Sunday, February 21, 2010

McNeese State did all of its scoring in the first four innings on Sunday morning, and completed a three-game sweep of Valparaiso with a 12-0 victory at Cowboy Diamond in Lake Charles, La.

Valpo was limited to just three hits, two off of started Jonathan Conrad (1-0) who struck out five in six innings to earn the victory.

The Cowboys struck for three in the first, two of which were unearned and scored on a single by Seth Granger, who had four runs batted in for McNeese State on the day.  A two-run homer by Blake Ellender and a solo shot by Lee Orr made it 6-0 hosts after two innings.

McNeese State struck for six more in the fourth to wrap up the scoring, two on a triple by Granger and three on a double by Andy Riche.

Will Robinson (Placentia, Calif./Valencia H.S.) worked just 3.2 innings on the mound for the Crusaders, suffering the loss (0-1), allowing seven hits and nine runs, seven of which were earned.  He also walked three but struck out eight.

“Robinson’s off-speed stuff was pretty good,” head coach Tracy Woodson said.  “He just couldn’t locate his fastball and that can be deadly with the wind blowing out.”

McNeese State (3-0) finished with 11 hits on the afternoon while Valpo just managed four baserunners total for the day.

Valparaiso (0-3) will be off until Friday when the Crusaders begin play at Jacksonville University’s Tournament which runs through next weekend.  First up is Oklahoma on Friday, with first pitch slated for 11 a.m. CST.