LAKE CHARLES — A two-run homer in the fourth inning by Jake Cochran broke a 2-2 tie and gave McNeese State all the runs it would need in a 6-3 win over No. 21 ranked Mississippi State at Joe Miller Ballpark Wednesday evening.

The line-drive blast by Cochran, his first dinger of the season, just cleared the fence in right-center field to score leadoff hitter Jacob Stracner, who reached on a walk.

“When I hit it, I didn’t think at first that it was going out at all,” Cochran said. “The way things have been going for me — I’ve been hitting the ball hard but right at people.”

After an 0-6 start, the Pokes have now won two straight, thanks in large part to stellar pitching.  

McNeese hurlers Adam Goree and Cayne Ueckert combined to no-hit Texas State on the road Sunday. It was the Cowboys’ first no-hitter since 2001.

Tyler Wesley (1-1), a versatile senior right-hander used in both starting and relief situations by Cowboys head coach Justin Hill, got the nod versus Mississippi State and earned the win. He whiffed five Bulldogs.

“It was an important win for us, but nobody on this team was feeling pressure because we were 0-6,” Wesley said. “My change-up was working really good tonight and I just started throwing a new two-seam fastball.”

The Pokes took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first after Stracner was hit by a pitch, stole second, advanced to third on a deep flyout to center by Cochran, and scored on a double by Shane Selman, who entered the game with a team-leading .375 batting average.

With four round-trippers, Selman came into the game ranked ninth among NCAA home-run leaders. He crossed home plate on a single to right by clean-up hitter Joe Provenzano.

McNeese freshman shortstop Reid Bourque had an excellent night both offensively and defensively. 

Bourque, one of five Cowboys on the roster from Moss Bluff, gobbled up numerous grounders to help stifle the Bulldog bats.

“My teammates backed me up really well because they were knocking me around pretty good,” Wesley added. “Reid definitely made some plays.”

In the bottom of the sixth, Bourque, the No. 9 hitter, ripped a two-out triple and promptly stole home to increase the margin to 5-2.

After the Bulldogs climbed within 5-3 in the top of the eighth, McNeese third baseman Carson Maxwell responded with a towering solo shot in the bottom of the frame.

It was the first home run of the year for Maxwell, who entered the contest hitting just .136.

Grant Anderson (1.2 innings, four strikeouts) picked up the save, his first of the year. 

“Grant was coming off a tough game last Saturday,” Hill said. “He created a mess (with two walks) of his own doing, somewhat, but you have to overcome your demons sometimes and he did that.

“I’ll put him in there in that situation 10 out of 10 times.”

Mississippi State fell to 3-5. The Bulldogs had won three of four since Gary Henderson took over as interim head coach following the sudden resignation of Andy Cannizaro on Feb. 20.

The win marked the second straight year that the Cowboys upset a nationally-ranked SEC team in Lake Charles. Last season, the Pokes pulled off a 5-4 win over then-No. 6 LSU.