Hall's blast sends Cowgirls to title series
Gwinn Hall is greeted at home plate by teammates after her walk-off home run Sunday. (Kirk Meche/Special to the American Press)
Gwinn Hall saved her first for last.
The little-used freshman came up with the biggest hit in the Cowgirls' biggest game Sunday.
Hall blasted a two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the seventh to send McNeese to the Southland Conference's championship series.
Hall's first career home run lifted the Cowgirls to a 3-1 victory over Incarnate Word at Joe Miller Field. The shot was McNeese's third straight walk-off win in the Lake Charles bracket.
'Yeah, I knew it was gone right away,' said Hall. 'I wasn't looking to hit a home run, I just wanted to get a hit and keep the game going.'
With fellow freshman Sarah Allen on first, Hall ripped an 0-2 pitch from UIW ace Larissa Jacquez well over the fence in right-center.
'That pop has been showing up for her,' McNeese head coach James Landreneau said. 'Gwinn got her moment and made the most of it, and we all benefited.'
The win moves McNeese (40-18), the top seed in the tournament, into the best-of-3 championship series against No. 2-seeded Southeastern starting Thursday night in Lake Charles. During the regular season, the Cowgirls took two of three from the Lady Lions (46-13) in Hammond.
'We are going to be tested. Southeastern is a very good team,' said Landreneau. 'We are going to have to be better.'
The winning rally started by the usual big-game suspect, shortstop Reese Reyna. Her leadoff double in the seventh came after a 12-pitch fight with Jacquez (9-9).
It was Reese's fourth double of this postseason.
'That was big for me to see,' said Hall. 'Every pitch she got, I was getting too. By the end, I felt I had been in the entire game.'
Reese was bunted to third by Rylie Bouvier and then squeezed home thanks to Allen, who ended up on first with just the one out when UIW (29-21) first baseman Victoria Altamirano tried to get Reese out at the plate.
'Reese Reyna had an unbelievable at-bat to start that inning,' said Landreneau.
Hall, who had a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the seventh on Saturday to start that winning rally against UIW and send the Cardinals into the elimination bracket. She had grounded out in the fifth as a pinch hitter but stayed in the game.
'We liked the swing she put on the ball and decided to leave her in,' said Landreneau. 'I'm glad we did.'
Freshman right-hander Kandence Williams went the distance on the mound, giving up just one run on three hits while striking out two. She did allow three walks, all to Altamirano, the league's Player of the Year, and by design.
'Pitching around her was the best option,' said Williams. 'You want to attack all the other hitters if you do that.'
Williams improved to 11-7 with the win.
'Kandence Williams was amazing today,' said Landreneau. 'This was a grind.'
The Cardinals, who had to win twice on Sunday to advance, took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on Kennedy Hill's sacrifice fly to shallow left. Prasias Quintero, who led off the inning with a double, scored as Cowgirl Samantha Mundine was forced to dive to make the catch.
'I'm proud of the way we competed and found a way to win,' said Landreneau. The victory was McNeese's sixth straight and 17th in its last 18 games. The Cowgirls have won 40 straight at home against Southland foes.
The Cowgirls will be looking to make their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last five seasons when they take on the Lions for the title.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
15 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Doral Academy's Viruet, Somerset's Rebhan are Miami-Dade Softball Coaches of the Year
Doral Academy's Willie Viruet and Somerset Silver Palms' Gator Rebhan direct what have been the two most successful softball programs in Miami-Dade County in recent years. But a state championship eluded both programs over the past three seasons. In Rebhan's case, the Stallions had never hoisted a state championship trophy. In Viruet's case, the Firebirds had in 2021, but had come heartbreakingly short more than once of recapturing that feeling again. It all changed this season as both Doral Academy and Somerset Silver Palms overcame that final roadblock and were each state champions. And so, Viruet and Rebhan are once again, the Miami Herald's Miami-Dade County Softball Coaches of the Year. Viruet is the winner for Class 7A-4A after leading Doral to its second state title in school history. The Firebirds have been regulars at the state final four under his watch, advancing to at least the state semifinals every season since 2019 - the longest active streak for any Dade team. This season, Doral took things up a notch, however. The Firebirds finished the season 31-1, ranked No. 3 in the nation and higher than any other Florida team. Doral capped the season with a dramatic 5-4 comeback win in eight innings over Valrico Bloomingdale in the Class 6A state semifinals before beating Pace 1-0 in the final. Miami Herald 7A-4A Pitcher of the Year Meagan Villazon, an FIU signee, was the main reason for the team's success in the pitching circle. Junior shortstop Anabela Abdullah, a Texas commit and the Herald's 7A-4A Player of the Year, and senior third baseman Sarah Breaux, the Herald's Player of the Year in 2024 and a Clemson signee, drove the Firebirds' offense. For Somerset Silver Palms, the state championship was a brand new feeling. And it was something Rebhan hadn't experienced for over two decades since leading Miami Palmetto to a pair of state titles in 2000 and 2003. Rebhan left high school coaching for a few years while coaching at the collegiate level at FIU and later solely travel ball. But he returned to the high school scene and began building Silver Palms into a state powerhouse in 2021. After two consecutive years reaching state, the Stallions finally secured that elusive first title with convincing wins over Dunedin and Eustis. Rebhan's daughter Taylor Rebhan, a junior shortstop and Louisville commit, and sophomore pitcher Ava Stevens, who are the Miami Herald's 3A-1A Player and Pitcher of the Year respectively, led the Stallions throughout the season.
