Delayed rivalry revisited
Freshman Maddie Taylor have a shot at history this weekend at SFA. (Raymond Stewart/McNeese Athletics)
The Cowgirls travel back to Nacogdoches, Texas, to renew an old rivalry and hope to make history.
They open the final three-game series of the Southland Conference's regular season against Stephen F. Austin Saturday at noon with a doubleheader. It is McNeese State's first trip back to Nacogdoches since 2019 as SFA returns to the Southland.
The series was pushed back one day due to weather concerns in the area on Friday.
'It does change some things, opening with the two games instead of one,' said McNeese head coach James Landreneu. 'We will just have to adapt. We have been dealing with adversity all season.'
McNeese has won five straight against the Lady Lumberjacks, but these three are ultra-important.
The Cowgirls (34-18, 20-4) are looking to become the first program in SLC history to win four straight softball regular-season titles. They enter the weekend tied for first with Southeastern, which plays Nicholls. That series began Friday with a pair of games and will end about the same time the Cowgirls are getting their set started.
'It will be hard not to be watching what they do, and that could change things, but we have to worry about ourselves and how we play,' said Landreneau. 'I'm excited to see how we react to the pressure.'
McNeese holds the tiebreaker with the Lady Lions. Both teams have already wrapped up hosting a pod in the upcoming postseason.
'It is important to be home for the tournament,' said Landreneau. 'We want to sleep in our own beds and keep our routines the same. It would reward our fans for their support.'
McNeese enters the weekend hot, having won 11 of its last 12 but coming off a 5-2 loss at the hands of No. 10 LSU Tuesday in Baton Rouge. SFA is 26-24, 14-10, but lost last Tuesday as well, falling to Louisiana Tech.
'They will be a real challenge for us,' said Landreneau. 'They have been getting better and better as the season has moved along. They would love to beat us.'
SFA is led by left-hander Alexis Telford, who is 10-6 with a 2.97 earned run average. She is coming off being named the Southland's Pitcher of the Week.
'She has been pitching really well,' said Landreneau. 'We are going to have to work to get to her.'
In league games, Telford's ERA is third-best at 1.89.
Kaylee Paul leads the SFA offense with a .443 batting average. Adelyn Becerra is the Lady Jacks' top power hitter with eight home runs.
McNeese has six players in the starting lineup hitting over .300, with Jada Munoz leading the power surge with 13 home runs, good for second in the conference. Freshman Maddie Taylor is 15-7 with fellow rookie Kadence Williams at 10-7.
Now comes the big test for the young team, playing in big games.
'What we have talked about is not the championships, but what it takes to get to this point,' said Landreneau. 'We have talked about staying focused mentally and staying focused on doing our job.
'You don't want to worry about everyone else. What matters is how we play and how we work through the adversity that is going to come.'
With just three starters returning, winning this title would show just how far this young softball team has come in a short period of time.
'We have three games to play on the road to win a championship, to show how far we have developed,' said Landreneau. 'That would give us a lot of confidence moving forward.'
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