McNeese Softball picks up two wins Saturday

Staff Reports

The Contraband

The McNeese softball team pounded out 27 hits and outscored its opponents 15-4 Saturday in an 8-0 win over Jackson State and a 7-4 win over Southern Miss Saturday at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic. The Cowgirls will face Mississippi State again at 12:30 p.m. Sunday in the final game of the tournament for the Cowgirls. McNeese handed 23rd ranked Mississippi State its first loss of the season on Friday with an 8-4.

McNeese (10-2) opened Saturday action by scoring a run in the first four innings to take a 4-0 lead. RBI’s by Emily Vincent, Aubrey Tuberville, Erika Piancastellia and Justyce McClain accounted for the Cowgirl runs. Piancastelli’s RBI came off a solo home run in the third.

Two more runs in the fifth off sacrifice flies by Vincent and Rachel Smith gave McNeese a 6-0 lead. A RBI single by Hailey Drew in the sixth and solo home run by Vincent gave McNeese its final two runs of the game. The home run is Vincent’s second of the season.

Vincent led the Cowgirls in the game with three hits and three RBI. Vincent also had a double in the first inning. Piancastelli, Smith and McClain all had two apiece.

Smith picked up the complete game win to improve to 2-1 on the season. She gave up two hits, walked one and struck out five.

McNeese picked up six extra base hits in the win over Southern Miss including two doubles from Drew and one each from Vincent and McClain. Piancastelli and Morgan Catron both homered in the game. With her second home run on the day, Piancastelli now has four on the season. The long ball for Catron is her first of the season.

Piancastelli gave McNeese a 1-0 lead with a one-out solo home run in the first inning. A ground out to second base by Tori Yanitor scored Catron for the 2-0 lead.

Southern Miss came back in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-2 lead on three consecutive hits. A triple down the right field line by Katie Cleary tied the game at two all. The Eagles took the lead on a RBI single up the middle by Samantha Papp to score Cleary for the go ahead run.

McNeese responded with a run in the second on a RBI double by Drew that scored McClain to tie the game at three. McClain led the inning off with a double to right center.

Catron gave McNeese a 4-3 lead with a lead-off home run in the third inning but Southern Miss came back to tie the game again with a run in the bottom of the fourth.
A three-run fifth inning proved to be the deciding factor in the Cowgirl victory. Piancastelli gave McNeese a 5-4 lead with the second Cowgirl leadoff home run of the game. After a single by Catron, a double by Vincent gave McNeese a 6-4 lead. Vincent crossed the plate on a single by Yanitor.

Jamie Allred picked up her second win of the tournament to improve to 4-1. Allred went the distance and gave up four earned runs on 11 hits, struck out eight and walked one.

Vincent had another three hit game including a double and one RBI. Drew also had a three hit game including two doubles and a RBI. Yanitor and Piancastelli both had two RBI’s apiece.

Vincent ended the day with a 1.000 batting average and a 1.833 slugging percent. She went 6 for 6, had two doubles, one home run, four RBI and scored t