Southland Conference preseason softball favorite McNeese took two out of three from Sam Houston in both team's first league series with 9-2  victory Sunday at the Bearkat Softball Complex.

Cowgirl pitcher Jamie Allred, who held SHSU hitless through the first six innings of a 4-2 victory to open the series, allowed the Kats only one hits in the first four innings.

Allred  pitched her seventh complete game of the year to up her record to 9-3.

Meanwhile, doubles by Alanna Divittorio and Taylor Goree and a Bearkat error  gave McNeese a 3-0 lead in the first. The Cowgilrs added two more in the third, three in the sixth and one in the seventh, taking advantage of five Bearkat errors.

Goree went 4-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs to lead McNeese as the Cowgirls upped their record to 14-8 for the year and 2-1 in Southland action.

Sarah Allison went 2-for-3 with a home run and 2 RBIs for Sam Houston. Tori Koerselman, Tiffany Castillo, Jessica Slater and Angelica Gonzales accounted for the Bearkats' other hits.

Haley Baros (3-5) took the loss, pitching four innings. Tayler Atkinson worked the final two frames.

Sam Houston returns to action Wednesday at 2 p.m. when the Bearkats play host to Texas-San Antonio in a non-conference doubleheader.