CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Claiming its second consecutive Southland Conference series, McNeese Baseball (23-22, 7-10 SLC) defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (21-29, 9-11 SLC) 9-4 at Chapman Field Saturday afternoon.
Braden Duhon, a senior, paved the way for the Cowboys with a 3-for-5 outing, scoring one run while driving in a pair as well.
McNeese set the tone of the game in the first, getting off to an early 4-0 lead, taking the advantage it wouldn’t relinquish. Senior Cooper Hext scored the first run on a combination of a double and error. Conner Westenburg, a junior, scored next on a redshirt sophomore Braley Hollins’ single for the 2-0 lead. Duhon hit a two-RBI double to drive in Hollins and senior Elliot Hebert.
Hebert scored the fifth run of the game as well in the third inning on a single by redshirt senior Chase Keeton. The Cowboys plated another run in the fourth before the Islanders collected two runs in the bottom of the frame.
The Pokes scored on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to bring in senior Peyton LeJeune who was on second base. Both teams scored a pair of runs in the ninth to round out the game at 9-4.
The Cowboys and Islanders close out the series Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch that will be streamed on ESPN+. (Just the first pitch)
Pitching AppearancesDaelan Caraway: 3.1 IP, 0 K, 1 H, 4 BB, 0 ERAlexis Gravel: 5.2 IP, 7 K’s, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, Win
McNeese Notes• Daelan Caraway made his first weekend start of the season.• Grant Mangrum extended his hitting streak to eight games.• 37th game with 6+ hits on the season.• 16th game with 10+ hits.• First time since New Orleans with six doubles in a game.• Multi-Hit Games: Cooper Hext (18th), Conner Westenburg (16th), Braden Duhon (14th), Grant Mangrum (10th), Simon Larranaga (8th), Peyton LeJeune (8th), Braley Hollins (5th)• Alexis Gravel picked up his first victory of the season.