Bengals grab doubleheader sweep over visiting North Central Texas
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Saturday afternoon was twice as nice for the LSU Eunice baseball team, grabbing a pair of wins to open their three-game set with North Central Texas College on Saturday afternoon.
The Bengals (11-2) and Lions (5-8) were scheduled to open up on Friday night before rains at the end of the week forced the teams into a Saturday doubleheader.
LSU Eunice came from behind in the opener to win 8-5 before leading throughout game two and coming away with a 6-2 victory.
“I thought our guys played well. Out of our 14 runs we had seven two-out RBI hits, and when you are able to get two-out base hits and drive guys in, you have a chance to win a lot of games,” head coach Jeff Willis said.
The story of the afternoon may have been the pitching as much as it was the hitting. The Bengals needed to use just four pitchers over the 18 innings.
Game one saw starter Brady Domangue go seven strong innings, allowing five hits and five runs (one earned run) while walking two and striking out three batters before Ryan Domingue came on for the final two innings, holding North Central Texas hitless.
The Bengals put two runs on the board in the first inning of the opener thanks to an Evan Powell (2-3, 3 RBI) two-out, two-run double before seeing the visitors respond with two runs of their own in the third.
After LSU Eunice had retaken the lead with a run in the fourth when Powell was hit by a pitch and later scored on a squeeze bunt, North Central Texas put up a three-run inning in the top of the seventh to take a 5-3 advantage.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Bengals put up four runs in the inning, started by Casey Rodrigue’s two-run homer to right field before Garrett Deschamp(1-4) singled and came around to score, and Buddy McCoy (2-4) walked and advanced around the bases before scoring on a bases loaded walk to Stefan Trosclair (2-2, RBI).
Rodrigue (2-4, 2 RBI) was at the center of the final run in the eighth, singling before advancing around the bases and scoring on a wild pitch for the game’s final run.
In the nightcap, the Bengals scored in the first inning when Landon Thibodeaux (2-4) doubled and stole third base, scoring when the North Central Texas throw sailed into left field.
Both teams scored in the fourth inning, with LSU Eunice retaking the lead when Powell (1-4) singled to open the bottom of the frame before advancing around the bases and coming home on a wild pitch.
Five hits highlighted the Bengal sixth, when they added three runs on five hits, including back-to-back RBI doubles by McCoy (2-4) and Trent Vidrine (1-2) before Trosclair (1-3, 2 RBI) followed with an RBI single.
The Bengals added their final run in the eighth on a Trosclair sacrifice fly before North Central Texas tallied one run in the top of the ninth.
Left-hander Chad Reeves earned his second win of the season after tossing six innings with two hits and one run, while walking three and striking out six batters. Fellow southpaw Trae Hester wrapped up the final three innings, allowing just two hits and one run (unearned) while walking one and striking out six batters.
The Bengals and North Central Texas conclude their three-game set tomorrow afternoon with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
“They played will and were a couple of hits away from possibly walking out of here with two wins. We’ll respect that and realize tomorrow’s a new day,” Willis said.
Tomorrow’s finale can be seen on Bengal All-Access.
