Latest news with #JamesLandreneau
American Press
13-05-2025
- Sport
- American Press
Better ending deserved
Another good season came to a tough end for the Cowgirls. (Kirk Meche/Special to the American Press) Two forgettable innings should not spoil a season to remember. Still, McNeese State's fourth straight championship softball season leaves you with an empty feeling despite all the positives. The Cowgirls likely overachieved this spring, winning 40 games for the fourth straight time and finishing 41-20. Maybe that's what hurts the most. 'When you put so much into it, the pain is real,' said McNeese head coach James Landreneau. 'It should hurt. The more it matters to you, the more your work for it, the more it hurts.' The pain for the Cowgirls last Saturday night was excruciating. Up 4-0 over rival Southeastern at home with six outs to go before claiming their fourth NCAA bid in five years, McNeese only got five of those. A strange set of circumstances, umpire reviews took the Cowgirl faithful on a wild ride in the last 40 minutes. Ultimately, the Cowgirls lost 6-5 and fell short of their ultimate goal moments after celebrating what they believed was victory. An umpire review changed the call, and a few pitches later, the outcome was flipped. It was a bitter end to a sweet success story. Now it is easy to forget that this was a very young team with only shortstop Reese Reyna returning to her starting position. There was a lot of adversity to overcome, like the injury to last season's Freshman of the Year Alexis Dibbley, who missed over half the season. There was a pitching staff to rebuild and numerous questions to answer. At one point, McNeese was just 14-13 and searching to find itself. 'You look back and reflect on the growth of watching these kids grow and where they came from, I'm so proud,' said Landreneau. 'It's hard right now, but these players did everything we asked of them. 'We started at the bottom this year and worked our way up. You know, we had some kids who were unsure about how to do things, and just kept grinding out, and we had some players who learned how to succeed early in the year, just kept showing up. I could not be prouder of this group.' The Cowgirls rallied to win their final 14 Southland games and captured the regular season title, becoming the first team to win four in a row. Depending on the transfer portal, the future should be bright. Jada Munoz had a breakout season, finishing second in the league in home runs with 15 and led the league with 56 runs batted in while hitting .343. Freshman of the Year Kassidy Chance hit .378 in her first year in college. Nyjah Fontenot, a transfer from Arkansas, led the Cowgirls in hitting at .392 while Samantha Mundine continued to improve in her sophomore year, finishing at .369 and playing much better defensively in the outfield. Then there are the two young pitchers, Maddie Taylor and Kadence Williams, and you have the beginning of a solid staff. Both freshmen showed huge improvement during the season. Taylor was named the league's Pitcher of the Year, posting an 18-7 record while Williams finished 11-7. Landreneau said that in time, he will be able to reflect on all that this team accomplished. Time heals all wounds, but it will never fully erase how far this group came this season or how close it was to its goal.
American Press
08-05-2025
- Sport
- American Press
Jim Gazzolo column: Managing with a deft hand
James Landreneau has won his share of battles to reach 300 victories. (Kirk Meche/Special to the American Press) When last season ended, James Landreneau said he wasn't sure what to expect. Shocked with a pair of losses in the Southland Conference softball tournament, Landreneau's Cowgirls didn't even make it to the title game. McNeese State's run of NCAA Tournament appearances was over at three. More than that, Landreneau's club was losing much of the talent that had taken it to within an out of a super regional the year before. A surprise decision not to play by the team's leading home run hitter in the fall proved another speed bump. Another setback was an injury to last season's Freshman of the Year, Moss Bluff's Alexis Dibbley. For the first time since the turn of the century, McNeese softball had more questions than answers as midseason approached. 'I wasn't sure how good we would be,' Landreneau said. 'I know we had talent, but I also knew we were young. You never know how young players react under pressure.' Landreneau found out the hard way as McNeese struggled early. Twenty-seven games into the season, the Cowgirls stood at 14-13. 'I knew I was going to have to be patient with this group, and that isn't easy for me,' he admitted. McNeese lost is first SLC series as Lamar took two of three. 'We weren't playing good softball for a long time,' Landreneau said. 'We had to mature as a team.' His patience paid off when games mattered most. After a run-rule loss to open a crucial series at Southeastern Louisiana, McNeese found itself three games out of first place behind the Lions. While Landreneau might have been ready to trash the locker room in rage, he instead saw his players take over and convene a meeting in the outfield after the loss. What followed was a completely different club. McNeese won the second game that day and took the series 24 hours later, reducing the SELA lead back to one game. Since then, the Cowgirls have won 17 of 18, losing only to nationally LSU in Baton Rouge. 'We just came together and said this is not how we want to go out,' senior shortstop Reese Reyna said. 'It was time for the players to speak up. Nothing coach could have said would have been different. He got us here; it was up to us to finish.' Led by two freshmen pitchers and six new players on the field, the Cowgirls did what they had done for the previous three years: win the SLC regular-season championship. They also won three consecutive games in the postseason by way of walk-off to advance to the title series against the very same Southeastern team. The one difference is that this series will be played at home. The three walk-offs have come in three quite different ways. First, an actual walk forced in the winning run. Then, a single up the middle and finally, a two-run homer. However, it's how Landreneau, who won his fourth league Coach of the Year award, maneuvered this group through a most impressive and really tough start. In doing so, he got his team to 40 wins for a fourth consecutive year, something nobody would have seen coming six weeks ago. 'What I'm most proud of is how these players took control of the team,' Landreneau said. 'It's always better when the players take the leadership role and that's what this team has done.' And while the season may be far from over, it's likely Landreneau's personal best with the Cowgirls. 'I don't know about that, but I do like who we have grown and become a team,' he said. 'You have to credit the players and what they have done.' And they don't believe they are finished. a Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@
