Mid-week college baseball games are often played in the shadows of conference contests on the weekend. 

They matter, but those league series encounters decide a team’s fate.

However, McNeese State has a pair of mid-week games starting Wednesday night in Houston that could mean a little more this season.

Surrounding a 3-game Southland Conference series at Incarnate Word over the weekend, the Cowboys (23-5, 11-4) will play the Cougars and then No. 3 LSU next Tuesday in Baton Rouge.

“It’s not that mid-week games don’t matter; they absolutely matter,” said McNeese head coach Justin Hill. “I don’t want to downplay them, but I like to keep them in order of importance.”

The Cowboys will enter their series in San Antonio tied for second in the SLC with Southeastern, one game behind Houston Christian.

“We know the one way we control our fate for sure is to win the league,” said Hill. “So you have to keep that in mind.”

However, the Cowboys could use a win in one, if not both, of those games to give themselves a better chance at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if they fall short of an automatic spot with an SLC title.

“I think when you get in the moment, you have to make those decisions,” said Hill. “I will pursue the win. We want to win them all.

“One thing we have to do is remember how we got in this position in the first place. We did that by taking it one game at a time.”

McNeese is coming off a weekend sweep of New Orleans, winning eight in a row and 11 of its last 12. Meanwhile, Houston enters the game after playing Rice at home Tuesday night. The Cougars were 18-13 before the game with the Owls.

“We can’t worry about things we can’t control; we just want to play good baseball,” said Hill. “We will try to stay true to that.”

What really matters for the Cowboys is finishing the regular season either first or second in the league so they can host a four-team tourney, with the winner advancing to the conference championship series.

McNeese is 19-2 at home.

“We are very comfortable playing at home in front of our fans,” said catcher Grant Mangrum. 

The Cowboys have put themselves in a good spot, heading down the stretch. Now, they have to finish their journey right with some big wins.