Cowgirls clinch Southland softball title
Published 8:24 am Monday, May 6, 2013
THIBODAUX — It took a while. But, they’re back at the top of the Southland Conference.
The McNeese softball team clinched the regular season SLC title, its first since 1994 and the third in program history, Sunday afternoon in a 2-0 win against Nicholls State in the first game of a doubleheader.
The conference title ensures that the Cowgirls will enter next week’s conference tournament as the No. 1 seed.
McNeese followed that with a 5-2 victory in the second to tie the school-record with 38 wins.
Lauren Langner and Alanna DiVittorio provided all the hits and scoring in the opening game. McNeese (38-13, 19-5 SLC) collected three hits, including Langner’s 2-for-3 performance.
Langner’s double in the fourth scored DiVittorio from first to give McNeese the lead. Langner and DiVittorio struck again in the sixth to push another run across the plate. DiVittorio led the inning off with a single scored on a triple to centerfield by Langner.
Freshman pitcher Jamie Allred picked up the five-hit shutout to improve to 18-5. The shutout is her fourth of the season. She has eight strikeouts and only walked one.
McNeese took the lead for good in the second game in the third inning, plating two runs in the third for a 3-1 lead. A two-RBI double to right field by Marissa Koetting scored Emily Vincent and Katie Roux.
Nicholls scored a run in the fourth to cut into the lead, but the Cowgirls added two more in the fifth for the 5-2 lead.
