LAKE CHARLES, La. — The Battle of the Border rivalry took shape in the Southland Softball Championship Series for the first time Thursday, pitting No. 5 Lamar against No. 2 McNeese. A near dead-even Game 1 matchup saw neither team conceding an inch until the Cowgirls finally broke through in the bottom of the 10th, winning 1-0 after a Maddie Weeks walk-off double to move a win away from another conference championship. 

Both pitchers had their best stuff working throughout the evening. McNeese's Maddie Taylor, the Player of the Game, gave the Cowgirls 10.0 scoreless innings with only two hits allowed on 111 pitches. McNeese needed every bit of excellence Taylor offered in the circle as their offense could not solve Reagan Smith who offered Lamar 9.1 innings and three strikeouts on 142 pitches. 

The Cowgirls had their best opportunity to plate a run before extra innings in the 7th, moving Taylor to third base after she had reached on a walk. But Smith would force a popout that extended the game. Each offense struggled to muster any scoring threat through the next few frames until the bottom of the 10th. Nyjah Fontenot reached on a walk, setting up Adriana Mireles as a pinch runner. 

Once Weeks took her spot in the batter's box, she cracked a double that dribbled to the wall at right center, sending Mireles around the bases and in to score the winning run. McNeese now holds a 1-0 lead in the series and will clinch the championship with a win on Friday.