Cowgirls fall short against ULL … again
Published 9:38 pm Wednesday, April 24, 2024
- McNeese State's Reese Reyna turns a double play in the second inning as UL-Lafayette's Maddie Hayden slides into second base during a game Wednesday, April 24, at Cowgirl Diamond. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
For the second time this season, the Cowgirls had a chance to knock off rival Louisiana-Lafayette from just down the road.
But for the second time, they came up short.
In a repeat of the first meeting, McNeese State had the tying and winning runs on base with one out in its final at-bat Wednesday night, but could not punch either one in.
That let the Ragin Cajuns off the hook as they left Cowgirl Diamond with a 5-4 victory and sweep of the season series. ULL won the first game in Lafayette, 2-1.
“We fought back and had our opportunities,” said McNeese head coach James Landreneau.
In a game that featured more meetings than a day at the United Nations, Lafayette head coach Gerry Glasco led a parade of complaints. One time he appeared to throw a rosin bag down in the middle of the diamond without getting a warning.
Nothing like a rivalry to fire everybody up.
Down 5-3 entering the seventh, McNeese loaded the bases with one out and then scored a run on an error. The Cowgirls would load the bases once again only to have Chloe Riassetto strike out the final two hitters to secure the win and pick up her sixth save.
The loss dropped McNeese to 33-16, ending the Cowgirls 10-game winning streak. Nineteenth-ranked Lafayette improved to 35-15 one night after toppling LSU at home.
The Cowgirls grabbed a 3-0 after two innings but saw ULL come back to tie the game with three runs in the third. A couple of key mistakes by McNeese fueled that rally.
“When you are playing a team like Lafayette, you have to get off the field,” said Landreneau. “Would like to have those plays back. You have to play good teams clean.”
McNeese committed three errors that led to two unearned runs, the difference in the game.
Lafayette made it 5-3 with a run in the fifth and sixth, the last coming on Sam Roe’s long home run, her seventh. Roe led the Cajuns’ 12-hit attack with three
Reese Reyna and Mariana Torres each had two hits to lead the Cowgirls.
Shaelyn Sanders (16-8) took the loss while Sam Landry (18-7) picked up the win for the Cajuns.
McNeese will return to Southland Conference play this weekend when it travels to Corpus Christi, Texas for a series with the Islanders.
