Alexis Dibbley’s two-run home run in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader helped McNeese secure a 6-4 comeback victory over Lamar, giving the Cowgirls both the doubleheader sweep and a win in their Southland Conference opening series. The first game ended with an 8-2 win for McNeese. The series is set to conclude with a single game on Saturday, with the start time moved up to noon.
With these wins, McNeese improved its overall record to 17-7 and started conference play at 2-0. Lamar’s record dropped to 11-12 overall and 0-2 in the Southland Conference.
Lamar took early leads in both games, going up 2-0 in the first inning of game one and leading 3-0 after three innings in game two. In response, McNeese scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning of game one, tying it on singles by Rylee Cloud and Jada Muñoz. Kassidy Chance added a sacrifice fly to give McNeese a lead they would not relinquish. Back-to-back home runs by Alexis Dibbley and Nyjah Fontenot extended the lead to 5-2 in the second inning. Two more runs followed in the third inning for a 7-2 advantage. A sacrifice fly from Poncho brought home Nyjah Fontenot for the final run.
The Cowgirls collected eleven hits during game one, led by Nyjah Fontenot who finished just a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Brookelyn Taylor earned her sixth win of the season, allowing two runs on two hits over five innings.
In game two, Lamar capitalized on three early errors by McNeese to take a 3-0 lead after two innings. McNeese cut into that lead with an RBI double from Kassidy Chance in the fourth inning but fell behind again when Lamar scored once more in the fifth.
The turning point came in the sixth inning when McNeese scored five runs on three hits and one error by Lamar. Jada Muñoz scored following an error by Lamar’s catcher, reducing their deficit to two runs. Pinch hitter Gwinn Hall then singled to center field, bringing home Chance and Adrianna Mireles to tie it at four each. Meiko Dominguez re-entered before Dibbley hit her second home run of the day—a two-run shot—to put McNeese ahead for good at 6-4.
Ryann Schexnayder picked up her first win of the season as she pitched three scoreless innings in relief and struck out two batters across nine faced.
Kassidy Chance led McNeese offensively with two hits out of five total for her team.
