Lamar powers past McNeese to force ‘if necessary’ game on Saturday

HAMMOND, La. – McNeese Baseball fell for the first time in the 2024 Southland Conference Tournament 18-9 against top-seeded Lamar Friday evening, forcing a rematch on Saturday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

The Cowboys move to 31-26 on the season with Lamar improving to 44-14 on the 2024 campaign. Both teams will get a chance to fight for an SLC Championship Game berth Saturday on ESPN+ with the game time yet to be determined.

Senior Peyton LeJeune made school history in his first at-bat of the day by tying a program record with three home runs in consecutive at-bats, the streak starting against UIW stemming into today. All three home runs scored two runs, with the first two putting the Pokes up 6-2 over UIW to advance to the semifinals. Clayton Rasbeary last accomplished the feat in 2019 against UTSA on Feb. 15-16.

The Cowboys collected four home runs in the performance, one short of a season high with junior Simon Larranaga leading the way with two as senior Elliot Hebert and LeJeune each collected one.

Both teams were in a slugging fest throughout the first four innings of the game, each earning eight runs between the second to fourth innings. Lamar scored 10 runs between the seventh and eighth while the Pokes earned one to close out the game.

Keeton hit both a double and a triple in the performance, falling just a home run and single shy of completing the cycle. He was one of three members of the team to earn two hits alongside Larranaga and Hebert.

McNeese and Lamar will return to Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field Saturday with the time to be determined after tonight’s game between Southeastern and Nicholls. If Nicholls wins, the Pokes will play at 1 p.m. If Southeastern wins, the Cowboys’ game will be set for 9 a.m.

Pitching Appearances
Caleb Strmiska: 2.0 IP, 1 K, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 ER
JT Moeller: 1.2 IP, 2 K’s, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 ER
Brock Barthelemy: 2.1 IP, 1 K, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 ER
Daelan Caraway: 0.2 IP, 0 K, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 ER
Kainin Morrow: 0.1 IP, 1 K, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 ER
Max Swenson: 0.1 IP, 0 K, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 ER
Evan Maldonado: 1.2 IP, 1 K, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER

McNeese Notes
• Elliot Hebert brought his hitting streak to nine games.
• The four home runs are the second-most this season, the most being five against Prairie View.
• Caleb Strmiska made his 11th start of the season, two short of the team high.
• Multi-Hit Games: Chase Keeton (13th), Simon Larranaga (13th), Elliot Hebert (13th)
• JT Moeller made his team-leading 26th appearance of the season.