Cowgirls sweep Colonels

Published 6:27 pm Saturday, April 15, 2023

Mariana Torres singled to score Reese Reyna in the bottom of the seventh inning to give McNeese a 5-4 win over Nicholls State.

The win gives the Cowgirls (32-12, 14-1) a series sweep and keeps them in sole possession of first place in the Southland Conference.

Nicholls State (22-20, 9-9) had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh on a RBI double by Brynne Songy and two-out RBI single by Abby Alexander to score pinch runner Carmella Muccilli.

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McNeese catcher Emily Phillips picked off Alexander to end the inning.

Reyna led off the inning with a single up the middle and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Rylie Bouvier. Torres singled to left to end the game.

“Reese got us going, Bouvier bunted her over and Torres had the big hit,” McNeese head coach James Landreneau said. “It was a good job of manufacturing a run. They were doing a good job pitching, keeping us off balance, and we were pressing at the plate a little bit.”

Nicholls took a 2-0 lead on a Molly VandenBout solo home run and Cowgirls error. McNeese took the lead with a four-run third inning highlighted by a pinch-hit, three-run home run by Corine Poncho. It was the first career homer for the freshman.

“(Poncho) has been giving us good at-bats off the bench and I thought it was a good matchup,” Landreneau said. “She had a mature at-bat. She got down then worked the count full. She took a tough pitch at 2-2 and got a good swing on it. We know she has tremendous power. It’s exciting to see a freshman stay composed in that moment.”

Ashley Vallejo (12-7) earned the win, throwing just one pitch, which was followed by the Phillips pickoff at first base.

McNeese will host LSU at 6 p.m. Tuesday.