April 26, 2008

Box Score

Home runs by Taylor Freeman, Kyle Roth and Nick Eubanks led McNeese State to a 10-5 victory over TAM-Corpus Christi here Saturday night, halting a 12 game Cowboy losing streak.

The victory came in the nightcap of a Southland Conference twinbill between the two teams. The Islanders, who had won Friday night's opener, took the first game on Saturday by a 7-1 score.

With the split on Sunday, McNeese goes to 11-34 on the season and to 6-16 in league play while the Islanders are now 19-26 overall and 12-10 in conference action.

The Cowboys pelted seven Islander hurlers for 18 hits in the nightcap, both Eubanks and Shon Landry getting four hits each, Roth three and Ryan Brauninger and Jordan Venable two each.

Eubanks and Roth drove in three runs each and Freeman plated two.

The Cowboys jumped on top early with a five run first inning which featured a two run homer by Freeman and a three run shot by Roth. It was Freeman's eighth round tripper of the season and the second for Roth.

Kyle Roth belted a three run homer in the first inning.

In the sixth inning, Eubanks belted a two run homer, his sixth of the year.

Lefthander Michael Robbins started on the mound for the Cowboys and collected the pitching victory. He went 5.1 innings, giving up four hits and five runs while striking out three. Ryan Frantz pitched the final 3.2 scoreless innings to collect the save.

The win was Robbins' first McNeese victory.

In the first game, the Cowboys got behind early, starting and losing pitcher Scott Holstein giving up four runs in the first inning.

After that the Islanders went on to score one run in the fourth and two in the sixth. McNeese's only run also came in the first inning when after two were out Eubanks singled in Sam Merrill from second.

TAM-Corpus had 11 hits in the game including a solo home run by Paul Saville to lead off the sixth inning.

Todd Fontenot came on in relief of Holstein for the Cowboys, giving up only one hit over the last 3.1 innings of play.

Eubanks and Freeman were the only Cowboys with two hits in their five hit attack in the game.