Just 12 hours after seeing how the other half lives, the Cowgirls picked on somebody their own size.

In doing so, they made sure head coach James Landreneau stood alone atop the wins total in the history of McNeese State softball.

Scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the first Saturday morning, the Cowgirls more than erased the memories of the night before, when sixth-ranked Tennessee swept them in a doubleheader to open the I-10 Border Classic.

McNeese wasted no time jumping on Missouri State, beating the Lady Bears 17-9 in five innings at Joe Miller Park.

That gave Landreneau win No. 303, passing Scott Eastman atop the McNeese record book. 

“I’m sure at the end of the year, I will reflect on it more,” said Landreneau. “Right now, I’m focused on this team and getting it better this year. 

“I want to thank all the players I have had a chance to coach and help make this happen. The community and administrative support have been a big part of our success here.”

The game ended in walk-off fashion when freshman Brylie Fontenot lined a two-out single to center, scoring Jada Munoz from third. The Sam Houston High graduate from Moss Bluff had two hits and drove in four runs. 

Samatha Mundine continued her hot start with three hits and scored three runs. The 17 runs and 16 hits were season highs for the Cowgirls. 

“I thought we had a good approach from the start today,” said Landreneau. “We took advantage of our opportunities.”

Emma Banks, a redshirt freshman, worked the final 1⅔ innings in relief to earn her first college victory. She allowed just one earned run. 

Munoz, Reese Reyna, and Kassidy Chance all had two hits in the game. 

McNeese scored all the runs it would need on seven hits. The Cowgirls added two more in the second before the Bears scored five in the top of the third.

McNeese improved to 6-4 in the second game with an 8-1 win over Southland rival Nicholls. 

Freshman Onna McElroy had the big hit, a two-run homer to highlight a decisive 5-run fourth. McElroy finished with 3-for-3 with four RBIs, knocking in two more with a single in the fifth.

Chance, another freshman, had two more hits to improve her batting average to .462. Mundine had two more hits as well. 

A third freshman, Kandace Williams (1-2), picked up her first career victory. She allowed just five hits and one run while not walking a batter over six innings, dropping her earned run average to 2.15. Banks worked a scoreless seventh to close things out.

McNeese will play Tulsa at noon Sunday to close out the tournament.