Dickerson singled through the right side to score Obregon, making it a 7-0 score.

McNeese added three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 10-0 lead. Whelton started things with a lead-off single to right field and Harden followed by reaching on a fielding error. With one out, Obregon singled up the middle to score both runners to make it 9-0. Fisbeck walked to put runners at first and second and Dickerson singled to right field to score Braden Duhon, who was pinch-running for Obregon as the Cowboys took a 10-0 lead.

The Cowboys will return home on Friday when they open up a four-game league series against Stephen F. Austin.