Cowboys clinging to final tournament spot
Published 8:00 am Friday, May 10, 2013
McNeese State is clinging to the final spot in the eight-team Southland Conference tournament, one game ahead of Nicholls State.
The Cowboys (20-26, 7-14 SLC), who have lost five straight and 17 of their last 20, will be in Tulsa, Okla., to play Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles (19-26, 13-8 SLC), riding a six-game winning streak, are in a three-way tie with Southeastern Louisiana and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for second-place.
McNeese will reverse the usual pitching rotation for the weekend with left-hander Jason Gibson (2-1, 5.86 ERA) starting tonight, right-hander Blake Ware (5-5, 2.39) on Saturday and freshman right-hander Bryce Kingsley (6-5, 3.01) on Sunday.
ORU will counter with Alex Gonzalez (7-4), Drew Bowen (2-3, 3.93) and Tim Zufall (5-1, 3.57). Gonzalez needs three strikeouts to pass Jerry Sullivan for fifth on the school’s all-time list at 269. Gonzalez is fifth in the nation with 101 strikeouts and is second in the Southland with a 1.89 ERA.
The Cowboys are batting .263 with a team ERA of 4.46. Center fielder Andrew Guillotte leads the team with a .304 batting average and 15 stolen bases. Left fielder Jackson Gooch leads the team with 55 hits, 14 doubles, four homers and 31 RBIs.
Oral Roberts is batting .251 with 23 homers and 32 stolen bases. The Golden Eagles pitching staff has a 3.78 ERA with 299 strikeouts. Designated hitter Tyler Boss (2.81) leads ORU with five homers and 28 RBIs.
