McNeese baseball defeated Prairie View A&M 16-1 in a seven-inning run-rule victory on March 18, following a ten-run first inning at Lake Charles.
The win brings McNeese’s record to 10-10 overall and 4-5 in the Southland Conference, while Prairie View A&M falls to 4-5 overall and 0-3 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
McNeese started strong with a ten-run opening frame. The scoring began when Matt Stancliff stole second base, allowing Bryce Fontenot to score on a throwing error by the catcher. Marcus Heusohn singled to left field, bringing home Stancliff for a 2-0 lead. After DJ Pinkerton was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Simon Larranaga was also hit, forcing in another run. Connor Schneider added a sacrifice fly to center field for a 4-0 advantage. The Cowboys continued to capitalize on errors and timely hitting, including an RBI double from Fontenot and a grand slam by Danny Barbero—his fourth home run of the season—to cap the inning at 10-0.
Prairie View A&M scored its only run in the top of the second inning with a solo home run by Ryland Duson. McNeese responded quickly as Schneider scored on a fielder’s choice and Stancliff hit an RBI triple for a 12-1 lead. In the third inning, Pinkerton hit his first Division I home run as a Cowboy, making it 13-1. Additional runs came from Larranaga’s sacrifice fly in the fifth and Isaiah Keller’s two-run homer—the first of his Division I career—in the sixth.
Six pitchers combined for McNeese, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out seven batters and walking one. Starter Connor Achee earned his first career win after pitching one scoreless inning with one strikeout. Prairie View A&M’s starter took the loss after giving up six runs on one hit with three walks in just one-third of an inning.
Looking ahead, McNeese will play Southeastern from March 20–22, Southern on March 24, Louisiana Christian on March 25, Abilene Christian from March 27–29, and UL Lafayette on March 31.