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Report: Mavericks schedule visit with Cooper Flagg ahead of 2025 NBA draft
Report: Mavericks schedule visit with Cooper Flagg ahead of 2025 NBA draft The Mavericks have Cooper Flagg scheduled for a pre-draft visit to Dallas, @TheSteinLine has learned. Flagg, Knicks, Suns and more from the NBA grapevine ... all here in my latest around-the-league notes: — Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 7, 2025 Projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg is reportedly scheduled to meet with the Dallas Mavericks ahead of the 2025 NBA draft, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line on Substack. Flagg led Duke to the Final Four, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks on 38.5% shooting from 3-point range. He became the 22nd player in program history to be named a consensus first-team All-American. The Player of the Year is set to visit the Mavericks later this month to get to know team personnel before the organization selects him with the first pick on June 25. Jason Kidd said last month that he believes the Mavericks are a great situation for Flagg, with their mixture of established veterans and up-and-coming players. He believes Flagg will be able to step in and make an immediate contribution. The 6-foot-8 forward has drawn comparisons to former Duke legend and Hall of Famer Grant Hill because of his size, athleticism and ability to affect games in various ways. Former coach Mike Krzyzewski even called him the best freshman to ever play with the Blue Devils. The Mavericks have the first pick in the draft for only the second time in franchise history. After previously trading franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić, the Mavericks will soon meet with their next once-in-a-generation player in Flagg.
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
Bruins trying to sift through the science of finding value in the NHL Entry Draft haystack
The Black & Gold dropped their Spoked-B marker on him at No. 45 in 2003, with no one — including the Canadiens, who passed on him twice — expecting the little-known, demure kid from Quebec City would turn into one of the game's greatest two-way centermen. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Would it be fair, these 20-plus years later, to look at Bergeron, who had yet to turn 18 the day of that draft in Nashville, and think the Bruins could use his amateur career path and experience as a sort of template for future picks? Advertisement 'It's somewhat not fair,' said a smiling Ryan Nadeau , here in his eighth season as the Bruins director of amateur scouting, 'but we do it anyway, right? 'Some of what are considered the best picks in the draft tend to be outliers … players when you look and you see maybe the statistics don't stand out the way they do for some other guys. They don't have the [physical] frame of some other players or they don't have sort of the production and pedigree of those top guys. It's a funny business, the draft.' Advertisement As Nadeau noted, Sidney Crosby (No. 1, 2005) and Connor McDavid (No. 1, 2015) can't be credited as 'great picks,' per se, by the Penguins and Oilers, respectively. True, too, of Mario Lemieux , Eric Lindros , and Vincent LeCavalier , all No. 1 picks who fulfilled the 'franchise player' expectations they carried into their draft years. High, high quality, and easy draft pickings as low-hanging fruit. 'Straight forward, easy picks and they are great players,' Nadeau said. 'But when you really look at the value in the draft, we all are amazed at the picks that tend to defy the logic of where they got picked. Usually, a lot of it is that they are coming from a lower level of [competition], where it's sort of hard to correlate or justify where they're going to get to in the NHL, or players whose production wasn't that high.' Exhibit A, Bergeron, who played one full season of top Canadian junior hockey and finished third in scoring (23-50—73) for QMJHL Acadie-Bathurst. Its top producers were Olivier Filion , who was never drafted, and Jonathan Ferland , chosen No. 212 by the Canadiens in the prior year's draft. Ferland played all of seven games for the Habs and shipped off for an extended career in Europe after five seasons at AHL Hamilton, which then was Montreeal's top farm team. Nadeau began working for the Bruins in an entry-level communications role only a week or two before the Bruins drafted Bergeron. He was the wide-eyed kid in Nashville that day who was among the first to shake Bergeron's hand and lead him around to various media interviews. Advertisement 'He didn't speak a ton of English, and I didn't speak a ton of French,' recalled Nadeau. 'But we were able to get along pretty well and . . . just such an amazing human.' Related : Approximately this time next year, Bergeron will be eligible for Hall-of-Fame consideration for the first time. Feel free to book hotel rooms for the November 2026 induction in Toronto, for that No. 45 pick whose credentials were decidedly comme ci comme ça entering his draft class. 