Cowgirls come well prepared for Evanston Regional

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - For McNeese, making it to the NCAA tournament is nothing new. The Cowgirls are in regional play for the fifth time since 2016 and the eighth time overall. Cowgirl coach James Landreneau is ready to move back the goal post for his program.

“I want to win a regional and this team wants to win a regional and this program does and we know it’s not easy,” said Landreneau. “It probably hasn’t been done by a Southland school, but it’s something we are passionate about. I want to get to post-season play and have our team play to the best of their ability. I feel if we do that we can have success. Ultimately, our team, when we talk about it, we want to win a regional. We feel like if you win a regional, that puts you on the national scene.”

Landreneau feels like this team has all the tools to head into the Evanston Regional as a three-seed and make some serious noise.

“I have always said I thought we were athletic, we have some depth in the circle, I think we are swinging a lot better as of late,” said Landreneau. “You saw the maturity process, I really like the maturity process of our team mentally. We still make some physical mistakes, but mentally, this team has gotten more consistent at how to prepare, how to show up every day, so that is what I like about this group.”

And that consistently has shown up in the standings. Since March 23. McNeese is 26-5. After sitting two games under .500 before that streak began, the Cowgirls’ proved how good they were when their backs were against the wall. They did so again in the NCAA Tournament with back-to-back come-from-behind wins.

“Definitely going to carry some of that energy with us to Chicago because our vibes and our dynamic are just so good right now,” said Senior Outfielder Toni Perrin. “But we can’t look back on the past games we have to just build and grow and act like it’s a new season whenever we step on the field.”

The Cowgirls will practice one last time in Lake Charles at 10 a.m. before catching a flight to Evanston ahead of their first game on Friday.