By Warren Arceneaux

warceneaux@americanpress.com

Julian Gonzales reached base six times and drove in five runs to lead McNeese State to a 20-2 win in Game 2 of a doubleheader sweep of Mississippi Valley State.

Gonzales opened the scoring with an opposite field, two-run homer to left in the bottom of the second.

MVSU (0-3) tied the score in the top of the third on a two-out, two-run single by Aaron Brazelton scored Antonio Walker and Angel Maldanado.

Gonzales gave the Cowboys (3-0) a 3-2 lead in the third inning when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. McNeese left the bases full when Tre Obregon was ruled to have leaned into a pitch for a strikeout.

The lead grew to 5-2 in the fourth when Kade Morris and Peyton Johnson led off with singles and scored on a throwing error and sacrifice fly by Payten Harden.

McNeese added a run in the fifth when Clayton Rasbeary tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tre Obregon, who finished with four RBIs.

Harden finished with three hits and three RBIs.

The Cowboys blew the game open with a five-run fifth, highlighted by RBI doubles by Gonzales and Obregon. Harden and Rasbeary also drove in runs.

Gonzalez drove in a run in the eight when he was hit by a pitch for the second time. He also had three hits and a walk.

McNeese starter Kale Breaux, a Sulphur native and transfer from Mississippi State, allowed one hit but walked five over four innings. He struck out six. Andrew Sheridan, another Sulphur grad and LSU-Eunice transfer, pitched two perfect innings to earn the win.

“Kale was really good the first two innings then kind of got himself into trouble with the walks, not commanding the baseball,” McNeese head coach Justin Hill said. “I don’t think that is who he really is, but it has been a long layoff for him. I was really glad to see, in a tight game, he was able to find a way to wriggle his way out of it.

“The main story of the game to me was Andrew Sheridan. He flipped the script on the game. Offensively we were able to put some at-bats together. When guys at the bottom of the lineup produce, it takes pressure off the guys at the top. We had Kade Morris get four hits in his first game, that is great.”

Game 1

McNeese 12

Mississippi Valley St. 0

The Cowboys wasted no time taking control with a four-run first. Reid Bourque singled and scored on a double by Rasbeary, who scored on a Jordan Yeatts sacrifice fly. Nate Fisbeck walked and later scored on a throw to second that got away. Gonzales was hit by a pitch and scored on a Blake Whelton double.

McNeese doubled the lead in the second on a two-run single by Fisbeck and a two-run home run by Jake Dickerson.

The Cowboys added two runs in the fifth and a pair in the sixth to extend the lead to 12-0.

McNeese started Brett Payne (1-0) threw five scoreless innings, striking out seven, walking three and allowing one hit.

Cameron Foster and Kevin Roiland each threw two scoreless innings of relief.

Bourque, Dickerson, Yeatts and Schuyler Thibodeaux had two hits each.