LAKE CHARLES, La. (Interstat) — Eric Nachtsheim struck out 16 in a complete-game three-hitter and Hayden Stringfellow drove in three runs to lead the McNeese State Cowboys to a 4-2 victory over the Houston Christian Huskies in the first game of a Southland Conference doubleheader on Friday at Sudduth Coliseum.

Nachtsheim, a right-hander, was dominant from the outset, fanning the side in the first inning and never relenting. He allowed just two earned runs, both on solo home runs, and walked none while throwing 119 pitches. His 16 strikeouts were a career-high and anchored a performance that lifted McNeese State to a .500 record at 7-7. Houston Christian fell to 7-8.

The most important sequence of the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning, breaking a 2-2 tie. McNeese State’s Larry Edwards Jr. worked a leadoff walk, stole second base and scored on an RBI double by Marcus Heusohn. Stringfellow followed immediately with another run-scoring double, plating Heusohn to give the Cowboys a 4-2 lead. That two-run cushion proved more than enough for Nachtsheim, who retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced, eight by strikeout.

Houston Christian’s offense was stifled outside of two swings. Jackson hit a solo homer to left-center in the third inning to tie the game at 2-2. Hendricks added another solo shot to left field in the seventh to cut the deficit to 4-2. The Huskies managed just one other hit, a second-inning single by Walker, as Nachtsheim controlled the contest.

McNeese State’s 10-hit attack was led by Stringfellow, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBIs. His two-run double in the first inning answered Houston Christian’s early two-run lead, which was indicated on the provided play-by-play but without a detailed scoring play. Heusohn added two hits, including his go-ahead RBI double in the fifth.

The win defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 7-5 Houston Christian victory, though the site’s ELO rating system gave McNeese State a 69.4% probability to win.

The teams were scheduled to conclude the doubleheader later Friday. Houston Christian continues its conference schedule at Tarleton State next weekend, while McNeese State travels to face Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday before a series at Lamar.