The Cowboys will try to rebound from a pair of tough losses when they host Houston Tuesday night at Joe Miller Ballpark.

After taking the weekend opener at Texas-Rio Grande Valley, McNeese State dropped the last two contests of the critical Southland Conference series Saturday and Sunday.

Twice, UTRGV rallied to beat the Cowboys, who fell from first to third place in the process with six league games remaining.

McNeese (30-10, 17-7) is a half game out of second behind UTRGV and a full game behind Southeastern for first. The Cowboys do hold the tiebreaker over SELA in the race for one of the two home sites when the postseason begins.

“We are disappointed in the results but not in our effort or preparation,” said McNeese head coach Justin Hill. “They beat us in two big innings on the weekend, that’s it.”

The Cowboys look to get back on track at home, where they are 21-4, as they take on the 23-20 Cougars. McNeese won an earlier meeting in Houston, 4-3 in 10 innings. 

Conner Westenburg scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch for the Cowboys. Larry Edwards drove in the other three runs with a bases-loaded double in the sixth.

Jack Blackwell picked up the victory in relief. For Houston, outfielder Tre Broussard went 3-for-5 against McNeese.

Westenburg is 10th in the Southland in hitting with a .350 average and continues to lead the nation in triples with nine. Easton Dowell has dropped to second in the SLC in hitting at .397 after a tough weekend in Edinburg, Texas.

“It was a great championship atmosphere down there,” said Hill. “They are a very good team, and they played a little better than us. They are tough to play at home.”

The series drew an average of 3,249 fans.

Tuesday opens a four-game homestand for McNeese as Stephen F. Austin comes in on the weekend as the last conference home series. 

“It is now about taking care of the job on Tuesday and getting back to business on the weekend,” said Hill. “There is a lot of important baseball still to play.

“We are disappointed we didn’t finish the series better, but now we have to move on. We still have a lot to play for.”

Five teams will enter this weekend within 2½  games of first place in the Southland. Four of those clubs have six league games left, with UTRGV down to only three.

“We know what we are playing for,” said Hill. “If you told us going into the season we would be a game back with six to play, we would have taken it.”

Now the Cowboys have to finish.

Both teams are likely to use several pitchers in Tuesday’s game as they attempt to stay on schedule for the weekend.