Big second inning pushes baseball Bengals to weekend sweep
Box Score The LSU Eunice baseball team wrapped up a three-game weekend sweep of visiting St. Charles Community College on Sunday afternoon, collecting 16 hits in an 18-0 victory.
The big inning for the Bengals (6-0) came in the second, when they sent 16 batters to the plate and scored 11 runs off of 6 hits, five St. Charles (0-3) walks and two errors.
LSU Eunice went on to add a single run in the third inning, three runs in the fourth, a single run in the fifth and two final runs in the sixth inning.
"Our guys competed well at the plate all weekend. We've gotten some pitches that were elevated, and when we got them, we didn't miss them and we got some extra base hits out of that," head coach Jeff Willis said.
On the mound, LSU Eunice pitchers finished the weekend sweep with three shutouts, allowing just seven hits and eight walks in the series.
"Hats off to our pitching staff. They pitched to contact and let our defense play behind them. Our defense wants to play behind guys that pitch to contact, because they are into the game and they want to make plays," Willis added.
David LaFleur led the Bengals at the plate, finishing 4-5 at the plate on the afternoon with four RBIs and three runs scored, highlighted by his two-run homer in the big second inning.
Four players each notched two hits, as sophomores Stefan Trosclair (double) and Ray Veit (2 doubles) both drove home two RBIs, while freshmen Mason Nickens and Brennan Bozeman each added an RBI of their own.
Kyle St. Pierre added a hit while walking once and being hit by a pitch twice, but drove home two RBIs while scoring three times. Tyler Chapman (0-3, BB) drove home two runs, while Madison Nickens (1-1) and Ben Chauvin (0-1) each notched an RBI as well.
Freshman Nick Lawrence earned his first win of the season, tossing four innings and allowing just one hit and three walks while striking out four St. Charles batters.
Will Bacon (1.0 inning, 1 hit allowed), Ben LeBlanc (1.0 inning, 1 strikeout) and Sam Walley (1.0 inning, 1 strikeout) closed out the afternoon from the bullpen.
In the big second inning, Trosclair and Bozeman collected RBI singles while Veit added a two-run double in addition to LaFleur's two-run homer over the left field wall.
LaFleur added to the lead with an RBI single in the third inning before he and St. Pierre each collected RBI singles in the fourth frame, while Trosclair's RBI groundout added another run in the inning.
Chapman picked up an RBI with his sacrifice fly in the fifth inning before an RBI single from Madison Nickens wrapped up the scoring in the sixth.
The Bengals will now face their first midweek contest of the season, going on the road for the first time for a neutral site game against Wharton Junior College at McNeese University on Wednesday night.
"It will be our first time on the road, so that's always a question mark. You are always comfortable when you play at home. It will be a test for us. Wharton is very well coached, they will play hard and play the right way," Willis said.
Wednesday's game is a 6 p.m. start and can be seen on Bengal All-Access.
