With two outs left in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Wolfpack trailed 17th-ranked Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opponent Louisiana State Uuniversity-Shreveport 6-8 in the second game of their double header.

The previous batter, Mike Kelly, business management senior, reached base safely on four balls following a pitch hit down the left field line producing a run by Brooks McMinn, marketing freshman.

Standing on deck awaiting the opportunity to continue the rally, David McChesney, business management junior, stepped in the batter’s box for only the seventh time in the last 26 baseball games.

Sure enough, McChesney swung at the pitch and watched as it flew over the fence for the game winning walk-off grand slam.

“It kind of showed you a spurt of what he is capable of. To hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth with two outs to help his team win a game is a great feat,” Gerald “Gee” Cassard, head baseball coach said.

“I’m proud of him and excited to have him back,” he said.

“We kept ourselves in the game, and with two outs we started a rally,” McChesney said. “When I came up to bat, the bases were loaded and I just happened to get a good hit that won us the game.”

Along with the grand slam, McChesney went 3-5 with a base hit and a solo home run to cap off his performance in the second game of the series.

In the first game, however, he was not able to experience the same success. McChesney went hitless.

Earlier that day he returned to the lineup for the first time since fracturing his kneecap in the Feb. 23 game against Louisiana College. His 0-4 performance indicated signs of his timing being off while swinging the bat.

“I just needed to get my timing down,” McChesney said. “There was a little rust in the first game.”

Cassard believes McChesney went hitless in his first game back because of his anxiousness to return to the lineup.

“I think he was a little more excited, the adrenaline was flowing and he was trying to get back in the lineup and help us win some ball games.”

“He just needed to calm down and relax a little bit and get back into the rhythm of the baseball game since he hadn’t seen a lot of live pitches,” Cassard said.

Despite going hitless, McChesney became increasingly comfortable with each at bat.

“The first game I went 0-4, but maybe I just needed to get my timing down a little bit. The second game I had a pretty good game and I made better contact because I timed my swing better,” he said.

“Overall I felt pretty comfortable at the plate the more plate appearances I had,” he said.

Even though Cassard placed McChesney in the lineup, Cassard was not expecting him to have his best performance of the season in his first game back.

“Basically I was just looking for him to get some at bats and see where his timing was since he has been out since Feb. 23,” Cassard said.

McChesney sat most of the final game Sunday after playing the entirety of both games of the double header.

“I pushed myself pretty hard over the first few games and my knee got pretty sore. I had a pretty significant limp after both games, but Sunday my knee felt a lot better,” McChesney said.

“Coach didn’t want me to keep pushing it in one weekend so he gave me a pinch hit at bat in the third game,” he said.

Although McChesney played in both games, he never played in the field – he assumed the role of designated hitter.

“He participated in team batting practice, did some work in the cage and jogged before the LSU-Shreveport series, but he still isn’t ready to play right field yet,” Cassard said.

McChesney believes his status for the final series on April 25 will be determined based on how his knee feels.

“I’ll try to run it out this weekend and see how it feels before the game to determine whether or not I can play the field or designated hitter,” he said.

“If I can’t go, then we have other people that can get the job done. But right now it’s just day to day seeing how my knee feels,” he said.

Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected].