McNeese Cowgirls win Southland Conference home opener

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - McNeese softball beat the Texas A&M - Commerce Lady Lions 9-0 in their Southland Conference home opener thanks to an 11-hit performance at the plate, and a Whitney Tate masterclass in the circle.

Tate took the circle once again and controlled the game in the four innings she pitched as she put together a four-strikeout showing while giving up just two hits and no runs.

The Cowgirls’ offense started fast out of the gates as Mariana Torres cracked a three-run RBI triple in the bottom of the third inning to give the Cowgirls a 5-0 lead over the Lions, and just a couple of at-bats later, Rylie Bouvier would get a hit as well, bringing in Torres to put McNeese up six over Texas A&M - Commerce.

In the bottom of the fourth, McNeese would keep their foot on the gas as Torres would drive in another run on a sacrifice fly to bring her RBI total to four in the game. Bouvier would then get a single through the second base gap to bring in Reese Reyna to put the Cowgirls up 8-0.

Head coach James Landreneau then called on freshman Jada Munoz to pinch hit in the fourth inning, and she would deliver as she hit a hard line drive to center field that would bring in Bouvier to put the Cowgirls up nine.

At the beginning of the top of the fifth, Lindsay Davis would come in for relief duties and would finish the Lions off in quick order as the Cowgirls beat Texas A&M Commerce in five innings.

“Our kids do a really good job of staying focused and moving on and trying to find a way to get better in every moment, and I’m really happy with our hitters tonight, I thought they showed great composure and did a really good job making contact with the ball all night long,” said Coach Landreneau. “Watching our players and our team grow has been great, I want to give them credit for putting in the time and getting them to this point, our kids have been working really hard.”

McNeese is back in action against Texas A&M - Commerce Saturday for a doubleheader with game one beginning at 1:00, and game two beginning at the conclusion of game one.

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