The third-seeded McNeese State softball team will begin NCAA Tournament play when it takes on No. 2 Louisiana-Lafayette in the opening game of the Baton Rouge Regional at LSU’s Tiger Park at 3 p.m. today.
The game marks the second consecutive year the Cowgirls (42-16) will play in a Baton Rouge Regional and the first time they have met the Ragin’ Cajuns (45-6) this season.
The Cowgirls enter the tournament playing some of their best softball. They have won their last 12 games and swept their way through the Southland Conference Tournament with three run-rule victories.
“I’m really pleased with the way these kids have played and the way they’ve worked in the last couple weeks of the season,” said first-year McNeese head coach James Landreneau. “That’s the goal: to go into the end of the season playing at your best.”
Junior Erika Piancastelli leads the way with a stat line that includes 12 home runs, 48 RBIs, 61 walks and a .678 slugging percentage while she gets on base in more than half of her at-bats.
Sophomore Justyce McClain has a team-leading batting average of .447 and she has recorded a hit in 20 of her last 21 appearances.
“We’re swinging and playing with a ton of confidence,” Landreneau said. “We’re playing with a lot of energy right now, and relatively, we’re pretty healthy right now. So all that is good for us.”
The Cowgirls will be playing a ULL squad on a hot streak in its own right.
The Ragin’ Cajuns are on a 13-game winning streak with arguably the best power-hitting team in the country.
Led by D.J. Sanders — who leads the nation with 28 home runs — ULL has scored more runs (442) than any other team in the country while limiting opponents to slightly more than two runs per game.
ULL pitcher Alex Stewart has a 25-3 record and a 1.66 ERA in 1351⁄3 innings with Alyssa Denham (15-2, 2.20) behind her on the depth chart.
“We know we have our work cut out for us, but we like a challenge,” Landreneau said. “You know going into any regional that you’re facing somebody really good or they wouldn’t be in that situation.
“They pitch well, and offensively they’re going to sit there and they’re going to swing it. They lead the country in home runs, so there are a lot of big bats in that lineup. You don’t really stop that team. You just hope to contain them.”
Rachel Smith (17-7, 2.35) has become the Cowgirls’ go-to pitcher in big games as she has not lost a game in almost a month. She has six consecutive wins, including two in the SLC Tournament.
Behind her are freshman Alexsandra Flores (11-4, 1.50) and senior Baylee Corbello (11-3, 3.14).
McNeese will either play host LSU or No. 4 Fairfield in its second game.
“We’ve played tough competition all year long,” Landreneau said. “We didn’t always have the results we wanted from those games, but we learned a lot, and what really prepared us for the end of the season were those losses and quality teams early in the year.”
from American Press: Your Best News And Advertising Source - Home http://www.americanpress.com/20170519-MSU-NCAA-Advance
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