HAMMOND, La. - McNeese Baseball will open up the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament as the fifth seed against fourth-seeded Northwestern State Wednesday, May 22 at 9 a.m. at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
The matchup will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available to those wishing to follow along with the action. The game will be the first of four on the day at the diamond.
Both squads met earlier in the season in McNeese's conference opener where the Demons narrowly edged out the Cowboys 2-1 in a Sunday rubber match. The Pokes took the first game of the series when playing at The Jeaux.
Ahead of the conference tournament, senior Cooper Hext was named to both the SouthlandAll-Conference First Team and All-Defensive Team. Joining Hext on the All-Defensive squad were junior Conner Westenburg in center field and redshirt junior Cameron LeJeune as a pitcher.
Right-handed senior pitcher Zach Voss is slated to make his 13th start of the campaign which would move him to the most starts for the Cowboys this season. On the other side will be another righty, Tyler Bryan, starting for the Demons.
Head coach Justin Hill recorded his 330th victory at the helm of the Cowboys in the Saturday victory over Nicholls.
The winner of the game will take on the winner between Lamar and UIW Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. with the elimination bracket game taking place at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Wednesday Matchup
Wed., May 22 vs Northwestern State | 9 a.m. | ESPN+ |Voss (1-5) vs. Bryan (1-2)
Game Preview
• The Cowboys and Demons met during the opening weekend of conference play for the former with NSU taking the series 2-1.
•McNeese holds the all-time series lead 125-111-2 with the teams first meeting in 1953.
• In the 2023 SLC Tournament, the Demons eliminated the Cowboys from the tournament 6-2.
• McNeese took a Friday victory over NSU to open SLC play 8-2.
• The meeting in Hammond will be the first not in Lake Charles or Natchitoches since the 2018 SLC Championships.
Tournament Notes
• McNeese is making its 22nd SLC Tournament appearance, the second-most in league history behind Northwestern State at 25. It is the 12th straight appearance for the Pokes.
• Skipper Justin Hill has led the Pokes to the tournament each year under his tutelage.
• McNeese has posted a 4-2 record in tournament championship games, the most titles among current conference opponents and tied for the second-most in league history (Sam Houston 6, Texas State 4).
• McNeese's four titles have come in 1993, 2003, 2019, 2021 and finished as the runner-up twice in 1995 and 2022.
McNeese Notes
• Cooper Hext was named to the Southland All-Conference First Team as an outfielder after being chosen to the Preseason All-Conference Second Team.
•Hext, Conner Westenburg, and Cameron LeJeune were all chosen to the SLC All-Defensive Team each as a left fielder, center fielder, and pitcher respectively.
• Cameron LeJeune was named SLC Pitcher of the Week for his performance against Nicholls, throwing six scoreless innings and earning his seventh win of the season.
• McNeese won three conference series before the final weekend against Nicholls to move from ninth in the standings to being tied for fourth for a tournament berth.
•The Cowboys previously beat SLU 2-1, A&M-Corpus Christi 3-0, and HCU 2-1. They fell to Nicholls 2-1 over the weekend, taking the final game of the series for the fifth seed.
• The Pokes have won nine of their last 12 conference games and 11 of their past 16.
• Cooper Hext is sixth in the nation with seven triples on the season. Hext leads the conference while Conner Westenburg sits sixth in the conference with three.
• Hext has earned 14 career triples through four seasons, moving up to second all-time in McNeese history, three away from tying the record.
• The blue and gold sit 22nd in the nation with 18 triples and second in the conference, one shy of New Orleans.
• JT Moeller leads the team in pitching appearances at 25 while Kainin Morrow is right behind him at 23 appearances on the season.
• Conner Westenburg owns the third best batting average on the team at .307, collecting 26 extra-base hits, the most on the squad.
• The Cowboys have earned at least six hits in 45 of 54 games this season.
• McNeese is 82nd in D1 Baseball with two shutouts on the season, blanking Northwestern and Mississippi Valley State.
•Max Swenson owns the lowest ERA of the relief pitchers that have thrown at least 10 innings in 4.35.
• Sixteen pitchers on the Cowboys' staff have made at least one appearance through six conference series. All season long, 18 pitchers have pitched on the mound.
• The NCAA ranked McNeese as having the 17th-hardest strength of schedule in the nation before Southland play after taking on ranked opponents in Arkansas, UL-Lafayette, and Texas A&M, the second-to-last undefeated team.
• McNeese was slated to finish fifth in the conference in the SLC Preseason Poll.
• The Cowboys have 23 returners on the squad with 17 newcomers for the season.
Scouting the Opponent
• Northwestern State is riding a three-game win streak, defeating Stephen F. Austin twice and New Orleans once.
• The Demons hold a 2-2 record when playing at neutral sites in 2024.
• Two members of the NSU squad was named to the All-SLC Team in Reese Lipoma (OF) and Caleb Bunch (RP).
• Rocco Gump (3B) was named to the SLC All-Defensive Team.
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