McNeese, Lamar Set for SLC Championship Showdown

Beaumont, Texas - I'm not sure if this is how many drew it up, but sometimes it just happens that way. McNeese is off to the Southland Conference Championship series in baseball after they upset the #1-seed Southeastern Lions last weekend. Now, they're off to take on Lamar with a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

"Really grateful to still be playing baseball," said McNeese's Justin Hill.

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Cowboys, who have won 8 of their last 10 in Southland Conference play, slugged their way past #1 Southeastern over the weekend, which included multi-homer weekends from Marcus Heusohn and Isaiah Keller, who both went deep three times in the four games at the Hammond Bracket of the Southland Tournament.

McNeese stayed hot in the Hammond bracket with wins over Nicholls (1) and Southeastern (2). Eric Nachtsheim has been a big part of the story this season for Justin Hill's Cowboys... Nachtsheim, who got the start on Thursday against Nicholls, came in relief to close out the winner-take-all game against Southeastern on Sunday. During the outing, Nachtsheim set the McNeese single-season strikeout record with 125 strikeouts on the year.

Now, just like softball, the Cowboys will face the Cardinals of Lamar for the Southland Conference Championship.

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Lamar (32-25, 19-11 SLC) will host the Cowboys after finishing the Southland Conference regular season as the #2 seed. It wasn't so easy on the Cardinals during the opening weekend of the Conference Tournament, though...

After dropping their opening game to Stephen F. Austin, the Cardinals bounced back in a big way, winning four straight games in just three days. They picked up wins over UTRGV and Northwestern State before beating SFA twice, including a dominant 11-0 shutout on Sunday. Lamar piled up 16 hits in that game while using five pitchers to keep SFA off the scoreboard.

Lamar is led on the bump, and that starts with ace Chris Olivier, the league’s Pitcher of the Year, who has been dominant all season with a 2.81 ERA and 96 strikeouts. He’s backed by Travis Lutz, the conference’s Newcomer of the Year, who has added another reliable arm to the rotation with a 2.06 ERA.

The Cardinals are hitting .271 as a team with 527 hits and 291 RBIs. Tab Tracy leads the way with a .336 average and 71 hits, while Jake Wagoner is right behind at .330. Beau Durbin brings power to the lineup with 19 doubles and five home runs, giving Lamar balance from top to bottom.

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McNeese will travel to take on Lamar for the Southland Conference Championship Series beginning on Thursday with Game 1's pitch slated for 6:00. Game 2 will be Friday at 6, with Game 3 (if necessary) set for Saturday. All games will air on ESPN+.

For fans wanting to take the trip to Beaumont, CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.