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End of 5th

MS 3, UCA 0

They just hit a 2-run, 2-out homerun in the bottom of the 5th

three up, three down in the 6th

Thanks BM. Just walked in the house from mowing. Did we take our bats with us or leave them in Conway?

Doesn't look like it

You going to be able to make the mudbug boil Friday? Ticket sales picked up this past week. Looks like a couple of hundred for sure. Hope you can make it. I'll have us something cold to wash those little boogers down!

Haven't heard of the mudbug boil, but no, unfortunately I won't be able to come down for the last conferenc series. Would love to throw a couple back though

Time to go watch the derby. Post time is 5:04. On NBC if interested.

I believe it's in the bottom of the 7th

MS 6, UCA 0

Game over

McNeese St 6, UCA 1

Sounds to me like pitching once again let us down. Granted they didnt hit the ball well but I think the Bears need to get the pitching going and everything else will follow.

I'm with you. It seems when our starters are having an off day, seldom do we have someone to come in and shut the opponent down while we stage a comeback with the bats. Maybe I expect too much but I have seen several games at home and when our guys are running on all cylinders, they are tough to beat but when a cylinder is missing it sure seems we do a lot of spittin and sputtering!

Cloud did a good job today, he was matching their starter through 4. Only 1-0 until 2 outs in the 5th inning. Cloud for the most part pitched well, it was just when he did make a mistake, they got him today, they way they were/are pitching, Jeremy would have had to been perfect today, and that is hard to do. Casey only gave up 1 run in 2 innings. So he did fine out of the pen in relief of Cloud.

Keep in mind, no matter how good or bad the pitching is, it is tough to win if you dont score any runs. They held us scoreless from the 2nd inning last night until the 8th inning today. We have 2 extra base hits in the series, both coming in the 7th and 8th inning today. It's tough to win like that. Cloud gave it all he has, and though he got tagged for the loss, he pitched much better than it looks like. Last night, pitching was not to winning standards, today is could have been with some help. But that is the beauty of this game, you have to have all parts working to win.

One thing to keep in mind about McNeese, they are the defending Conference champions and were picked to win the conference this year. They got off to a horrendous start, but have really, really come on as of late, and peaking at the right time. The guy that started for them today has been Player of the week multiple times over in his career, same with the guy last night. Their closer is the defending pitcher of the year in the conference, and they have a lineup as good as most in the conference. Not to mention two of the most prolific hitters in their school's history bat back to back in the heart of their lineup, and they have a little history and tradition at McNeese.

Guys still working their tail off that's for sure. This young team is still maturing and coming along, and there will be rough spots with this young of a team. But the future is bright with all the returnees the Bears will have coming back next year!

Good points BF 101! McNeese was picked to repeat, then had a coach quit right before the season started and got off to a horrendous start. My opinion is that they have as good a chance as any to win the conference tournament. Unfortunately, it is no secret that we don't have much depth on the mound. I think that contributes to some of our lopsided scores for two reasons. #1 - Obviously there's really no one in the bullpen who has consistently come in and put out the fires. I blame this primarily on youth (even some of the upperclassmen out of the bullpen are starters/converted position players, thus their pitching experience is limited). #2 - B/c of this, our starters take more of a beating than usual. Generally our starters go deep into games even when they're not dealing. If we had a deeper bullpen, our starters would have to stay in and get shellacked late in ball games and have their ERA take a beating. I do think this experience will pay off greatly in the next couple years, though.
Still, it is hard to win games when you only get three runs in two games. Our offense has done a good job this year, so it's hard to be too tough on them. I'll say this, I don't think our team is near as talented as most others in our conference (YET), but from what I've seen and heard, we compete as hard as any in our league! We've definitely had some quality wins this year, but it would be very sweet to end on a good note!

Well said Bearman. The opportunity for these young starters to stay in and battle will and already is paying dividends for their quick development. Hopefully next year we won't need to throw so many inexperienced arms in the fire so quickly. Let's finish strong and next year's club will definitely benefit from this years battle hardened rotation.

anyone I've been around all year long, home or road, from around the Southland is really impressed with how hard our guys compete, no matter the score or siutation. Same holds true this weekend. And that this a direct result of our coaches and our young men not just being content to be out there and happy to be D1 They are going out there to prove they belong in D1 and the SLC, and I think they have to this point!

I know I am watching a McNeese squad finally playing the way they should have been playing from day 1, and I am seeing why they were picked where they were. We have really caught them at the wrong time for us. But they are loaded at pitching, and their arms are dominating this weekend. They are very solid, and if they make the tournament (they have Texas State and Lamar left) they will be a major threat to win it. IF they keep up their current level of play.

I love some of your points about our pitchers, and starters maybe staying out longer than you would think they might in lopsided games. You speak to the youth and depth, and a thing for others to remember is our depth was hit hard early in the season losing Dunn and Parsons for the year. That hurts, especially with such a young and inexperienced squad, but like you said Bearman, they might take some lumps this year, but the experience and lessons they are learning this year, will only help them from this point on.