CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – McNeese State designated hitter Ryan Brauninger belted his third home run in as many games but that wasn’t good enough as the Cowboys dropped a 6-4 Southland Conference decision to TAM-Corpus Christi on Saturday.

    Brauninger, who hit a homer against LSU on Wednesday and socked one Friday against the Islanders, cracked his fourth of the season in the second inning, driving in two runs and tying the score.

    TAM-Corpus had jumped on Cowboy starter and loser Jonathan Conrad for three runs in the first inning but the Cowboys came back to tie the game with three of their own in the second.

    McNeese took a short lead with one run in the third only to have the Islanders come back with a solo in the bottom of the frame. TAM-Corpus rounded out the scoring with single runs in the fifth and six innings.

    The two teams will conclude their three game SLC series with a game on Sunday, that tilt to start at 1 p.m.  Action can be listened to over Cajun Radio 1470 am.

    The loss evened the Cowboys record at 10-10 and left them 2-6 in league play.  The Islanders are now 7-16 and 1-7 in conference.

    After belting Islander pitchers for 17 hits in Friday’s opener, McNeese was held to eight hits on Saturday and only one over the last six innings.  The only Cowboys to get more than one hit were Shon Landry and Nick Eubanks with two each.

    TAM-Corpus collected 10 hits, eight off Conrad and two off reliefer Tommy Luce.

    The Islanders three runs in the bottom of the first inning came off a home run blast by Martin Parra, his fourth of the year.

    The Cowboys got on the scoreboard in the top of the second.  Eubanks singled in one run and then Brauninger belted a two run homer.

    IN the third inning, Landry got on with a single, Taylor Freeman singled and Eubanks plated the run with another single.

    A sacrifice fly scored a run for the Islanders in the third and singles plated runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

    Islander starter Roy Ferdin only went three innings but Brett Carnline came on in relief and shut the Cowboys down, giving up only one hit over the last six innings.

    Conrad, now 2-2, hurled six innings for McNeese, giving up eight hits and six runs, all of them earned.  He walked three and struckout two.  Luce hurled the final two innings giving up only two hits and striking out one.