2024 McNeese Cowgirls softball team

2024 McNeese Cowgirls softball
Southland Conference regular season champion
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	40–20 (22–2 Southland)
Head coach	James Landreneau (8th season)
Assistant coaches	Shelby Sunseri Alexis Otero Alayis Seneca
Home stadium	Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond
Seasons ←  2023 2025 →

2024 Southland Conference softball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
McNeese  ‍†‍‍	22	–	2		.917			40	–	20		.667
Southeastern Louisiana  ‍‍‡‍y	17	–	7		.708			45	–	13		.776
Nicholls  ‍‍‍	16	–	8		.667			31	–	26		.544
Incarnate Word  ‍‍‍	14	–	9		.609			34	–	17		.667
Lamar  ‍‍‍	12	–	12		.500			26	–	25		.510
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi  ‍‍‍	9	–	15		.375			21	–	22		.488
Houston Christian  ‍‍‍	9	–	15		.375			23	–	27		.460
Northwestern State  ‍‍‍	5	–	18		.217			19	–	31		.380
Texas A&M–Commerce*  ‍‍‍	2	–	22		.083			9	–	45		.167
* Ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II [1]
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 10, 2024 [2] Rankings from NFCA/USA Today

The 2024 McNeese Cowgirls softball team represents McNeese State University during the 2024 NCAA Division I softball season. The Cowgirls play their home games at Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond and are led by eighth-year head coach James Landreneau. They are members of the Southland Conference.

The Cowgirls compiled a 40–20 overall record with a 22–2 conference record winning the SLC regular season championship. They were seeded first in the SLC tournament finishing with a 2–2 record in tournament play. The Cowgirls defeated seventh seeded Houston Christian 8–6 and third seeded Nicholls 4–3⁸. They were eliminated from the tournament after losing two times to fourth seeded Incarnate Word. The first game score was 2–3. The second game was a 7–8⁸ extra innings loss.

Previous season

Main article: 2023 McNeese Cowgirls softball team

McNeese had a regular season record of 41–14 and a conference record of 21–3 winning the Southland Conference regular season championship. They also won the 2023 Southland Conference softball tournament as the first seeded team.

The Cowgirls won the SLC autobid to the 2023 NCAA Division I softball tournament. They were runner-up to the Seattle Regional championship compiling a tournament record of 3–2. Leading the regional championship game 6–0 through the sixth inning, the Cowgirls' season ended ultimately losing to the tournament hosts, # 7 ranked Washington Huskies 7–6. The Cowgirls' final overall record was 47–16.

Preseason

Southland Conference Coaches Poll

The Southland Conference Coaches Poll was released on February 2, 2024. McNeese was picked to finish first in the Southland Conference with 128 overall votes and 16 first place votes. ^[3]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	McNeese State	128 (16)
2	Southeastern Louisiana	114 (2)
3	Nicholls	97
4	Lamar	78
5	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	72
6	Northwestern State	63
7	Houston Christian	49
8	Incarnate Word	30
9	Texas A&M–Commerce	17

Preseason All-Southland team

Reese Reyna, Chloe Gomez, Erin Ardoin, and Ashley Vallejo were named to the conference preseason first team. Crislyne Mareno, Mariana Torres, Rylie Bouvier, and Shaelyn Sanders were named to the conference preseason second team. ^[3]

First Team

• Lexi Johnson (SELA, SR, 1st Base)
• Erin Kraus (NICH, SO, 2nd Base)
• Haylie Savage HCU, JR, 3rd Base)
• Reese Reyna (MCNS, JR, Shortstop)
• Bailey Krolczyk (SELA, SR, Catcher)
• Chloe Gomez (MCNS, SR, Utility)
• Audrey Greely (SELA, SR, Designated Player)
• Alexa Poche (NICH, SR, Outfielder)
• AB Garcia (HCU, SO, Outfielder)
• Erin Ardoin (MCNS, JR, Outfielder)
• Ashley Vallejo (MCNS, JR, Pitcher)
• Primrose Aholelei (TAMUCC, JR, Pitcher)

