Fresh off its third consecutive Southland Conference weekend sweep, the most recent one against Incarnate Word, the McNeese State softball team will hit the road today to take on Houston for a midweek showdown between two teams on a hot streak.
The Cougars (16-13) have won 10 of their last 12 games, and the Cowgirls (22-11) have won 17 of their last 19 games since losing five straight in late February.
“I’m proud of our mental toughness and our ability to compete,” said McNeese had coach James Landreneau. “There was a spot in the season when things weren’t going our way. The way these girls responded with their work ethic, integrity and morale in the clubhouse was impressive.”
The Cowgirls enter fresh off a weekend series with UIW in which it tallied 29 runs on 32 hits.
Justyce McClain helped lead McNeese to the sweep with her play at the plate. She hit 5-for-10 with three RBIs and four runs. The weekend brought her season batting average to a team-high .438.
“She has really been swinging the bat well,” Landreneau said. “She definitely ought to give us a spark in that two hole.”
Erika Piancastelli will also take her prowess at the plate to Houston. The junior power hitter leads the Cowgirls with 34 hits and 31 runs. She has hit seven home runs and has been walked 33 times, which ranks fifth in the nation.
“Our goal is we want to put as much as much stress as we can throughout the lineup against the opposing team,” Landreneau said. “This year our players have done a really good job not stressing out just one area of our lineup. There’s stress throughout.”
McNeese will be playing against another excellent batter in Houston’s Maya Thomas, who is hitting at a .477 clip and stolen 12 bases in 14 attempts.
Pitching for the Cougars will be either Trystan Melancon or Savannah Heebner, who have similar statistics. Melancon has earned a 7-5 record with a 2.45 ERA and 57 strikeouts, while Heebner is 7-4 holding a 2.55 ERA with 47 strikeouts.
“We’ve been watching video and trying to get a game plan together for (Houston),” Landreneau said. “They’re a well-coached team. They’re a solid team with some good wins this season.”
Landreneau added that the Cowgirls will take a bit of a different approach than usual in their preparation. Despite their stretch of recent success, he said the Cowgirls have plenty to work on as the season progresses.
“We’re really focusing on what we want to do better,” he said “We want to see if we can go out and execute the little things this week.
“We need make sure we’re out there swinging at strikes again and not expanding the strike zone as much as we have been. We need cleaner base running and we need to build on our intensity.”
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