# 2021 McNeese State Cowboys baseball team

The 2021 McNeese State Cowboys baseball team represented McNeese State University during the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cowboys played their home games at Joe Miller Ballpark and were led by eighth–year head coach Justin Hill. They were members of the Southland Conference.

## Preseason
### Southland Conference Coaches Poll

The Southland Conference Coaches Poll was released on February 11, 2021 and the Cowboys were picked to finish third in the conference with 244 votes and one first place vote.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Sam Houston State | 276 (17) |
| 2 | Central Arkansas | 247 (5) |
| 3 | McNeese State | 244 (1) |
| 4 | Southeastern Louisiana | 243 (3) |
| 5 | Northwestern State | 193 |
| 6 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 146 |
| 7 | Incarnate Word | 144 |
| 8 | Nicholls | 108 |
| 9 | New Orleans | 101 |
| 10 | Abilene Christian | 98 |
| 11 | Stephen F. Austin | 92 |
| 12 | Lamar | 87 |
| 13 | Houston Baptist | 49 |

### Preseason All-Southland Team & Honors
#### First Team

* Ryan Flores (UIW, 1st Base)
* Nate Fisbeck (MCNS, 2nd Base)
* Beau Orlando (UCA, 3rd Base)
* JC Correa (LAMR, Shortstop)
* Gavin Johnson (SHSU, Catcher)
* Clayton Rasbeary (MCNS, Designated Hitter)
* Sean Arnold (UIW, Outfielder)
* Brandon Bena (HBU, Outfielder)
* Colton Cowser (SHSU, Outfielder)
* Noah Cameron (UCA, Pitcher)
* Will Dion (MCNS, Pitcher)
* Kyle Gruller (HBU, Pitcher)
* Conner Williams (UCA, Pitcher)
* Itchy Burts (TAMUCC, Utility)

#### Second Team

* Preston Faulkner (SELA, 1st Base)
* Logan Berlof (LAMR, 2nd Base)
* Anthony Quirion (LAMR, 3rd Base)
* Reid Bourque (MCNS, Shortstop)
* Chris Sandberg (NICH, Catcher)
* Lee Thomas (UIW, Designated Hitter)
* Josh Ragan (UCA, Outfielder)
* Jack Rogers (SHSU, Outfielder)
* Tyler Smith (NSU, Outfielder)
* John Gaddis (TAMUCC, Pitcher)
* Gavin Stone (UCA, Pitcher)
* Luke Taggart (UIW, Pitcher)
* Jeremy Rodriguez (SFA, Pitcher)
* Jake Dickerson (MCNS, Utility)