Second Team

• Crislyne Mareno (MCNS, JR, 1st Base)
• Mariana Torres (MCNS, JR, 2nd Base)
• Rylie Bouvier (MCNS, JR, 3rd Base)
• Brooke Davis (LU, SR, Shortstop)
• Ashlyn Walker (NWST, SR, Catcher)
• Sydney Hoyt (TAMUCC, SR, Utility)
• Cameron Niedenthal (LU, SR, Designated Player)
• Cam Goodman (SELU, SR, Outfielder)
• Ka'Lyn Watson (SELU, SR, Outfielder)
• Laney Roos (NWST, SR, Outfielder)
• Maggie Darr (NWST, SR, Pitcher)
• Shaelyn Sanders (MCNS, SR, Pitcher)

Roster

2024 McNeese Cowgirls softball team
Players	Coaches
# Pos. Name Bats/throws Height Year Home town 1 INF Jada Munoz R/R 5 ft 6 in(1.68 m) So San Antonio, Texas 2 INF Brook Otto R/R 5 ft 6 in(1.68 m) So Smithville, Texas 3 RHP Ashley Vallejo R/R 5 ft 7 in(1.7 m) Sr New Waverly, Texas 4 U Erynn Boatright R/R 5 ft 5 in(1.65 m) Fr Independence, Missouri 5 U Ashley Hagebusch R/R 5 ft 1 in(1.55 m) Fr Conroe, Texas 6 OF Erin Ardoin L/R 5 ft 6 in(1.68 m) Jr Moss Bluff, Louisiana 7 OF Rylee Eyster L/R 5 ft 3 in(1.6 m) So Southaven, Mississippi 8 U Grace Janik R/R 5 ft 9 in(1.75 m) So Missouri City, Texas 9 RHP Lindsey Davis R/R 5 ft 8 in(1.73 m) So Troup, Texas 10 RHP Emma Banks R/R 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) Fr Stuttgart, Arkansas 11 LHP Ryann Schexnayder L/L 5 ft 8 in(1.73 m) So Walker, Louisiana 12 INF Mariana Torres R/R 5 ft 8 in(1.73 m) Jr Pflugerville, Texas 14 INF Crislyne Moreno R/R 5 ft 8 in(1.73 m) Jr Converse, Texas 15 RHP Alexis Dibbley R/R 5 ft 9 in(1.75 m) Fr Moss Bluff, Louisiana 17 OF Delaney Dunham L/L 5 ft 6 in(1.68 m) So Mont Belvieu, Texas 18 INF Brilee Ford R/R 5 ft 5 in(1.65 m) Fr Hammond, Louisiana 19 U Corine Poncho R/R 5 ft 8 in(1.73 m) So Basile, Louisiana 19 U Corine Poncho R/R 5 ft 8 in(1.73 m) So Basile, Louisiana 20 INF Molly Powell R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) Fr Nome, Texas 21 INF Brylie Fontenot R/R 5 ft 3 in(1.6 m) Fr Moss Bluff, Louisiana 22 INF Reese Reyna R/R 5 ft 3 in(1.6 m) Jr Santa Fe, Texas 23 C Bella Perez R/R 5 ft 6 in(1.68 m) Fr Houston, Texas 24 LHP Shaelyn Sanders R/L 5 ft 6 in(1.68 m) Sr Splendora, Texas 25 C Chloe Gomez R/R 5 ft 2 in(1.57 m) Sr Spring, Texas 26 C Kelsey Gaspard R/R 5 ft 5 in(1.65 m) RS So Roanoke, Louisiana 27 U Samantha Mundine L/R 5 ft 4 in(1.63 m) Fr Luling, Texas 32 INF Rylie Bouvier L/R 5 ft 7 in(1.7 m) Jr Santa Fe, Texas 34 C Emily Phillips R/R 5 ft 9 in(1.75 m) Sr Chesapeake, Virginia	Head coach James Landreneau (McNeese State) Assistant coach(es) Shelbi Sunseri (LSU) Alexis Otero (Quinnipiac/San Diego State Alayis Seneca (McNeese) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 26, 2024

Schedule and results

Legend
	McNeese win
	McNeese loss
	Postponement/Cancellation
Bold	McNeese team member
*	Non-Conference game
†	Make-Up Game