'When you think of Patrice Bergeron as a second-round pick,' mused Nadeau, with increasing enthusiasm in his voice as he spoke, 'or Trying to figure out which ones will do that? Pin up that dart board and take aim? 'To some degree,' said Nadeau. 'We're going to do as much as we can to give us the best chance to draft a player who we believe will continue to progress, get better, and adjust their game.' Longtime Bruins scout and advisor Scott Bradley spent 10 seasons in Nadeau's role as director of amateur scouting, including when the Bruins selected Bergeron. Advertisement 'I spent a lot of time with Scott and he was just an amazing mentor,' recalled Nadeau. 'I remember talking to him about Bergeron and he said, 'Well, if we knew he was that good, we shoulda picked him in the first round.' It's one of those things, and I know how much they loved [Bergeron], but you do have to project the draft and understand where players are valued and where they may go.' Related : The Bruins hold the No. 7 pick — their first in the top 10 since they took Dougie Hamilton at No. 9 in 2011. Per Nadeau, they interviewed some 85 prospects (max 15 minutes each) during Combine week as a means of building their knowledge base for whatever is to come. In part, he noted, that's also to prepare for a scenario that would include GM Don Sweeney moving the pick — be it for a slot higher or lower in the draft order, or to land a player who can become an immediate roster part of the franchise's rebuild. In all likelihood, a No. 7 pick, though prized, would need to develop elsewhere before being considered for the Boston varsity. As the director of amateur scouting, to see No. 7 disappear would have to be crushing, no? 'The ultimate goal for all of us is to get the Boston Bruins back to winning the Stanley Cup,' said Nadeau. 'So if Don Sweeney gets offered something that he feels he can't refuse and moves the seventh pick, we're going to focus on our two second-round picks, our third-round pick. We're still sitting there with 51, 63, 69, which from our standpoint is really exciting.' Advertisement Which is not to say that Nadeau cares to look past the prospect of bringing home No. 7. In his current position, the club's highest picks have been, dating back to the '18 draft, Nos. 57, 30, 58, 21, 54, 92, and 25. 'But we also understand the value of that to the organization — the context of where we are in terms of getting back in the playoffs next year,' he added, 'and the plan that Cam [Neely] and Donny and the Jacobs family have in place. While you look at it and say, 'Yeah, we worked really hard and it would be exciting to pick at No. 7,' it also would be exciting to think of what Donny might be able to bring on to our team with a trade. Our job is to be prepared for anything.' Patrice Bergeron was the steal of his draft class, going from little-known, demure kid from Quebec City to one of the game's greatest two-way centermen. CHIN, BARRY GLOBE STAFF PHOTO REUNION ARENA Bergeron, Chara on bench? Dream on. Symbolically, Marco Sturm's tenure behind the Bruins' bench begins Tuesday when the ex-Black & Gold winger steps behind a microphone on Causeway Street and shares his vision for how to guide the struggling franchise back to the playoffs. Some of you expected something bolder there, such as 'back to being a perennial Cup favorite.' If these last 2-3 seasons have underscored anything, it's to have full appreciation for what's needed for roster talent, temerity, and intelligence to collect 16 Ws in the playoffs. The Bruins have done that Much of Sturm's success will be tied directly to July 1, the day Sweeney will pick through the NHL's annual free-agent swap meet and, ideally, hand his new coach at least a couple of bona fide point producers. A body or two with the kind of pop Sturm delivered in his playing days — eight seasons of 20-plus goals — would be just what the franchise rehab doctor ordered. Related : Advertisement A No. 1 center would be the gift of gifts for the new coach. What's a swap meet without a pipe dream? Key to Sturm's success, and a point Sweeney did not address on Thursday in The 2024-25 Bruins couldn't score enough and couldn't defend at crucial times. Other than that bit of Tesla spontaneously combusting in the driveway, you know, great ride, was it not? What an intriguing thought to have Sturm aided back there by both Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara . Like Sturm, neither of those future Hall-of-Famers ever has coached at the NHL level, but so what? All three were good pals during Sturm's five years here. All three helped create and curate the culture of discipline and professionalism and competitiveness that defined the team until it began to erode, in chunks, following the summer '23 retirements of Bergeron and Krejci. Best to think, for now, of Bergeron and Chara in coaching roles as two more pipe dreams. Bergeron in his latter playing years repeatedly evinced very little interest (read: zero) in coaching upon retirement, particularly any time soon after calling it quits. 