Lady Bengals send out eight sophomores with win to wrap up regular season
The LSU Eunice softball team wrapped up the 2014 regular season and sent out eight sophomores in style with a 19-1 victory in their final home game of the year on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Bengals (55-2) saw sophomores Brooklynn Clark, Ashley Subervielle, Carey Alexis, Caitlen Blanchard, Morgan Tauzin, Emily Nolan and Codi Covington combine for 16 of the team's 23 total hits while driving in 12 RBIs in the game.
Elizabeth Delafield, the final sophomore of the group, earned her fifth win of the season, tossing three innings and allowing two hits and one run while striking out two batters.
Freshmen Kayla Davidson and Raven Cole combined to strikeout five of the six batters they faced in their one inning of work each.
"I'm so proud of this group. What more can you ask for from this group? The have just competed, won a National Championship, and shown their character by going out there and playing their guts out every day," head coach Andy Lee said.
"It's good to get a little rest (before the Regional). I'm excited about the way that we are swinging it and super excited about the way we are pitching it, and hopefully we carry this over and do what we do – play hard and out-hustle people."
As a group, the eight sophomores have now been a part of 117 wins over two seasons at LSU Eunice, while losing just seven games, to gather a .943 winning percentage. This year's team also finished a perfect 29-0 at home in 2014.
Individually, Nolan finished the afternoon with four RBIs, and her two-run double as part of the Lady Bengals' 10-run second inning pushed her name to the top of the list for the most RBIs in a single season in LSU Eunice history.
On Saturday, Alexis and Subervielle each finished a perfect 4-for-4, as Alexis tallied four RBIs on a double and two solo home runs and Subervielle added an RBI of her own.
Nolan finished with three hits – all doubles – and her four RBIs, while Clark collected two hits, including a double, and three RBIs and Covington also finished with two hits. Tauzin also collected a hit.
Freshmen Taylor Boulet and Destin Vicknair, the only two non-sophomores in the starting lineup, each finished with productive days as well, as Vicknair totaled six RBIs with a pair of two-run homers and Boulet notched a RBI as well.
The Lady Bengals sent 13 batters to the plate as part of the 10-run second inning, highlighted by Vicknair's two-run homer that was followed up by Alexis' solo homer. Clark and Nolan collected back-to-back two-run doubles, while Alexis tallied an RBI double, and both Subervielle and Boulet notched RBI singles.
In the third inning, Clark tallied an RBI double, Nolan drove in two runs on a double and Vicknair connected on her second two-run homer in as many innings before the fourth inning saw Vicknair collect a two-run single and Alexis hit her second home run – a two-run shot – to finish out the scoring.
LSU Eunice now has 12 days off before they will begin play in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, hosted at a site that is still to be determined in Mississippi. More information about the tournament's location, as well as the Lady Bengals' opponents, will be learned in the coming days.
