Fun ends, SLU hands Cowgirls first SLC loss
Published 11:44 am Saturday, April 9, 2022
- McNeese State’ Chloe Gomez makes the catch on a throw from right field as Southeastern Louisiana’s Madison Rayner scores in the third inning during the first of a three-game Southland Conference series Friday night at Cowgirl Diamond. Rayner was 3-for-4 as the Lions, unbeaten in conference play, handed the Cowgirls their first SLC loss. The series concludes with a doubleheader today. (Rick Hickman / American Press)
Southeastern Louisiana put a few big innings together while starter Heather Zumo shut down the Cowgirls offense in a 6-1 Lions win in the opening game of a Southland Conference series.
The loss ended a 10-game McNeese (22-15, 6-1 SLC) winning streak and gave the Cowgirls their first conference loss. Southeastern (26-10, 4-0) remained perfect in league play with its eighth in a row.
McNeese took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a leadoff single by Alayis Seneca and an RBI double by Jil Poullard, but struggled offensively thereafter, getting four hits the rest of the way.
The Cowgirls got two on in both the third and sixth innings, but Zumo worked her way out of trouble with a grounder to end the third then a pop-up and strikeout to end the sixth.
“Zumo pitched outstanding tonight, you have to tip your cap,” McNeese head coach James Landreneau said. “She came in, kept us off balance and did a good job of changing speeds on us. We didn’t have an answer for it.”
The Lions scored three runs in third on a two-out, bases-loaded double by Maddie Watson that scored Audrey Greely, Aeriyl Mass and Madison Rayner. Bailey Krolczyk added a solo homer in the sixth and Madisen Blackford had a two-run, two-out single to score Rayner and Lexi Johnson in the seventh.
The Lions finished with 12 hits.
“Their hitters did a good job of finding holes. It feels like everything they hit today was in a good spot,” Landreneau said. “They competed hard at the plate. We got outplayed today. We got out outpitched; they played better defense than us.
“We have to find a way to put it behind us really fast and come back and compete. That’s how a conference series is going to be. Every game is going to be tough and we have to play better.
Shaelyn Sanders (6-1) suffered her first loss, giving up three runs in four innings.
Landreneau said he expects the Cowgirls to play better in today’s 1 p.m. doubleheader.
“We’ve been in this situation before,” he said. “I know our kids are tough enough to respond. It’s just regrouping, getting ourselves back together and playing cleaner softball than we did today.”
