CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – McNeese State tied a season high by collecting 21 hits in a 17-7 eight inning Southland Conference victory over TAM-Corpus Christi on Sunday.

    The victory was the second in three games by the Cowboys over the Islanders.  They go to 11-10 overall and to 3-6 in league play while the Islanders are now 7-16 and 1-8.

    Every player who stepped up to the plate for the Cowboys on Sunday collected at least one hit.  Sam Merrill led the way with a five for five effort while Nick Eubanks had thre ehits and Steven Irvine, Taylor Freeman, Lee Orr, Ryan Brauninger, Matt Fontenot and Andy Riche’ had two hits each.

    Earlier in the year in a 15-2 victory over Houston Baptist, McNeese had produced 21 hits.  The school record is 26 hits (against Delaware State in 2003).

    Freeman drove in four runs, Eubanks three and Riche’, Merrill and Orr two each.

    Matt Click, who has been pitching some strong mid-week innings, got his first weekend start for the Cowboys and came away with victory.  Now 1-1, he  pitched five innings, giving up eight hits and five earned runs while walking two and striking out two.

    Scott Holstein, Tommy Luce and Todd Fontenot all came on for one inning of relief work.  Holstein gave uip two hits in an inning, Luce gave up two hits and one run while Fontenot relinquished a hit and a run.

    McNeese led from the outset. The Cowboys scored two runs in the first, were up 6-2 after three and then added three in the sixth, six in the seventh and two in the eighth.

    The Islanders tallied two runs in the second, one in the fifth, two in the sixth, one in the seventh and one in the eighth.

    Freeman drove in both runs in the first with a single and Riche’ tripled in two runs land Merrill singled in another in the second.

    A double by Brauninger plated a run in the third and in the sixth, Irvine doubled in a run, Freeman singled in al run and Orr doubled in a run.

    The Cowboys batted around in the seventh and got their six runs on four hits and an Islander error.  Eubanks had his  three RBIs in that inning with a double.

    McNeese’s two runs in the eighth came home on a single by Shon Landry and on a double by Orr.

    The only home run hit during the game was an eighth inning solo shot by TAM-Corpus’ Jeramie Marek.

    McNeese will play four games in the coming week. The Cowboys travel to play Texas Southern on Wednesday and then host Central Arkansas in a three game SLC series beginning Friday.