Rogers shines again as McNeese downs Yale, 7-1

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese starting pitcher Grant Rogers saw his consecutive scoreless inning streak come to an end at 19.2 innings when Yale scored a run with one out in the top of the first inning, but that would be all the scoring the Bulldogs would get off the Cowboys’ ace as the righty became the first pitcher in school history to win in his first five starts on the season in a 7-1 win on Friday night.

The win was the fifth straight for the Cowboys as they improve to 13-5 on the season and also the ninth consecutive win at home. Yale fell to 4-7 with the loss. The series will continue at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Rogers ran his record to 5-0 on the year after picking up the win. After he allowed a run and two hits in the first inning and then three hits combined in the second and third innings, Rogers sat down the order in the next five innings, 15 straight batters, before giving way to reliever Brock Barthelemy who shut the door on the Bulldogs in the ninth.

Rogers threw eight full innings and allowed just five hits, all in the first three innings, a run, struck out eight and did not walk a batter.

Offensively, McNeese scattered nine hits with Josh Leslie and Taylor Darden each getting two knocks.

With Yale leading 1-0 after the first inning, the first six Cowboys in the second inning reached base which ignited a four-run inning and a 4-1 lead.

In the fourth, Leslie knocked in Cooper Hext with a single to make it 5-1 then the Cowboys added two more in the fifth inning when Tré Obregon III scored on a wild pitch and a Darden RBI single up the middle that scored Braden Duhon.