McNeese baseball run-rules New Orleans in series opener

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - After not having a mid-week game for just the second time of the 2023 season, McNeese baseball was back in action on Friday night as they hosted New Orleans for the first game of their weekend series.

After his first disappointing start of the season the week prior in Hammond against Southeastern where he gave up five earned runs, Grant Rogers was back on the mound as he looked to improve to 9-0 on the year, and he did just that as he was impressive on the mound, but the McNeese bats were maybe even more impressive.

Tre’ Obregon III got McNeese on the board in the first inning with a two-run home run to right field, his second of the season, and as it turns out, those two runs would be all McNeese needed to top the Privateers, but they kept them coming for good measure. An inning later in the second, Taylor Darden smacked a home run of his own, a solo shot to left as he extended McNeese’s lead to 3-1 after New Orleans plated one in the top-half of the inning.

After that McNeese steadily added runs through the fourth inning, Braden Duhon walked bringing one in in the third, then Payton Harden added two more in the inning, and in the fourth Darden, Schuyler Thibodaux, and Josh Leslie all brought runs home extending McNeese’s lead to 11-1 and that would turn out to be the final score as McNeese earned their second run-rule win of the year, and first in Southland Conference play.

“Tre’ (Obregon III) had a big swing and really got us going, and the guys just kept going, a lot of two-out hits, you know those things kind of just come, you can’t really plan those you kind of just hope you get the opportunity, and then have a great at-bat with that and we had quite a few of those tonight, so it was a big win, it was a good win for us tonight,” said head coach Justin Hill following the game.

Nine of McNeese’s 11 runs on Friday night came with two outs in the inning, and that was one thing Hill was proud of saying the Pokes didn’t give up in innings, and fought on every pitch.

Rogers’ final tally was seven innings, one run, six strikeouts, and three walks as he improved to 9-0 on the year, and after a disappointing outing the week prior, Rogers admitted Friday night felt good, “Feels good to actually give my team an opportunity, they had my back last week so I had to pick them up this week.”

With Friday night’s win McNeese creeps up into the top-three of the Southland Conference Standings:

Incarnate Word: 9-4 (22-16)
Nicholls: 6-4 (20-16)
McNeese: 7-6 (25-12)
Northwestern State: 5-5 (19-16)
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi: 5-5 (17-21)
Houston Christian: 5-5 (8-25)
New Orleans: 6-7 (21-17)
Lamar: 5-8 (20-17)
Southeastern: 4-8 (19-18)

Saturday’s Military Appreciation game vs. New Orleans is set to begin at 6:00. For the full interviews with Justin Hill, Grant Rogers, and Tre’ Obregon III, click here.

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