Sergio Lopez and Jake Blackwell combined to hold down the Islanders just 24 hours after they had hit five home runs.

The duo allowed just one run and five hits as they split Saturday’s 3-1 McNeese victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Joe Miller Ballpark. 

The win gave the Cowboys their fifth straight Southland Conference series victory and sixth in seven weekends. McNeese (29-7, 16-5) closed to a half game behind Texas Rio-Grande Valley in second, tied with Southeastern.

“You want to sweep, but you know you are not going to win them all,” said McNeese head coach Justin Hill. “What you have to do is win the series.”

Lopez helped them do that. Making his first start of the season, and pitching for the first time in four weeks after an injury, Lopez didn’t miss a beat. 

Lopez pitched 4⅓ innings, allowing three hits while striking out five. He left on a pitch count and picked up the win to improve to 5-1.

“We were hoping to get two innings out of him, but he did more,” said Hill. 

Blackwell went the final 4⅔ to earn his third save. Blackwell’s only mistake was a home run hit by Jarrett Flaggert, who blasted his third of the year and second in as many days in the sixth to cut the lead to 2-1.

Easton Dowell went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI to lead the Cowboys. He raised his league-leading average to .431 The shortstop finished the series 8-for-12 (.750). 

His shot down the line in the seventh scored Larry Edwards, who had doubled just before him, and gave McNeese a 3-1 lead.

Conner Westenburg and Conner Schneider each added two hits for the Cowboys. 

McNeese will host Louisiana Christian on Tuesday night before traveling to UTRGV for a showdown for first place next weekend.