2023 McNeese Cowboys baseball team explained

Mode:	baseball
Year:	2023
Team:	McNeese Cowboys
Conference:	Southland Conference
Short Conf:	Southland
Record:	35–23
Conf Record:	12–12
Head Coach:	Justin Hill
Hc Year:	10th
Asst Coach1:	Nick Zaleski
Asst Coach2:	Jim Ricklefsen
Stadium:	Joe Miller Ballpark
Prev:	2022

The 2023 McNeese Cowboys baseball team represented McNeese State University during the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cowboys played their home games at Joe Miller Ballpark and were led by tenth–year head coach Justin Hill. They are members of the Southland Conference.

Preseason

Southland Conference Coaches Poll

The Southland Conference Coaches Poll was released on February 3, 2023. McNeese was picked to finish first in the Southland Conference with 118 votes and 7 first place votes.^[1]

Coaches poll
1	McNeese State	118 (7)
2	Southeastern Louisiana	115 (10)
3	Lamar	88
4	New Orleans	87
5	Northwestern State	65 (1)
6	Nicholls	59
7	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	55
8	Houston Christian	41
9	Incarnate Word	20

Preseason All-Southland team

Five McNeese players were named to the conference preseason first team. Three McNeese players were named to the conference preseason second team.^[1]

First Team

• Edgar Alvarez (NICH, JR, 1st Base)
• Brad Burckel (MCNS, SR, 2nd Base)
• Josh Leslie (MCNS, SR, 3rd Base)
• Parker Coddou (NICH, JR, Shortstop)
• Bo Willis (NWST, JR, Catcher)
• Tre Jones (TAMUCC, JR, Designated Hitter)
• Payton Harden (MCNS, SR, Outfielder)
• Brendan Ryan (TAMUCC, SR, Outfielder)
• Xane Washington (NICH, R-SR, Outfielder)
• Zach Garcia (TAMUCC, SO, Starting Pitcher)
• Grant Rogers (MCNS, JR, Starting Pitcher)
• Tyler Theriot (NICH, SR, Starting Pitcher)
• Burrell Jones (MCNS, SR, Relief Pitcher)
• Alec Carr (UIW, SR, Utility)

Second Team

• Josh Blankenship (LU, SR, 1st Base)
• Daunte Stuart (NWST, JR, 2nd Base)
• Kasten Furr (NO, JR, 3rd Base)
• Tyler Bischke (NO, JR, Shortstop)
• Bryce Grizzaffi (SELA, SR, Catcher)
• Kade Hunter (MCNS, SR, Designated Hitter)
• Josh Caraway (TAMUCC, JR, Outfielder)
• Braden Duhon (MCNS, JR, Outfielder)
• Issac Williams (NO, JR, Outfielder)
• Cal Carver (NWST, SR, Starting Pitcher)
• Tyler LeBlanc (NO, JR, Starting Pitcher)
• Will Kinzeler (SELA, JR, Starting Pitcher)
• Dalton Aspholm (SELA, SR, Relief Pitcher)
• Tre’ Obregon III (MCNS, SR, Utility)

Schedule and results

Legend
	McNeese State win
	McNeese State loss
	Postponement/Cancelation/Suspensions
Bold	McNeese State team member
	Non-Conference game
†	Make-Up Game