## Schedule and results

Legend :
| | McNeese State win |
| | McNeese State loss |
| | Postponement/Cancelation/Suspensions |
| Bold | McNeese State team member |
2021 McNeese State Cowboys baseball game log :
Regular season (28-28) :
February (4-3) :
| Date | Opponent | Site/stadium | Score | Win | Loss | Save | TV | Attendance | Overall record |
| Feb. 19 | at Alabama | Sewell–Thomas Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL | L 6-10 | Prielipp (1-0) | Dion (0-1) | None | SECN+ | 1,748 | 0-1 |
| Feb. 20 | at Alabama | Sewell–Thomas Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL | L 3-4 | Lee (1-0) | Roliard (0-1) | None | SECN+ | 1,764 | 0-2 |
| Feb. 21 | at Alabama | Sewell–Thomas Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL | L 5-9 | Hitt (1-0) | Strahan (0-1) | Guffey (1) | SECN+ | 1,764 | 0-3 |
| Feb. 26 | Prairie View A&M | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 5-0 | Dion (1-1) | Smith (0-1) | None | | 439 | 1-3 |
| Feb. 27 | Prairie View A&M | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 3-1 | Abraham (1-1) | Laux (0-1) | Reeves (1) | | 257 | 2-3 |
| Feb. 27 | Prairie View A&M | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 6-5 | Roliard (1-0) | Hardit (0-1) | None | | 257 | 3-3 |
| Feb. 28 | Prairie View A&M | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 11-5 | Brady (1-0) | Mendoza (0-1) | None | | 440 | 4-3 |
March (8-8) :
| Date | Opponent | Site/stadium | Score | Win | Loss | Save | Attendance | Overall record | SLC Record |
| Mar. 3 | Louisiana | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 4-3 | Duplechain (1-0) | Moriarty (0-1) | Reeves(1) | 402 | 5-3 | |
| Mar. 5 | at Louisiana Tech | J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park • Ruston, LA | L 0-11 | Fincher (2-0) | Dion (1-2) | Tomkins (1) | 1,000 | 5-4 | |
| Mar. 6 | at Louisiana Tech | J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park • Ruston, LA | L 3-4 | Griffen (1-1) | Duplechain (1-1) | Ouellette (2) | 1,000 | 5-5 | |
| Mar. 7 | at Louisiana Tech | J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park • Ruston, LA | L 4-14 | Whorff (2-1) | Vega (0-1) | None | 1,000 | 5-6 | |
| Mar. 12 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 4-2 | Kincaid (1-0) | Gaddis (0-1) | Dion (1) | 236 | 6-6 | 1-0 |
| Mar. 13 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 9-8 | Duplechain (2-1) | Miller (0-1) | None | 312 | 7-6 | 2-0 |
| Mar. 14 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 12-7 | Reeves (1-0) | Purcell (0-1) | None | 298 | 8-6 | 3-0 |
| Mar. 16 | LSU Alexandria | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 16-6 | May (1-0) | Colligan (0-2) | None | 438 | 9-6 | |
| Mar. 19 | at Houston Baptist | Husky Field • Houston, TX | W 12-6 | Duplechain (3-1) | Zarella (0-3) | None | 200 | 10-6 | 4-0 |
| Mar. 20 | at Houston Baptist | Husky Field • Houston, TX | W 7-1 | Dion (2-2) | Coats (0-3) | None | | 11-6 | 5-0 |
| Mar. 20 | at Houston Baptist | Husky Field • Houston, TX | L 3-7 | Morris (1-0) | Foster (0-1) | Reitmeyer (1) | 400 | 11-7 | 5-1 |
| Mar. 21 | at Houston Baptist | Husky Field • Houston, TX | W 10-0 | Ellison (1-0) | Tinker (0-4) | None | 200 | 12-7 | 6-1 |
| Mar. 26 | Stephen F. Austin | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | L 5-8 (10 inns) | Koch (1-0) | Reeves (1-1) | Gauthe (4) | 315 | 12-8 | 6-2 |
| Mar. 27 | Stephen F. Austin | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | L 2-5 | Todd (1-2) | Dion (2-3) | Poell (1) | 312 | 12-9 | 6-3 |
| Mar. 27 | Stephen F. Austin | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | L 3-4 | Gauthe (1-0) | Roliard (1-2) | Emmons (1) | 348 | 12-10 | 6-4 |
| Mar. 28 | Stephen F. Austin | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | L 0-2 | Sgambelluri (1-1) | Vega (0-2) | Gauthe (5) | 190 | 12-11 | 6-5 |
April (8-10) :
| Date | Opponent | Site/stadium | Score | Win | Loss | Save | TV | Attendance | Overall record | SLC Record |
| Apr. 1 | at Southeastern Louisiana | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA | W 6-4 | Roliard (2-2) | Hughes (1-2) | None | ESPN+ | 918 | 13-11 | 7-5 |
| Apr. 2 | at Southeastern Louisiana | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA | W 5-0 | Dion (3-3) | Shaffer (1-2) | None | ESPN+ | 937 | 14-11 | 8-5 |
| Apr. 2 | Southeastern Louisiana Lions | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA | L 3-6 | Warren (5-1) | Ellison (1-1) | Hoskins (4) | ESPN+ | 937 | 14-12 | 8-6 |
| Apr. 3 | at Southeastern Louisiana | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA | L 9-13 | Stuprich (2-1) | Meeks (0-1) | None | ESPN+ | 925 | 14-13 | 8-7 |
| Apr. 6 | at LSU | Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field • Baton Rouge, LA | L 1-14 | Edwards (1-2) | Vega (0-3) | None | SECN+ | 3,606 | 14-14 | |
| Apr. 9 | Incarnate Word | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 10-6 | Abraham (2-0) | Zavala (3-2) | Duplechain (1) | | 311 | 15-14 | 9-7 |
| Apr. 10 | Incarnate Word | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 19-1 (7 inns) | Dion (4-3) | Rollins (1-4) | None | | | 16-14 | 10-7 |
| Apr. 10 | Incarnate Word | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 4-1 | Ellison (2-1) | Garza (3-1) | Foster (1) | | 429 | 17-14 | 11-7 |
