McNeese downs Holy Cross, 4-1, to cap perfect weekend in Mardi Gras Classic

LAKE CHARLES – Jonathan Ellison threw seven innings with eight strikeouts for the McNeese Cowboys in a 4-1 win over Holy Cross to complete the weekend sweep against Nicholls and Holy Cross in the inaugural Mardi Gras Classic on Monday afternoon.

The win was the fifth straight for the Cowboys as they improve to 8-4 on the season.

Fisbeck added another RBI to his stat line making him 8-for-18 on the weekend with three home runs, two doubles, five runs, and 10 RBIs.

With the decision the Crusaders move to 1-10 in the season.

The Cowboys will be back on the field on Wednesday night to take on the UL-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns in Joe Miller Ballpark at 6 p.m.

KEY INNINGS
3rd| In the bottom half of the inning, the Cowboys would plate their first runs of the ballgame. After a lead off hit-by-pitch by Julian Gonzales and a drawn walk by Brett Whelton, sophomore Reid Bourque would come to plate and lay down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third. Now with one out and two runners in scoring position, the Cowboys would capitalize on two errors made by the Crusaders’ shortstop and score two runs to take a 2-0 lead.

5th| Reid Bourque lead off the inning with an infield single up the middle, followed by back-to-back bunt singles by Nate Fisbeck and Payton Harden to load the bases with no outs, but were unable to score after Shane Selman and Clayton Rasbeary were sat down on strikes and Carson Maxwell hit a fly ball to the right fielder to end the inning, keeping the score 2-0 after five.

6th| The Cowboys would extend their lead in the bottom half of the inning. Dickerson would reach base on a walk, followed by Gonzales getting his first hit of the season with a bunt single to give the Cowboys two on with no outs. After a sacrifice bunt by Brett Whelton to move the runners over, Bourque would reach on a fielder’s choice and Dickerson would put himself in a pickle between third and home but would then score after another Holy Cross error. Pushing the Cowboy lead to 3-0.

7th| After Selman reached base on a walk, Clayton Rasbeary would move him to third with a single down the right field line extending his hitting streak to 12 games. Next batter Maxwell, would hit a sacrifice fly to center field to extend the lead to 4-0.

9th| Holy Cross would score one run in the top half of the inning to bring the score to its final 4-1.

MCNEESE NOTES
Offense:
• Carson Maxwell and Nate Fisbeck lead the team offensively, both going 1-for-3 with an RBI
• Brett Whelton made his first start on the season and finished 0-for-1 but drew a walk and scored a run.

Pitching:
• Junior left-handed pitcher Jonathan Ellison (1-0) would be dominant in his second start of the season, going 7.0 innings, giving up only one hit, fan eight total batter, and get his first win of the season.
• Zach Rider would come in as relief in the eighth inning, finishing with 1.0 inning pitched, no hits, and two strikeouts.
• Brett Payne would come in to close out the game in the ninth after a 20 min rain delay, but after 3 straight walks was pulled.
• Aidan Anderson would come in with the bases loaded and get a groundout on his first pitch, which scored one run, credited to Payne. He would then strikeout the next batter two batters to finish the game and get the save.

ON DECK
The Cowboys will host rival UL-Lafayette on Wednesday night at Joe Miller Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED
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