Leadoff hitter Alayis Seneca set the table for McNeese State in its season opener, reaching base three times and driving in a pair of runs to lead the Cowgirls to an 11-4 win over Texas Southern Thursday night to cap the first day of play in the Evangeline Bank and Trust Invitational.

Texas Southern (0-2) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on consecutive singles by Pam Richardson and Crimson Davis. Richardson scored on a ground-rule double by Daryn Haslam.

The Cowgirls answered with seven runs in the bottom of the inning.

Seneca led off with a walk and scored on a double by Jil Poullard. Kaylee Lopez singled to score Poullard and scored on a groundout by Chloe Gomez. Toni Perrin walked and scored on a passed ball. Kennedy Reynolds reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on the back end of a double steal. Seneca singled to score Josie Willingham and Reese Reyna to cap the inning.

“When I go up to bat I just try to focus on making hard contact, a pitch I can drive, that is my mind-set every time I’m up to bat,” Seneca said. “It feels nice to be able to help my team out.”

Cowgirls starting pitcher Whitney Tate walked four in the second inning and was relieved by Olivia Johnson.

The Cowgirls added a run in the third when Poullard walked to force in Gracie Devall.

Tevanae Tate homered for TSU in the fourth inning. Reynolds answered in the bottom of the inning with a towering blast over the left-field wall. Gomez scored on a Devall sacrifice fly later in the inning to increase the Cowgirls lead to 10-3.

“Our offense came out and did a good job of putting some good swings on pitches and running the bases really well,” McNeese head coach James Landreneau said. “It took us a while defensively and in the circle to get settled in, but when your offense puts up that kind of spot early, it takes some pressure off and allows your defense and pitching to settle in.

“Our lineup has the capability of stressing pitchers one through nine and that is what we talk about with — speed and power. Reynolds got the big knock tonight, Josie was 2-for-2, Alayis and Poullard created a lot of stress at the top of the lineup. I think we’ll be able to do that over the course of the year.”

The tournament continues with three games today.

Tulsa plays Alabama-Birmingham at 1 p.m. McNeese will play Tulsa at 3:30 p.m. and UAB at 6 p.m.