| Apr. 11 | Incarnate Word | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 10-4 | Vega (1-3) | Minter (0-1) | None | | 368 | 18-14 | 12-7 |
| Apr. 17 | at Sam Houston State | Don Sanders Stadium • Huntsville, TX | L 2-6 | Davis (5-2) | Hudgens (0-1) | None | | 512 | 18-15 | 12-8 |
| Apr. 18 | at Sam Houston State | Don Sanders Stadium • Huntsville, TX | L 5-6 (14 inns) | Wesneski (1-1) | Foster (0-2) | None | | 512 | 18-16 | 12-9 |
| Apr. 18 | at Sam Houston State | Don Sanders Stadium • Huntsville, TX | L 4-5 | Atkinson (4-1) | Ellison (2-2) | Beard (1) | | 512 | 18-17 | 12-10 |
| Apr. 19 | at Sam Houston State | Don Sanders Stadium • Huntsville, TX | L 4-6 | Backhus (2-0) | Vega (1-4) | Havlicek (2) | | 512 | 18-18 | 12-11 |
| Apr. 21 | at Louisiana | M. L. Tigue Moore Field at Russo Park • Lafayette, LA | L 3-4 | Burk (3-0) | Abraham (2-1) | Schultz (3) | ESPN+ | 643 | 18-19 | |
| Apr. 24 | UT Arlington | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | L 1-8 | Tavera (1-4) | Dion (4-4) | King (1) | | 412 | 18-20 | |
| Apr. 24 | UT Arlington | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | L 5-6 (10 inns) | Wong (2-1) | Brady (1-1) | Austin (1) | | 377 | 18-21 | |
| Apr. 25 | UT Arlington | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 5-3 | Ellison (3-2) | Moffat (3-3) | Foster (2) | | 439 | 19-21 | |
| Apr. 30 | New Orleans | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 8-6 | Reeves (2-1) | Erbe (1-3) | Foster (3) | | 399 | 20-21 | 13-11 |
May (8–7) :
| Date | Opponent | Site/stadium | Score | Win | Loss | Save | Attendance | Overall record | SLC Record |
| May 1 | New Orleans | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 8-3 | Dion (5-4) | Turpin (7-2) | None | 447 | 21-21 | 14-11 |
| May 1 | New Orleans | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | L 4-8 | Mitchell (4-1) | Ellison (3-3) | Seroski (8) | 487 | 21-22 | 14-12 |
| May 2 | New Orleans | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | L 10-13 | Acree (2-1) | Abraham (2-2) | Seroski (9) | 379 | 21-23 | 14-13 |
| May 7 | at Northwestern State | H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud Field • Natchitoches, LA | W 7-1 | Dion (6-4) | Harmon (4-3) | None | 458 | 22-23 | 15-13 |
| May 7 | at Northwestern State | H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud Field • Natchitoches, LA | L 3-4 | Carver (6-4) | Hudgens (0-2) | Brown (4) | 458 | 22-24 | 15-14 |
| May 8 | at Northwestern State | H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud Field • Natchitoches, LA | L 3-4 | Brown (2-2) | Foster (0-2) | None | 510 | 22-25 | 15-15 |
| May 8 | at Northwestern State | H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud Field • Natchitoches, LA | L 5-6 | Taylor (2-0) | Vega (1-5) | None | 510 | 22-26 | 15-16 |
| May 14 | Nicholls | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 7-0 | Hudgens (1-2) | Gearing (4-4) | None | 398 | 23-26 | 16-16 |
| May 15 | Nicholls | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 13-3 (7 inns) | Dion (7-4) | Kilcrease (2-8) | None | 447 | 24-26 | 17-16 |
| May 15 | Nicholls | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 10-7 | Ellison (4-3) | Mancuso (0-2) | Vega (1) | 419 | 25-26 | 18-16 |
| May 16 | Nicholls | Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA | W 6-5 | Abraham (3-2) | Heckman (2-6) | Foster (4) | 437 | 26-26 | 19-16 |
| May 20 | at Central Arkansas | Bear Stadium • Conway, AR | L 1-8 | Moyer (5-6) | Hudgens (1-3) | None | 348 | 26-27 | 19-17 |
| May 21 | at Central Arkansas | Bear Stadium • Conway, AR | W 6-1 | Dion (8-4) | Williams (2-2) | None | 304 | 27-27 | 20-17 |
| May 21 | at Central Arkansas | Bear Stadium • Conway, AR | W 6-5 (10 inns) | Foster (1-3) | Williams (2-3) | None | 255 | 28-27 | 21-17 |
| May 22 | at Central Arkansas | Bear Stadium • Conway, AR | L 4-5 | Gilbertson (2-3) | Abraham (3-3) | Verel (1) | 410 | 28-28 | 21-18 |
Post-season (4–2) :
SLC Tournament (4–0) :
| Date | Opponent | Seed/Rank | Site/stadium | Score | Win | Loss | Save | TV | Attendance | Overall record | Tournament record |
| May 26 | vs. (2) New Orleans | (7) | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA | W 12-0 (8 inns) | Dion (9-4) | Turpin (9-3) | None | ESPN+ | 1,262 | 29-28 | 1-0 |
| May 27 | vs. (3) Southeastern Louisiana | (7) | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA | W 3-2 | Ellison (5-3) | Stuprich (6-3) | Foster (3) | ESPN+ | 1,167 | 30-28 | 2-0 |
| May 28 | vs. (3) Southeastern Louisiana | (7) | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA | W 18-2 (7 inns) | Abraham (4-3) | Dugas (0-1) | None | ESPN+ | 1,225 | 31-28 | 3-0 |
| May 29 | vs. (5) Sam Houston State | (7) | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA | W 2-1 | Hudgens (2-3) | Backhus (4-2) | Foster (4) | ESPN+ | 903 | 32-28 | 4-0 |
NCAA tournament (0-2) :
| Date | Opponent | Seed/Rank | Site/stadium | Score | Win | Loss | Save | TV | Attendance | Overall record | Tournament record |
| Fort Worth Regionals ||||||||||||
| Jun. 4 | vs. (1)/No. 8 TCU | (4) | Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX | L 4-12 | Krob (8-1) | Foster (1-4) | None | ESPN3 | 4,468 | 32-29 | 0-1 |
| Jun. 5 | vs. (3) Oregon State | (4) | Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX | L 5-10 | Watkins (3-4) | Foster (1-5) | None | ESPN3 | 3,969 | 32-30 | 0-2 |

