McNeese’s baseball team will try to put a lost weekend in Thibodaux behind them and gain some revenge at the same time tonight in the rivals’ 165th meeting all-time.

The Cowboys (19-18, 6-9 Southland Conference) will host Louisiana-Lafayette in the second game of this season’s home-and-home series.

McNeese, which was swept by Nicholls over the weekend, fell to the Ragin’ Cajuns 8-5 in Lafayette back on April 2.

This time the Cowboys, who had the lead late, hope to rebound from their bad weekend in time to even the series with the Cajuns.

First pitch at Cowboy Diamond is set for 6:30 p.m. Louisiana-Lafayette has won 12 of the last 14 meetings between the two teams.

In the first meeting, McNeese took a 5-3 into the bottom of the sixth only to see the Cajuns score the last five runs.

The Cajun bullpen led the comeback. Matt Hicks and Seth Harrison combine to allow just two hits over the final 31⁄3 innings.

McNeese enters tonight batting .266 as a team with 11 home runs and 60 doubles. They are led by junior left fielder Jackson Gooch, who is hitting .320 and leads the team with 48 hits, 13 doubles, three home runs and 27 RBI.

Center fielder Andrew Guillotte leads the team with 12 stolen bases on the season while batting .314 with six doubles and 15 RBI.

However, a recent slide has left McNeese clinging to the final spot in the conference tournament, only one game ahead of Nicholls.

ULL left-hander Kody Smith (0-2, 4.86 ERA) will get the start tonight while the Cowboy start is to be decided.

The Cajuns hit .315 as a team with 39 homers and 88 doubles. Third baseman Tyler Girouard is batting .391 with 43 hits, seven doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 33 RBI. Left fielder Ryan Leonards hits .381 with 21 runs, 10 doubles, one homer and 21 RBI.

Louisiana-Lafayette holds a 90-73-1 series advantage.

McNeese State baseball coach Terry Burrows (American Press Archives)

Pankaj Khadka