2024 McNeese Cowgirls softball game log
Regular season (40–20)
February (11–4) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC record Feb. 8 California* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 2–5 Anna Reimers (1-0) Sanders, Shaelyn (0-1) Randi Roelling (1) 876 0–1 Cowgirl Classic Feb. 9 New Mexico* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 12–4 6 inn Schexnayder, Ryann (1-0) SNOW, Taylor (0-0) None 831 1–1 Feb. 10 Tarleton State* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 11–3 (5 inn) Vallejo, Ashley (1-0) Marquez, Kynlee (0-0) None 2–1 Feb. 10 Tennessee State* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 10–0 (5 inn) Sanders, Shaelyn (1-1) Ayala, Holly (0-0) None 872 3–1 Feb. 11 Tarleton State* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 5–1 Lindsay Davis (1-0) Kendall Daniel (0-1) None 719 4–1 Feb. 15 Baylor* 24 Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 2–3 RyLee Crandall (1-0) Sanders, Shaelyn (1-2) Aliyah Binford (1) ESPN+ 775 4–2 Cowgirl Challenge Feb. 16 Oklahoma* 1 Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 1–8 Maxwell, Kelly (3-0) Davis, Lindsay (1-1) None ESPN+ 1,542 4–3 Feb. 17 Central Arkansas* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 14–0 (5 inn) Sanders, Shaelyn (2-2) Bailie Runner (1-3) None 5–3 Feb. 17 Oklahoma* 1 Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 0–3 May, Nicole (3-0) Davis, Lindsay (1-2) Maxwell, Kelly (1) ESPN+ 1,559 5–4 Feb. 18 Lamar* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 4–2 Schexnayder, Ryann (2-0) Wardlaw, Emma (1-2) Davis, Lindsay (1) 1,116 6–4 Feb. 21 Boise State* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 4–1 Sanders, Shaelyn (3-2) CAUDILL, Taylor (5-2) None 729 7–4 Feb. 23 Niagara* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 8–0 (5 inn) Schexnayder, Ryann (4-2) Hickingbottom, Maddi (0-1) None 8–4 Feb. 23 North Dakota* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 3–0 Davis, Lindsay (2-2) Carr, Makaela (2-2) None 756 9–4 Feb. 24 Niagara* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 12–3 (5 inn) Dibbley, Alexis (1-0) Jackson, Sage (0-1) None 703 10–4 Feb. 28 Houston* Cougar Softball Stadium • Houston, TX 6–5 (13 inn) Schexnayder, Ryann (4-0) Smith,S (6-2) Davis, Lindsay (2) ESPN+ 451 11–4
March (12–9) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC record LSU Purple and Gold Challenge Mar 1 vs San Diego State* Tiger Park • Baton Rouge, LA 5–4 Sanders, Shaelyn (4-2) HERNANDEZ, Dee Dee (2-2) None 274 12–4 Mar 2 vs Illinois* Tiger Park • Baton Rouge, LA 0–3 McQueen, Tori (3-2) Davis, Lindsay (2-3) None SECN+ 243 12–5 Mar 2 at LSU* 4 Tiger Park • Baton Rouge, LA 1–2 Lynch (2-0) Sanders, Shaelyn (4-3) Berzon (3) SECN+ 2,576 12–6 Mar 3 vs Louisiana Tech* Tiger Park • Baton Rouge, LA 0–8 (6 inn) FLOYD, Allie (5-1) Schexnayder, Ryann (4-1) None 497 12–7 Mar 3 at LSU* 4 Tiger Park • Baton Rouge, LA 1–2 Berzon (6-0) Sanders, Shaelyn (4-4) None SECN+ 12–8 Mar 5 Louisiana Tech* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 1–3 BUSTER, Matt (1-0) Davis, Lindsay (2-4) MELNYCHUK, B (1) 1,401 12–9 Mar 6 Houston* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 5–9 Smith,S (8-2) Sanders, Shaelyn (4-5) None ESPN+ 672 12–10 Mar 8 Louisiana–Monroe* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 3–1 Sanders, Shaelyn (5-5) Abrams, Victoria (6-3) None ESPN+ 13–10 Mar 8 Louisiana–Monroe* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 2–1 (9 inn) Sanders, Shaelyn (6-5) Nichols, Maddie (6-4) None ESPN+ 734 14–10 Mar 9 Louisiana–Monroe* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 1–4 Kassidy, Giddens (5-1) Davis, Lindsay (2-5) Hulett, Gianni (1) ESPN+ 736 14–11 Mar 13 at Louisiana* Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park • Lafayette, LA 1–2 Landry, S (7-5) Sanders, Shaelyn (6-6) Riassetto (1) ESPN+ 1,438 14–12 Mar 15 at Nicholls Swanner Field at Geo Surfaces Park • Thibodaux, LA 4–1 Sanders, Shaelyn (7-6) McNeill, A. (7-8) None ESPN+ 189 15–12 1–0 Mar 16 at Nicholls Swanner Field at Geo Surfaces Park • Thibodaux, LA 0–1 Yoo, M. (5-3) Schexnayder, Ryann (4-2) None ESPN+ 122 15–13 1–1 Mar 16 at Nicholls Swanner Field at Geo Surfaces Park • Thibodaux, LA 2–0 Sanders, Shaelyn (8-6)) McNeill, A. (7-9) None ESPN+ 190 16–13 2–1 Mar 22 Incarnate Word Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 4–3 Sanders, Shaelyn (9-6) Larissa Jacquez (4-4) Schexnayder, Ryann (1) 150 17–13 3–1 Mar 23 Incarnate Word Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 3–0 Davis, Lindsay (3-5) Samantha Portillo (3-2) None 18–13 4–1 Mar 23 Incarnate Word Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 11–6 Schexnayder, Ryann (5-2) Annie Gunther (3-3) Dibbley, Alexis (1) 747 19–13 5–1 Mar 26 at South Alabama* Jaguar Field • Mobile, AL 3–2 Sanders, Shaelyn(10-6) Ryley Harrison(4-3) Davis, Lindsay (3) ESPN+ 20–13 Mar 28 at Northwestern State Lady Demon Diamond • Natchitoches, LA 10–8 Davis, Lindsay (4-5) Darr, M. (5-10) Schexnayder, Ryann (2) ESPN+ 411 21–13 6–1 Mar 29 at Northwestern State Lady Demon Diamond • Natchitoches, LA 7–1 Dibbley, Alexis (2-0) Seely, Kenzie (7-10) None ESPN+ 452 22–13 7–1 Mar 29 at Northwestern State Lady Demon Diamond • Natchitoches, LA 8–0 (5 inn) Sanders, Shaelyn (11-6) Darr, Maggie (5-11) None ESPN+ 452 23–13 8–1
April (12–5) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC record Apr 2 at Florida State* 18 JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex • Tallahassee, FL 0–12 (5 inn) M. Reid (9-1) Sanders, Shaelyn (11-7) None ESPN+ 567 23–14 Apr 3 at Florida State* 18 JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex • Tallahassee, FL 0–8 (5 inn) A. Danley (7-2) Dibbley, Alexis (2-1) None ESPN+ 523 23–15 Apr 5 Lamar Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 7–0 Sanders, Shaelyn (12-7) Wardlaw, E. (9-3) None ESPN+ 758 24–15 9–1 Apr 6 Lamar Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 6–2 Dibbley, Alexis (3-1) Mitchell, K. (10-4) None ESPN+ 25–15 10–1 Apr 6 Lamar Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 6–3 Davis, Lindsay (5-5) Mitchell, K. (10-5) None ESPN+ 742 26–15 11–1 Apr 12 at Texas A&M–Commerce John Cain Family Softball Complex • Commerce, TX 2–0 Sanders, Shaelyn (13-7) Sanchez, J. (4-10) None ESPN+ 27–15 12–1 Apr 12 at Texas A&M–Commerce John Cain Family Softball Complex • Commerce, TX 14–2 (5 inn) Schexnayder, Ryann (6-3) Arredondo, A (0-6) None ESPN+ 267 28–15 13–1 Apr 13 at Texas A&M–Commerce John Cain Family Softball Complex • Commerce, TX 11–1 (5 inn) Sanders, Shaelyn (14-7) Sanchez, Julia (4-11) None ESPN+ 127 29–15 14–1 Apr 17 Sam Houston* Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 4–2 Davis, Lindsay (6-5) Amy Abke (8-8) Sanders, Shaelyn (1) 680 30–15 Apr 19 Houston Christian Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 8–0 (5 inn) Sanders, Shaelyn (15-7) Grofman, Ronni (5-9) None ESPN+ 727 31–15 15–1 Apr 19 Houston Christian Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 6–3 Dibbley, Alexis (4-1) Swanson, Lyndie (6-7) Sanders, Shaelyn (2) ESPN+ 32–15 16–1 Apr 20 Houston Christian Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 5–4 (9 inn) Sanders, Shaelyn (16-7) anes, Katy (4-4) None ESPN+ 752 33–15 17–1 Apr 24 Louisiana* 19 Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 4–5 Landry, S (18-7) Sanders, Shaelyn (16-8) Riassetto (6) ESPN+ 1,027 33–16 Apr 26 at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Chapman Field • Corpus Christi, TX 1–0 (8 inn) Sanders, Shaelyn (17-8) Saenz, A. (2-5) None ESPN+ 205 34–16 18–1 Apr 26 at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Chapman Field • Corpus Christi, TX 1–2 Aholelei, P. (15-8) Sanders, Shaelyn (17-9) None ESPN+ 216 34–17 18–2 Apr 27 at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Chapman Field • Corpus Christi, TX 3–1 Sanders, Shaelyn (18-9) Aholelei, P. (15-9) None ESPN+ 282 35–17 19–2 Apr 30 at Louisiana Tech* Lady Techster Softball Complex • Ruston, LA 0–4 MELNYCHUK, B (11-7) Dibbley, Alexis (4-2) None ESPN+ 558 35–18
May (3–0) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC record May 3 Southeastern Louisiana Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 3–0 Sanders, Shaelyn (19-9) Brunson, Allison (3-1) None ESPN+ 1,041 36–18 20–2 May 3 Southeastern Louisiana Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 5–3 Schexnayder, Ryann (7-2) DuBois, Ellie (13-5) Sanders, Shaelyn (3) ESPN+ 37–18 21–2 May 4 Southeastern Louisiana Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, LA 6–2 Schexnayder, Ryann (8-2) Brunson, Allison (3-2) None ESPN+ 912 38–18 22–2
Post-Season (2–2)
Southland Tournament (2–2) Date Opponent (Seed)/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record Tournament record May 8 vs. (4) Incarnate Word (1) North Oak Park • Hammond, LA 2–3 Samantha Portillo(10-6) Sanders, Shaelyn(19-10) None ESPN+ 332 38–19 0–1 May 8 vs. (7) Houston Christian (1) North Oak Park • Hammond, LA 8–6 Schexnayder, Ryann(9-2) Grofman, Ronni(6-10) None ESPN+ 322 39–19 1–1 May 9 vs. (3) Nicholls (1) North Oak Park • Hammond, LA 4–3 (8 inn) Sanders, Shaelyn (20-10) McNeill, A. (14-13) None ESPN+ 520 40–19 2–1 May 9 vs. (4) Incarnate Word (1) North Oak Park • Hammond, LA 7–8 (8 inn) Samantha Portillo(11-6) Schexnayder, Ryann(9-3) None ESPN+ 322 40–20 2–2

Schedule Source: ^{[4] [5] [6]} *Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the NFCA/USA Softball poll.

See also

2024 McNeese Cowboys baseball team

References

1. "Texas A&M University-Commerce Officially Joins NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference". Texas A&M University-Commerce. July 1, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
2. "Southland Standings". D1Softball. D1SOFTBALL. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
3. "McNeese predicted to repeat as SLC Softball Champions; Preseason poll and all-conference teams announced". Southland Conference. February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
4. "2024 Softball Schedule". McNeese Athletics. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
5. "WarrenNolan.com McNeese Cowgirls Southland". Nolan Analytics, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
6. "D1SOFTBALL McNeese (Southland)". D1 Softball. Retrieved January 25, 2024.