## Fort Worth Regional

Fort Worth Regional Teams :
| (1) TCU Horned Frogs | (2) Dallas Baptist Patriots | (3) Oregon State Beavers | (4) McNeese State Cowboys |
| First Round | First Round | First Round | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 6 | TCU | 12 | | | | | |
| | McNeese State | 4 | | | | | |
| | McNeese State | 4 | 6 | TCU | 6 | | |
| | | | | Dallas Baptist | 8 | | |
| Dallas Baptist | Dallas Baptist | 6 | | Dallas Baptist | 8 | | |
| Oregon State | Oregon State | 5 | | | | | |
| Oregon State | Oregon State | 5 | | | | Dallas Baptist | Dallas Baptist |
| | | | | | | Oregon State | Oregon State |
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower final | Lower final | Lower final | Oregon State | Oregon State |
| | | | 6 | TCU | 2 | | |
| McNeese State | McNeese State | 5 | | Oregon State | 3 | | |
| Oregon State | Oregon State | 10 | | | | | |

## Postseason
### Conference accolades

* Player of the Year: Colton Cowser – SHSU
* Hitter of the Year: Colton Eager – ACU
* Pitcher of the Year: Will Dion – MCNS
* Relief Pitcher of the Year: Tyler Cleveland – UCA
* Freshman of the Year: Brennan Stuprich – SELA
* Newcomer of the Year: Grayson Tatrow – ACU
* Clay Gould Coach of the Year: Rick McCarty – ACU
References: