Whack-a-jack: Cowboys tee off on SFA pitchers for season-high 23 hits

Published 3:04 pm Wednesday, May 4, 2022

For most it was a meaningless RBI single to left field in the eighth inning of a midweek blowout, but for Reid Bourque it was another milestone.

Bourque’s liner was the 200th of his career at McNeese State, coming two days after he set the record for most games played at 223.

The shortstop’s personal achievement came during the Cowboys’ 17-7 victory over Stephen F. Austin Tuesday night in Joe Miller Ballpark in a game shortened to eight innings.

Payton Harden’s double, his fourth hit of the night, scored Braden Duhon from second with the walk-off run. It was McNeese’s fourth walk-off victory in three weeks, however this was the least dramatic.

Harden, who earlier this year collected his 200th career hit, finished 4-for-5 and was hit by a pitch. McNeese (26-19) finished with a season-high 23 hits two days after collecting 19 Sunday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

It was the last nonconference home game of the season for the Cowboys as they peppered former Southland Conference foe SFA (13-28).

Eight of the nine Cowboys starters collected at least two hits against four SFA hurlers, five getting at least three. Julian Gonzales homered, doubled and was a triple shy of the cycle while knocking in three.

His solo homer to right — his seventh of the season — was the big blow in McNeese’s four-run fourth. He also drove in a run with a single in the five-run sixth.

SFA took the lead 7-5 with a six-run fifth. Kyle Cullen’s single scored a pair of runs. However, that was the lone rally the Lumberjacks had.

McNeese responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the score at seven before scoring the five in the sixth. During the sixth, the Cowboys had four consecutive run-scoring hits with one out.

With final exams this week, and the last home series of the regular season coming this weekend, the Cowboys could be excused for being a tad distracted.

They are in a three-way tie for first in the Southland with Nicholls State and Houston Baptist at 11-7 with six games remaining. The top two teams will host mini four-team, double-elimination tournaments with the winners playing a championship series at the home of the higher remaining club.

McNeese has won the last two Southland tournament championships.

The Cowboys will play Northwestern State in a series starting Friday. They finish the regular season with three games the following weekend at HBU.

The Huskies beat McNeese in the season-opening series in Lake Charles, taking two of three.

The Cowboys used seven pitchers to get through the night with left-hander Zane Zeppuhar (1-0) earning the victory.