Regular-season champion McNeese State will look to continue its winning streak and recent domination of the Southland Conference Tournament when it opens play at 11 a.m. today against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

The Islanders (24-22) advanced with a 3-2 opening-round win over Lamar. The Cowgirls had a bye as the top seed.

McNeese (41-14) has won the last two SLC Tournaments and closed the season with seven consecutive wins, including a three-game sweep of the Islanders.

Head coach James Landreneau said the Cowgirls can’t rely on their regular season success or home-field advantage.

“We know it is not the end-all, we’ve lost games at home,” he said. “It is all about focus; we have to make sure it does not become a distraction. I like our team. I think we do a good job of staying focused so I don’t see that becoming a problem.”

Despite the winning streak, Landreneau said the Cowgirls are capable of reaching a higher level.

“I don’t think we’ve played our best softball yet,” he said. “We haven’t put all phases of the game together at the same time. Defensively we are playing pretty well. Our pitching staff has been good. I know it looks good on paper winning a championship, but I still don’t feel like this team is as good as it can be yet.”

The Islanders are led by Southland Pitcher of the Year Primrose Aholelei (19-12, 1.84 ERA) She allowed four hits and struck out 10 in Tuesday’s win over Lamar. In the regular-season series, Aholelei was 0-2 against McNeese, allowing five earned runs in 12 innings pitched.

McNeese outscored the Islanders 16-7 in the series with Ashley Vallejo, Whitney Tate and Shaelyn Sanders each picking up a win. The Cowgirls, who closed out the regular season with three consecutive shutouts of Houston Christian, haven’t been scored on in 23 innings. Alayis Seneca and Chloe Gomez each had a three-hit game to lead the offense.

The winner of today’s game advances to the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The loser plays an elimination game at 11 a.m. Thursday and would have to win five consecutive games over two days to win the tournament.

SLC Tournament

May 9-May 12

At Lake Charles

Tuesday, May 9

Game 1 — No. 5 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3, No. 4 Lamar 2

Game 2 — No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana 7, No. 7 Houston Christian 1

Game 3 — No. 3 Nicholls St. (27-22) vs. No. 6 Northwestern St. (24-25), late

Wednesday, May 10

Game 4 — No. 5 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (24-22) vs. No. 1 McNeese St. (41-14), 11 a.m.

Game 5 — No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana (45-12) vs. Game 3 winner, 1:30 p.m.

Game 6 — Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser, 4 p.m.

Game 7 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 5 loser, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 11

Game 8 — Game 4 loser vs. Game 6 winner, 11 a.m.

Game 9 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1:30 p.m.

Game 10 — Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 4 p.m.

Game 11 — Game 9 loser vs. Game 10 winner, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, May 12

Championship

Game 12 — Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 winner, noon

Game 13 — Rematch, 2:30 p.m. if necessary