Bengals grab Friday night victory over Murray State in Championship rematch
Box Score The LSU Eunice baseball team extracted a little revenge on Friday night, defeating Murray State College 13-3 in the opening game of the teams' three-game weekend series.
The Bengals (17-4) plated nine runs in the second inning to jump ahead for good against Murray State (15-5), in the first meeting between the two since last season's National Championship game.
"Our guys competed hard and guys got after it tonight, and we were fortunate to come out on top tonight. (Chad) threw well and I thought he commanded the strike zone for the most part. Overall, I thought he set the tone and competed well tonight," head coach Jeff Willis said.
LSU Eunice collected 13 hits and 12 RBIs en route to their 13 runs, as five players each finished with two hits.
Derek Herrington notched three RBIs, while Brennan Bozeman, Mason Nickens and Jordan Romero tallied an RBI each as all four collected two hits. Stefan Trosclair added an RBI to his two-hit night, while Kyle St. Pierre (0-4) and Ray Veit (1-2) also picked up an RBI each.
Left-hander Chad Reeves earned his sixth win of the season with his complete game performance, allowing eight hits and three runs while striking out eight Murray State batters during his 115-pitch night.
In the big second inning, the Bengals used a double steal to plate the opening run of the night before Herrington cleared the bases with his three-run double into the left field corner to give the hosts a 4-0 lead.
Bozeman followed with an RBI double of his own to score Tyler Chapman (1-2) before he came home on Nickens' RBI single back up the middle. Nickens later scored on St. Pierre's squeeze bunt, while Romero's two-run single ended the inning's scoring.
LSU Eunice added three more runs in the third, beginning when Veit led off the inning with a double before scoring on Bozeman's RBI single. Nickens added an RBI single, while Bozeman would tag and score on Trosclair's sacrifice fly later in the frame.
The Bengals added a final run in the bottom of the sixth when Chapman opened the inning with a walk before advancing around the base paths on a pair of wild pitches and scoring on Veit's sacrifice fly to right field.
LSU Eunice and Murray State continue their weekend series tomorrow afternoon with a 12 p.m. first pitch.
Tomorrow's game can be seen on Bengal All-Access and heard on KVPI 92.5 FM.
