The first-place McNeese State softball team will hit the road for a three-game Southland Conference series against Nicholls State in a battle between the league’s top two teams.
The Colonels (26-13, 12-3 SLC) are tied with Abilene Christian for second place, two games behind the Cowgirls (28-13, 14-1).
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. today with a doubleheader set for noon Saturday.
After being forced to postpone its Tuesday game against LSU due to wet weather, head coach James Landreneau said McNeese is chomping at the bit to get back into action.
“We haven’t had a midweek off, so the kids are definitely anxious to play,” Landreneau said. “I think this is the longest this season — or at least in four weeks — that we’ve gone four or five days without playing.”
Nicholls features one of the conference’s top defenses with the best team ERA (2.15) and fielding percentage (.973).
The Colonels have two dominant pitchers who throw a lot of strikeouts in Jackie Johnson (13-7, 1.82 ERA) and Megan Landry (11-6, 2.48).
Johnson owns the No. 2 spot in the SLC with 115 strikeouts with Landry right behind with 111 strikeouts.
Landreneau said the Cowgirls will have to be careful and pick their spots in the batter’s box in order to find success.
“We have to make sure we’re doing a good job of swinging at good pitches,” Landreneau said. “They’re going to throw strikes, so they’re going to be over the plate every once in a while. When we get a good pitch to hit; we need to make sure we put a good swing on it.”
The Cowgirls pitching staff of Rachel Smith (11-5, 2.50), Alexsandra Flores (9-3, 1.34) and Baylee Corbello (5-3, 3.88) will go toe to toe with the SLC’s top hitter in Samantha Mracich, who has a .397 batting average.
Mracich is followed by Amanda Gianelloni (.345).
“Mracich and Gianelloni, after looking at the numbers and watching the video, really stand out,” Landreneau said. “It seems like the offense goes with those two kids. If you’re able to contain them, it gives you a much better chance of success.”
Neither team has lost a conference series and both hope to exit this weekend with a firmer grasp on a regular-season conference championship.
Nicholls has yet to concede a game on its home field, the Colonel Softball Complex, where it is 10-0.
While Landreneau says the Cowgirls try to look at all of their opponents in the same light, there is no denying this weekend marks an important state in their season.
“Obviously if we come out of there with a series win, that means we probably played pretty well,” Landreneau said. “If so, we’ll be pretty excited about it. It’s just a great opportunity for us to go and play a quality team. We know we have our work cut out for us.
“This is why we practice all year. This is why we put in all this work and time: to play quality opponents. We know they’re well coached. We know they’re going to give us a fight at their home field where they’ve had a lot of success. As a competitor you live for those moments and those kinds of opportunities.”
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