2023 McNeese Cowboys baseball game log
Regular season (35–23)
February (4–4) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC Record Feb. 17 1–0 Rogers, Grant (1-0) Ryan Windham (0-1) Abraham, Ty (1) 1,015 1–0 Feb. 18 Creighton* Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 4–9 Daniel Hammond (1-0) Steward, Luke (0-1) Tommy Steier (1) 1,001 1–1 Feb. 19 Creighton* Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 1–5 Justin Kleinsorge (1-0) Voss, Zach (0-1) 1,060 1–2 Feb. 21 at * 6–18 David, Chandler (2-0) Steward, Luke (0-2) 878 1–3 Feb. 24 at * 10–4 Rogers, Grant (2-0) Kuykendall, Thomas (0-1) 399 2–3 Feb. 25 at UT Arlington* Clay Gould Ballpark • Arlington, TX 12–8 Vega, Christian (1-0) Peters, Connery (0-1) 363 3–3 Feb. 26 at UT Arlington* Clay Gould Ballpark • Arlington, TX 6–12 Noah, Caden (2-0) Voss, Zach (0-2) Norris, Zach (1) 351 3–4 Feb. 28 Louisiana Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 5–4 Morrow, Kainin (1-0) Brendan Moody (0-1) Vega, Christian (1) 1,405 4–4
March (14–4) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC Record Mar. 1 at * 10–3 Jones, Burrell (1-0) Antoine Harris (0-2) 268 5–4 Mar. 3 Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 2–0 Rogers, Grant (3-0) Logan Koester (0-1) 1,043 6–4 Mar. 4 George Washington* Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 7–0 Cherry, Derrick (1-0) Austin Odell (1-3) 1,052 7–4 Mar. 5 George Washington* Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 7–6 Vega, Christian (2-0) Chris Knight (0-1) 979 8–4 Mar. 8 at Louisiana* 3–5 Ray, Tommy (2-0) Lejeune, Cameron (0-1) Marshall, Blake (1) 3,959 8–5 Mar. 10 Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 9–0 Rogers, Grant (4-0) Victor Mendoza (0-2) 1,081 9–5 Mar. 11 Prairie View A&M* Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 10–0 (8 inn) Cherry, Derrick (2-0) Michael Dews (0-3) 861 10–5 Mar. 12 Prairie View A&M* Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 11–10 Jones, Burrell (2-0) Joshua Larzabal (0-1) 1,040 11–5 Mar. 14 Mississippi Valley State Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 7–2 Morrow, Kainin (2-0) VALENZUELA, ISAIAH (1-3) 958 12–5 Mar. 17 Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 7–1 Rogers, Grant (5-0) Reese, Bryant (1-1) 1,062 13–5 Mar. 18 Yale* Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 8–1 Cherry, Derrick (3-0) Shaw, Colton (1-1) Abraham, Ty (2) 1,037 14–5 Mar. 19 Yale* Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 9–4 Voss, Zach (1-2) Easterly, Reid (2-1) Vega, Christian (2) 1,030 15–5 Mar. 21 Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 6–9 CITELLI, Cade (1-2) Morrow, Kainin (2-1) MURRAY, Justin (2) ESPN+ 1,104 15–6 Mar. 24 Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 8–3 Rogers, Grant (6-0) Theriot, Tyler (2-4) 1,020 16–6 1–0 Mar. 25 Nicholls Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 6–8 (12 inn) Saltaformaggio, Nico (2-0) Vega, Christian (2-1) 1,320 16–7 1–1 Mar. 26 Nicholls Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 5–8 Mancuso, Josh (2-1) Voss, Zach (1-3) Saltaformaggio, Nico (2) 1,068 16–8 1–2 Mar. 28 Southern* Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 12–5 Moeller, JT (1-0) Daren Smith (1-2) ESPN+ 1,017 17–8 Mar. 31 15–5 (7 inn) Rogers, Grant (7-0) Baumann, Baylor (0-2) 200 18–8 2–2
April (10–7) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC Record Apr. 1 at Houston Christian Husky Field • Houston, TX 2–4 Zander, Walker (1-3) Cherry, Derrick (3-1) Smitherman, Javan (2) ESPN+ 300 18–9 2–3 Apr. 2 at Houston Christian Husky Field • Houston, TX 10–12 Charles, Matthew (1-1) Vega, Christian (2-2) Smitherman, Javan (3) ESPN+ 250 18–10 2–4 Apr. 6 Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 8–3 Rogers, Grant (8-0) Watson, Matthew (2-3) 19–10 3–4 Apr. 7 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 3–5 Dickey, Kyle (1-0) Cherry, Derrick (3-2) Dean, Austin (3) 1,042 19–11 3–5 Apr. 8 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 4–3 Jones, Burrell (3-0) Purcell, Colin (2-3) Moeller, JT (1) ESPN+ 1,076 20–11 4–5 Apr. 11 Louisiana Christian Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 3–0 Christian Vega (2–2) Braxton Cooksey (2-3) ESPN+ 21–11 Apr. 12 at * Reckling Park • Houston, TX 7–6 Hart, Cade (1-0) Zaskoda, G. (0-1) Cherry, Derrick (1) CUSAtv 1,667 22–11 Apr. 14 7–6 Vega, Christian (3-2) Lauve, Lance (2-1) Abraham, Ty (3) ESPN+ 1,288 23–11 5–5 Apr. 15 at Southeastern Louisiana Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA 7–8 Rodriguez, Jackson (1-0) Vega, Christian (3-3) ESPN+ 1,178 23–12 5–6 Apr. 16 at Southeastern Louisiana Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA 3–2 Lejeune, Cameron (2-1) Rodriguez, Jackson (1-1) ESPN+ 1,263 24–12 6–6 Apr. 21 Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 11–1 (7 inn) Rogers, Grant (9-0) Blanchard, Beau (0-3) ESPN+ 1,138 25–12 7–6 Apr. 22 New Orleans Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 2–9 Mitchell, Brandon (7-3) Jones, Burrell (3-1) ESPN+ 1,233 25–13 7–7 Apr. 23 New Orleans Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 6–2 Abraham, Ty (1-0) Mercer, Colton (2-4) ESPN+ 1,132 26–13 8–7 Apr. 25 Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 8–1 Barthelemy, Brock (1-0) Benevage, Zack (1-1) 1,007 27–13 Apr. 28 7–8 Hayward, Steve (6-3) Abraham, Ty (1-1) 84 27–14 8–8 Apr. 29 at Incarnate Word Sullivan Field • San Antonio, TX 6–8 Cassidy, K (2-2) Jones, Burrell (3-2) Hayward, S (5) 147 27–15 8–9 Apr. 30 at Incarnate Word Sullivan Field • San Antonio, TX 9–2 Barthelemy, Brock (2-0) Berens, M (2-3) ESPN+ 110 28–15 9–9
May (5–6) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC Record Battle of the Border May 5 Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 6–4 Rogers, Grant (10-0) Ellis, Jacob (3-3) Abraham, Ty (4) ESPN+ 1,674 29–15 10–9 May 6 Lamar Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 4–3 Jones, Burrell (4-2) Tauzin, Kole (0-2) Abraham, Ty (5) ESPN+ 1,172 30–15 11–9 May 7 Lamar Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 9–10 Cleveland, Jackson (1-2) Abraham, Ty (1-2) Morse, Trhea (1) ESPN+ 1,099 30–16 11–10 May 9 Nicholls* Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field • Thibodaux, LA 7–3 Barthelemy, Brock (3-0) Evans, Cade (0-2) 207 31–16 May 12 2–5 Carver, Cal (6-3) Rogers, Grant (10-1) Froehlich, Kyle (7) ESPN+ 732 31–17 11–11 May 13 at Northwestern State H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud Field • Natchitoches, LA 4–2 Abraham, Ty (2-2) Prestwich, Chase (4-4) Barthelemy, Brock (2) ESPN+ 308 32–17 12–11 May 14 at Northwestern State H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud Field • Natchitoches, LA 4–8 Brown, Drayton (5-7) Jones, Burrell (4-3) ESPN+ 328 32–18 12–12 May 16 at LSU* 5 Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field • Baton Rouge, LA 4–7 Griffin Herring (3-1) Barthelemy, Brock (3-1) Thatcher Hurd (3) SECN+ 10,576 32–19 May 17 Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 8–14 Nick Vardavas (3-2) Jones, Burrell (4-4) Martin Sosna (1) 1,002 32–20 May 18 Miami of Ohio* Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 13–5 Rogers, Grant (11-1) Connor Oliver (2-6) Vega, Christian (3) 992 33–20 May 19 Miami of Ohio* Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 6–13 Connor Preisel (2-1) Moeller, JT (1-1) 975 33–21
Post-season (2–2)
(2–2) Date Opponent (Seed)/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record Tournament record May 23 vs. (7) Texas A&M–Corpus Christi (6) Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 4–0 Rogers, Grant (12-1) Watson, Matthew (6-5) ESPN+ 884 34–21 1–0 May 24 vs. (1) Nicholls (6) Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 2–3 Galy, Gavin (1-1) Cherry, Derrick (3-3) ESPN+ 757 34–22 1–1 May 25 vs. (2) Incarnate Word (6) Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 3–0 Hudgens, Bryson (1-0) Berens, Micah (2-5) Barthelemy, Brock (3) ESPN+ 35–22 2–1 May 26 vs. (5) Northwestern State (6) Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 2–6 Brown, Drayton (6-6) Jones, Burrell (4-5) ESPN+ 35–23 2–2

Schedule Source:^{[2] [3] [4]} *Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.|}

Notes and References

1. Web site: McNeese picked to win 2023 Southland Conference baseball crown; Preseason All-Conference Teams announced . Southland Conference . February 3, 2023 . February 3, 2023.
2. Web site: 2023 Baseball Schedule Released . McNeese State University Athletics . January 16, 2023 . en.
3. Web site: 2023 Baseball Schedule . McNeese State University Athletics . January 16, 2023.
4. Web site: Matthew Bonnette . McNeese announces 2023 baseball schedule . Crescent City Sports Enterprises LLC . January 16, 2023 . December 6, 2022.