Cowboys open week at Texas
Published 6:00 pm Monday, April 2, 2018
Pitching staff will be on short leash with 2 midweek games
McNeese’s staring pitcher Austin Briggs during a non-conference game at Joe Miller Ballpark in Lake Charles, La., Tuesday, March 27, 2018. (Rick Hickman/Lake Charles American Press)
The McNeese State baseball team will spend its Monday in Austin, Texas, as it takes on the Texas Longhorns at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
The Cowboys (10-17) enter the game trying to bounce back after losing its series with Southeastern Louisiana that culminated in a 9-1 loss to the Lions in Saturday’s rubber match.
“They’ll be ready to go,” said McNeese head coach Justin Hill. “It’s spring break, and we have to games in the middle of the week. From a pitching standpoint we need to make sure other guys step up.”
Hill said Austin Briggs (0-0, 6.00 ERA) will get the start on the mound for the Cowboys. Expect the Cowboys to distribute time on the mound throughout the game in an attempt to preserve their arms in two midweek games before returning to Southland Conference play against Abilene Christian.
The Cowboys other midweek game will be on Wednesday when they host LSU Alexandria at 6 p.m.
Justin Hill said Peyton McLemore won’t be available for relief duties, saying they have used him too much already this season.
“Peyton McLemore has done a great job for us this year,” Hill said. “I’m not going to throw him either of the midweek games. We’ve asked too much of him, and it’s time for someone else to come in and do their job.”
The Longhorns (17-12) also lost its split series over the weekend against Kansas State after losing the first two games of the series before picking up a 9-5 victory to prevent a sweep.
Hill said he wanted to do something he’s never done during the midweek stretch during McNeese’s spring break, which led to this matchup.
“I’ve never played a game, coached a game or anything at Texas,” Hill said. “It’s something I wanted to do. During spring break, I always like to get away. It’s a little bit tougher to get a good crowd at a midweek game, so it was just something we wanted to do.”
