McNeese Softball begins season with two wins on Opening Day

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - The McNeese Cowgirls entered the 2023 season with high expectations placed upon them as they were picked to win the Southland Conference, and also led the Southland with seven players named to the preseason all-conference team, but on Opening Day, the Cowgirls lived up to those expectations.

The Cowgirls hosted Idaho State and Texas Southern on day one of the Cowgirl Classic I on Friday, and the Cowgirls got out to a hot start to begin their 2023 season as they put up four runs in the very first inning of their season against Idaho State.

Sam Houston High School graduate Jil Poullard was the first Cowgirl to hang a crooked number on the board in 2023 as her one-out double brought in Chloe Gomez, and Alayis Seneca to put the Cowgirls up 2-0 early, and then McNeese really started to pile on the runs. Poullard scored later in the inning after Idaho State failed to stop Emily Phillips from stealing second, and then a Reese Reyna single to right brought in Phillips later in the inning as well as McNeese took a 4-0 lead into the second inning, and the game was all but over from that point on.

McNeese would go on to win game one 7-2 as Whitney Tate was credited with the win in the circle, she went seven innings, struck out three, didn’t allow any walks, and allowed just three hits.

Game two wasn’t as easy for the Cowgirls early on, but they still never struggled, they got on the board once again in the first inning as Seneca scored on a Moreno ground out to second base, and they added an additional two runs in the second inning, and they would go onto score at least one run in every inning besides the third, but the real story from game two was Shaelyn Sanders in the circle.

Sanders went six innings for the Cowgirls striking out five, and she allowed just one hit in six innings of work, as she helped McNeese to the 6-1 win. With the win over Texas Southern, the Cowgirls improved to 2-0 on the season on the first day of action.

Scores from day one of the Cowgirl Classic I:

Central Arkansas (6) UAB (3)
Central Arkansas (2) Idaho State (0)
UAB (8) Texas Southern (0)
McNeese (7) Idaho State (2)
McNeese (6) Texas Southern (1)

The Cowgirls will continue play on Saturday for the second day of the Cowgirl Classic I with games against Texas Southern again, and Central Arkansas as well.

Cowgirl Classic I Day Two:

Saturday, Feb. 11 (10 a.m.): Idaho State vs. UAB
Saturday, Feb. 11 (12:30 p.m.): Texas Southern vs. Idaho State
Saturday, Feb. 11 (3 p.m.): UAB vs. Central Arkansas
Saturday, Feb. 11 (5:30 p.m.): McNeese vs. Texas Southern
Saturday, Feb. 11 (8 p.m.): McNeese vs. Central Arkansas

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