Better ending deserved
Two forgettable innings should not spoil a season to remember.
Still, McNeese State's fourth straight championship softball season leaves you with an empty feeling despite all the positives.
The Cowgirls likely overachieved this spring, winning 40 games for the fourth straight time and finishing 41-20. Maybe that's what hurts the most.
'When you put so much into it, the pain is real,' said McNeese head coach James Landreneau. 'It should hurt. The more it matters to you, the more your work for it, the more it hurts.'
The pain for the Cowgirls last Saturday night was excruciating.
Up 4-0 over rival Southeastern at home with six outs to go before claiming their fourth NCAA bid in five years, McNeese only got five of those. A strange set of circumstances, umpire reviews took the Cowgirl faithful on a wild ride in the last 40 minutes.
Ultimately, the Cowgirls lost 6-5 and fell short of their ultimate goal moments after celebrating what they believed was victory. An umpire review changed the call, and a few pitches later, the outcome was flipped.
It was a bitter end to a sweet success story.
Now it is easy to forget that this was a very young team with only shortstop Reese Reyna returning to her starting position. There was a lot of adversity to overcome, like the injury to last season's Freshman of the Year Alexis Dibbley, who missed over half the season.
There was a pitching staff to rebuild and numerous questions to answer. At one point, McNeese was just 14-13 and searching to find itself.
'You look back and reflect on the growth of watching these kids grow and where they came from, I'm so proud,' said Landreneau. 'It's hard right now, but these players did everything we asked of them.
'We started at the bottom this year and worked our way up. You know, we had some kids who were unsure about how to do things, and just kept grinding out, and we had some players who learned how to succeed early in the year, just kept showing up. I could not be prouder of this group.'
The Cowgirls rallied to win their final 14 Southland games and captured the regular season title, becoming the first team to win four in a row. Depending on the transfer portal, the future should be bright.
Jada Munoz had a breakout season, finishing second in the league in home runs with 15 and led the league with 56 runs batted in while hitting .343. Freshman of the Year Kassidy Chance hit .378 in her first year in college.
Nyjah Fontenot, a transfer from Arkansas, led the Cowgirls in hitting at .392 while Samantha Mundine continued to improve in her sophomore year, finishing at .369 and playing much better defensively in the outfield.
Then there are the two young pitchers, Maddie Taylor and Kadence Williams, and you have the beginning of a solid staff. Both freshmen showed huge improvement during the season.
Taylor was named the league's Pitcher of the Year, posting an 18-7 record while Williams finished 11-7.
Landreneau said that in time, he will be able to reflect on all that this team accomplished.
Time heals all wounds, but it will never fully erase how far this group came this season or how close it was to its goal.
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American Press
3 days ago
- American Press
Cowgirls will be road tested
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American Press
6 days ago
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Back in the game
From left, Masey Lewis, Matt Viator and Will Bressi talk at Southland Media Day Monday in San Antonio. (Matthew Bonnette/McNeese Athletics) SAN ANTONIO – A decade has passed since Matt Viator sat in front of the Southland Conference media and answered questions about an upcoming season. A lot has changed since then. No longer are the Cowboys the top dog in the league, and Viator is no longer part of the old guard. Now, he's again the head coach at McNeese State, but he's trying to lead the Cowboys back up the SLC mountain, not stay on top of it. 'This has been exciting,' Viator said Monday at the Southland Conference Media Day in the San Antonio Convention Center. 'I'm highly motivated not to relive the past but for the future.' Viator returns to McNeese after nine seasons away from the program he built. His 78 wins are tied for the most in program history. In his first 10 years as the Cowboy head coach, Viator won four Southland titles, made the playoffs five times, and was named the league's Coach of the Year on three occasions. None of that matters now. 'This is a great opportunity for me,' said Viator. 'The McNeese program means a lot to me. The transition back has been good.' The program has not made the playoffs since Viator left and went 0-11 just two years ago. Last year, the Cowboys bounced back to go 6-6, but they haven't had a winning season since 2019. Viator wants that to change. 'I want to see McNeese get back to the standard it once had,' said Viator. The fans are excited for sure. Season ticket sales are up 70 percent from a year ago ,and the buzz is all over town. 'It is really exciting to see the fans getting involved,' said Viator. 'We have a great fanbase and want to reward them.' Viator also wanted to reward the players who elected to stay with the program. 'I wanted to give them a chance if they wanted to stay with us,' Viator said. 'I'm glad the ones that stayed are with us.' Viator brought two of his returning players with him to San Antonio, offensive lineman Will Bressi and defensive end Masey Lewis. Both have seen the difference with Viator's return. 'We are focused much more on the details every day at work,' said Bressi. 'We work on the small things to get better each practice.' Lewis pointed out how much the defense has been through over the years and what this season means to them. 'We have been together and have been through a lot,' Lewis said. 'We are a close group that can go through anything now.' This isn't a rewind for the coach. It is a start of an entirely new era. 'I still park in the same spot I did before, still take the same elevator up to my office, and see some of the same people,' said Viator. 'But a lot has changed since I was last here and I think for the better. That's what makes this exciting.' For him and McNeese fans.
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Judge reduces bail for Memphis guard Sincere Parker in domestic assault case
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