With a chance to win the Southland Conference regular season title this weekend, the McNeese Cowgirls softball team will spend the week working on themselves after an up-and-down weekend against Incarnate Word.

McNeese (32-19, 12-3 SLC) won two of three in the series, but will be looking for more consistency and less emotion this week when they travel to Nicholls State for the final three games of the regular season.

The Cowgirls lead Southeastern Louisiana by one game and Northwestern State by two games going into the weekend. The Cowgirls can clinch the title with a sweep of the Colonels and clinch a share by winning two or three.

Against UIW, McNeese dominated the opening and final games, winning 9-0 and 8-0 via the mercy rule, but lost the middle game 7-6. UIW scored all seven runs in the fourth inning, when nine straight batters reached base with two outs.

“We had a two-out inning that we just couldn’t get out of,” head coach James Landreneau said. “I would have liked to see us attack the strike zone better.”

Landreneau said the Cowgirls are not consistently playing at their top level.

“Win or lose, I want the team to play to what they are capable of,” he said. “We played a bit too emotional, I’d like to see us play calm and relaxed. We’re pushing the issue and trying to make things happen too much instead of just playing the game.”

Landreneau said he got caught up in the emotions of the weekend too.

“There was a lot going on — slow-paced games, big innings, we had delays on the field for conferences or to try to figure out what was going on,” he said. “We had opportunities to quiet ourselves, move on and stay focused on the game, but we let a lot of external factors come in. Any time you get too emotional, it is over things you can’t control. There were a lot of things going on that affected all of us, including myself. I got more emotional than I’d like and have to do a better job.”

NOTES: McNeese swept the Southland Conference weekly awards, with outfielder Alayis Seneca winning Hitter of the Week and Ashley Vallejo winning Pitcher of the Week.

Seneca hit .533 with six runs, one RBI, three doubles and three stolen bases in five games.

Vallejo went 3-0, with each win a shutout. She didn’t allow an earned run in 18⅓ innings pitched, striking out 11 while allowing 10 hits and five walks.