Conner Westenburg led the charge as the Cowboys stayed hot in a midweek demolition of Southern Tuesday night at Joe Miller Ballpark.

The junior center fielder finished 3-for-4, driving in three runs and scoring two more, as McNeese toppled the Jaguars 14-4 in a game shortened to seven innings by the run rule.

Westenburg was at the plate when the final run scored in the bottom of the seventh with one out. Easton Dowell raced home on Peyton Huff’s wild pitch to end the game early.

Dowell drove in two of his three runs on a double two batters earlier. Dowell finished with two hits and three RBIs as well.

The victory was the fourth straight for the Cowboys (25-22) while Southern fell to 20-25. It was the second time this season McNeese has beaten the Jags, winning 4-3 in 14 innings in March. The win extended the Cowboys’ streak over Southern to seven.

Max Swenson worked the first three innings, two hits and striking out a career-best five to improve his record to 2-0. It was Swenson’s first career start.

The surging Cowboys finished 11 hits, scoring double-digits in runs for the second consecutive game.

Coming off a weekend sweep at Corpus Christi, Texas, and heading into another Southland Conference showdown at home against Houston Christian, the Cowboys used Tuesday’s game to stay in rhythm.

“The key is for us to keep our momentum going,” said McNeese head coach Justin Hill. 

The Cowboys scored three runs in the first and six in the second to put the game away early. Westenburg, Elliott Hebert and Braley Hollins each drove in runs in the first.

McNeese picked up five hits while scoring six in the second on five hits.

Parker Stroh hit the only home run for the Cowboys, a solo shot in the fourth. The blast was Stroh’s third of the season.

After a slow start to the spring, McNeese’s offense has started to click. The Cowboys have scored at least eight runs in each of their last five games.

They hope to continue that run this weekend when they host Houston Christian for three league games. McNeese’s magic number to clinch a spot in the SLC postseason tournament is three.