McNeese blanks George Washington, 7-0

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese starting pitcher Derrick Cherry combined with Cameron Lejeune and Brock Barthelemy to toss the Cowboys to a 7-0 win over George Washington on Saturday afternoon, clinching the weekend series.

McNeese (7-4) will go for the series sweep on Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. with Ty Abraham scheduled to get the start on the mound.

Cherry (1-0) picked up his first win as a Cowboy after he threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed just three hits with six strikeouts and two walks. Lejeune and Barthelemy combined to throw the final 3 2/3 innings and gave up just three hits, struck out two and walked none. Barthelemy, a junior transfer from LSU-Eunice, made his debut and did not allow a hit in 1 1/3 innings of work.

Offensively, the Cowboys scattered 10 hits while Tré Obregon III had two of them, both doubles, and knocked in three runs. Andruw Gonzales added a 2-for-5 game while Dean Bittner finished 2-for-4 at the plate.

Payton Harden extended his bases reached streak to 11 games after hitting a fifth-inning RBI triple that nearly turned into an inside-the-park home run.

Notebook:
• The Cowboys won their second straight weekend series with the victory on Saturday. They’ll attempt to pick up their first sweep of the season on Sunday.
• McNeese recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since opening up the 2020 season with 9-0 and 12-0 wins over Mississippi Valley State.
• The Cowboys have thrown three shutouts on the season. Last year, McNeese threw a total of two shutouts.
• McNeese has thrown 20-consecutive scoreless innings going back to the 8th and 9th innings at Southern this past Wednesday.
• Head coach Justin Hill picked up his 273rd career win to extend his school record.