Lady Bengal bats explode for second round NJCAA National Tournament win
The LSU Eunice softball team exploded for 19 runs in their second game of the NJCAA National Championship Tournament on Thursday afternoon, defeating Mercyhurst North East 19-1 and advancing to play a familiar foe on Friday.
The Lady Bengals (59-5) posted six runs in the third inning before going off for 13 runs in a fourth inning that saw them send 20 batters to the plate in the frame.
LSU Eunice now advances to tangle with Jones County Junior College, who came from behind to defeat Cowley County by a 3-2 score Thursday.
“It was a one sided game in the end, but their girl could pitch. We made adjustments and challenged them by bunting. They panicked, started throwing the ball away, and the next thing you knew, we started hitting the ball well. I thought it was a closer game than it really was,” head coach Andy Lee said.
In the middle of the offensive barrage, Lady Bengal sophomore Kelsey Hollier collected two RBIs to move her total to 74 RBIs in 2013, becoming the LSU Eunice single season RBI record holder, passing Haley McCall’s 73 RBIs set in 2011.
In all, the Lady Bengals saw nine players record hits, including two each from Hollier, Brooke Thomas, Taylor Simon and Brooke Clark.
Chelsea Evans (1-1) notched a double, while Ashley Subervielle, Codi Covington, Radi Vosburg, Carey Alexis and Brooke Rozas each collected a hit.
Simon led the way with five RBIs, including her three-run homer to begin the scoring output in the fourth inning.
Evans added two RBIs for the Lady Bengals, who also received an RBI from Emily Nolan (0-2, 2 BB), Pam Wainwright, Covington, Vosburg and Alexis.
Inside the circle, Julienne Broussard earned the win, striking out nine batters over four innings and allowing just one run on three hits before Elizabeth Delafield wrapped up the final three outs.
LSU Eunice used small ball to get on the board in the third inning, using bunts, squeezes and Mercyhurst errors to plate their six runs before Simon’s three-run homer was the biggest hit in the huge fourth inning.
The Lady Bengals continue play on Friday afternoon, when they will play multiple games on the same day for the first time in the national tournament.
Their meeting with Jones County will open the day at 12 p.m. noon, and will mark the fourth meeting in a week after the two squared off multiple times in last week’s Region 23 Tournament. In the regional, Jones County took the first meeting 5-4 last Friday night before the Lady Bengals responded with two wins on Sunday (6-0, 10-4) to win the regional title.
“We are glad to be where we are, but it’s a must-win type situation if you want to win the National Championship. There will be a lot of emotions and a big crowd, and whoever wants it the most will probably come out on top,” Lee said.
Tomorrow’s game against Jones will be available on NJCAA TV.