'For now, it's the same answer. I don't think it's in the cards,' said Bergeron on Friday in an interview with the Globe. 'Never say never. Time will tell. Right now I don't see it as something I would like to pursue. I guess I'm getting started coaching two of my sons. We'll see exactly. Never say never.' All that said, who wouldn't want Bergy in the mix? Even if his job description was just 'assistant coach, special services, solely in charge of the power-play bumper.' Chara, in the late stages of his playing career here, was a tiny bit more open to something in the coaching sphere. He has been around the team more in recent months at Sweeney's behest. It has been an unofficial role, one that both have yet to define. In my conversation with Chara last week, just days after he was 'We're still determining the specifics of the role right now. I'm some sort of advisor, mentor and … we still have to determine which part of that need is the most important," he said. 'I enjoy the part of leadership and helping guys to be better leaders and better players, and that also depends on the new coach. You need to have that conversation, like, where am I going to be needed the most?' Overall, Big Z added, he wants to help the franchise grow, inspire players, and 'just be part of it.' 'Because, to be honest, my heart is always going to be with the Bruins,' he said. 'I spent the majority of my career with the Bruins and I really care about them. When I came here in '06, and when I left in [ Brad Marchand ] and many other players, I was very proud of what we accomplished. Not just me, but what we as a group accomplished with the help of many other players. 'So I am attached. I am emotionally attached and living here, so I am physically here, too. I care. I care. I want to help. I want to be part of this turnaround and make it work again . . . but anything I do is for a new coach and Donny to sign off on it.' Joe Sacco's Bruins were rarely, if ever, at full power during his tenure. Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff QUIET GOODBYE Sacco's long stint was unfair judge With zero fanfare, Joe Sacco's 12-year tour on the Bruins coaching staff came to an end Thursday when he signed on to new Ranger coach Mike Sullivan's staff on Broadway. The Blueshirts will be the third Original Six franchise for Medford's 'JoJo.' Less than a year after his third and final season at BU, he entered the NHL as a 21-year-old winger with the Maple Leafs in 1990-91. Sacco was a total pro in his time in the Hub of Hockey, right up to Jim Montgomery's 8-9-3 roster. The already compromised lot only grew worse with the injured All that considered, the Bruins won more than they lost (19-15-3, .554) in the 37 games under Sacco's tutelage prior to losing McAvoy. A tour de force? No. But again, Sacco never had the services of Hampus Lindholm, had yet to see Elias Lindholm wake up and smell the Dunkin', and Nikita Zadorov needed months to separate the bountiful tricks from the treats in his game. The only fair review of Sacco's work has to be those 37 games, even then with asterisks attached. He whipped up a whole lot of chicken salad from the detritus he was handed, only to have more detritus heaped on as the season played out. Meanwhile, Sullivan (BU '90) also added David Quinn (BU '87), an ex-Ranger head coach, to his staff. The Ranger GM is Chris Drury (BU '98). The other NYR assistant coach named Thursday was Ty Hennes , who spent the last two seasons on Sullvan's staff in Pittsburgh. Hennes, 45, played four seasons (2000-04) at Boston College, a lesser-known institution located on the rural western portion of Comm Ave. Henceforth, the hue of that trimming on the Blueshirts' sweaters, along with their pants, will be identified as 'Terrier Red.' Loose pucks Cam Neely on Friday celebrated a milestone birthday — his 60th. The Hall-of-Fame winger, then with 51 goals in 201 games with the Canucks, was dealt to the Bruins on his 21st birthday in 1986. That day, Neely wrote via text, 'still is the best birthday gift.' . . . Matt Keator , who became Chara's agent early in the big defenseman's career with the Islanders, was in Stockholm last month for Big Z's induction into the IIHF HOF. Asked about Chara's new love for endurance competition — such as running marathons and IRONMAN competitions — Keator said, 'Of course, you knew he was going to do something to punish himself.' Keator recently added son Ryan Keator to his Win Hockey Agency masthead. Ian Moran , ex- of the Bruins and the Belmont Hill blue line, also is a 'Win' agent. Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at
