CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Interstat) — Danny Barbero broke out of a brief slump with three extra-base hits and four RBIs, and the McNeese State Cowboys pulled away late for a 9-4 victory over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders in a Southland Conference baseball game Friday.

The game, which began in the afternoon and concluded in the evening, saw the Cowboys improve to 19-17 overall. The Islanders fell to 16-22.

Barbero, the Cowboys’ right fielder who was 3 for 12 over his previous four games, went 3 for 5. His two-run homer in the third inning off Islanders starter Chase Mayer gave McNeese State a lead it would not relinquish. He later added RBI doubles in the seventh and ninth innings.

The most important sequence of the game came in the bottom of the sixth inning. After the Islanders had trimmed the deficit to 4-3 on an RBI double by Christian Smith-Johnson, McNeese State reliever Eric Nachtsheim entered with two outs and a runner on second. He struck out Sebastian Bergstrom to end the threat, beginning a dominant relief outing. Nachtsheim pitched 3 2/3 hitless innings, striking out nine of the 11 batters he faced to earn the win.

McNeese State starter Cooper Golden worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits with five strikeouts. The Cowboys’ offense provided 12 hits, with Hayden Stringfellow adding two doubles and DJ Pinkerton contributing a two-run homer in the sixth and an RBI triple in the eighth.

For Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Jarrett Flaggert drove in three runs on three hits, including a two-run double in the third. Karson Krowka also had three hits and scored twice. Mayer took the loss despite a strong effort, striking out 11 over six innings while allowing four runs on six hits.

The Islanders threatened again in the seventh, putting runners on first and second with no outs against Nachtsheim. The right-hander responded by striking out Smith-Johnson, Marco Azemar and Josh Reynolds in order to preserve a 6-4 lead.

McNeese State then secured the win with three runs over the final two innings. Pinkerton’s triple and an RBI fielder’s choice by Cameron Dowell plated two in the eighth, and Barbero’s final double brought home the game’s final run.

The victory outperformed the projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 7-4 McNeese State win. The Cowboys’ probability of winning was set at 64.4% by the service’s ELO system.

The two teams continue their conference series Saturday.