Cowgirls pick up pair of run-rule wins Sunday over HBU

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese softball went two for two against Houston Baptist in its conference home opener Sunday afternoon. Effective pitching and quality at bats led the Cowgirls (19-14, SLC 5-0) to two 9-1 run-rule victories over the Huskies (10-18, SLC 0-5)

“It was good to see us finish games. We have done a better job at putting runs on the board and our pitching staff did an outstanding job,” said head coach James Landreneau.

We are getting production throughout the lineup. I always knew the good hitting was there, but the second game at Corpus Christi I felt like you could see our team relax a little bit. We have spent a lot of time training mentally. You cannot force good offense but right now we are letting the game come to us and we are having a lot of good results.”

Game One

The Cowgirls opened game one against HBU with a three-run home run by Jil Poullard and continued to build on their lead through the end of the six inning 9-1 run rule victory. Pitcher Shaelyn Sanders kept the Huskies scoreless in five out of the six innings, only giving up two hits and one run in the entirety of the game.

Key Moments

First Inning
• A three-run homer by Poullard gave the Cowgirls a 3-0 advantage over the Huskies
Second Inning
• An RBI single by Kendall Talley scored Gracie Devall (4 McN, 0 HBU)
Third Inning
• Toni Perrin’s RBI single scored Kaylee Lopez
• After stealing second and third, Perrin then scored on an RBI single by Reese Reyna (6 McN, 0 HBU)
Fourth Inning
• The Huskies scored their first run of the game with a solo home run (6 McN, 1 HBU)
Sixth Inning
• Devall scored her second run of the game with an RBI single by Talley
• An RBI single by Crislyne Moreno scored Talley
• Lopez’s sacrifice fly allowed Poullard to score the final run of the game (9 McN, 1 HBU)
Game Notes
• Pitcher Shaelyn Sanders (6-0) earned a season high of 12 strikeouts and gave up two hits and one run during the complete game
• Talley led the Cowgirls at the plate going four for four with two runs and two RBIs
• Poullard had two hits including her fourth homer of the season, two runs scored, three RBIs, and drew one walk
• Perrin and Reyna had one RBI a piece
• Three Cowgirls scored two runs while three Cowgirls scored one
• McNeese had 12 hits while HBU had two hits
Game Two

In the night cap, McNeese repeated their 9-1 victory over HBU in five innings. Cowgirl scoring in every inning of the game was key to their run-rule victory. Pitcher Ashley Vallejo kept the Huskies scoreless in all but one inning and only gave up two hits and one run during the complete game.

Key Moments

First Inning
• An RBI double by Talley scored Alayis Seneca
• Talley stole third and scored on an error (2 McN, 0 HBU)
Second Inning
• A two RBI double by Poullard increased the Cowgirl lead to four
• Moreno followed with an RBI double to score Poullard (5 McN, 0 HBU)
Third Inning
• Toni Perrin homered to left field
Fourth Inning
• The Huskies responded with a solo homerun of their own (6 McN, 1 HBU)
• Talley scored her first home run of her Cowgirl career to add two more runs to the McNeese 8-1 lead
Fifth Inning
• An RBI by pinch hitter Tiffany Stezco scored pinch runner Reyna for the final run of the game (9 McN, HBU 1)
Game Notes
• Pitcher Vallejo (8-6) earned six strikeouts and gave up two hits and one run in 5.0 innings of work
• Talley led the Cowgirls at the plate going two for two, three RBIs, three runs, and one walk
• The Cowgirls had eight hits while HBU had two
• McNeese drew six walks
• McNeese stole four bases
• Perrin scored her second homer of the season

Next Game:
Game Details: McNeese (19-14, SLC 5-0) vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-27, 2-10 SWAC)
Date: Monday, April 3 (3 p.m./DH)
Location: Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond

The Cowgirls will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-27, 2-10 SWAC) in a doubleheader Monday April 3 at 3 p.m.
In its fourth weekend of conference play, APB dropped two out of the three games against Grambling State.

The Lady Lions are led at the plate by Samaria Jackson with a .379 batting average, .621 slugging percentage, 25 hits, 11 RBIs, three triples, and three home runs. Sydney Green (3-8) leads the pitching staff with a 3.63 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 81 innings of work.

Poullard continues to lead the Cowgirls at the plate with a .373 batting average, a .693 slugging percentage, 17 walks, 28 hits, eight doubles, four home runs, and 25 RBIs. Perrin and Reyna are tied for a team high of 13 stolen bases. Talley leads the team with 26 runs scored and is second on the team with a .333 batting average and a .481 slugging percentage.

Sanders (6-0) leads the Cowgirls’ pitching staff with a 1.54 ERA and one save during her 44.0 innings of action. With a 3.01 ERA and 84.0 innings of action in the circle, Vallejo (8-6) leads the Cowgirls with 67 strikeouts.

The only other meeting between the teams was a 11-0 Cowgirl home win in 2020.