Box Score MONROE – LSU Eunice scored twice in the eighth and then held off a rally by Mississippi Delta Community College as the Bengals grabbed an 8-7 win over the Trojans.
Mississippi Delta jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, begun when Weber Herbison was hit by pitch and scored on a hit by Nathan Pilutti.
Jake Hartman singled and scored on a sacrifice by Wendell Rieves to push the Trojans ahead, 2-0.
The Bengals closed the gap to 2-1 with a run in the bottom of the inning as
Gavin Bourgeois (Notre Dame) doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball.
Mississippi Delta added two runs in the top of the third inning as Channing Tapley walked, Ty Jones singled and both scored on a hit by Herbison.
The Trojans increased its lead to 5-1 in the top of the fourth when Pilutti singled and scored on a double play.
LSUE began its comeback when
Anthony Forte (Conant) hit a two-out solo home run in bottom of the fourth to close the gap to 5-2.
The Bengals' rally continued in the bottom of the fifth, begun when
Bo Myers (Zachary) singled,
Austin Kirkpatrick (Teurlings Catholic) reached on an error and both scored on a double by Bourgeois.
The Bengals took a 6-5 advantage in the sixth inning, begun when Forte singled and scored on a double by
Brent Hebert (Cypress Ranch)to tie the game.
Myers reached on a fielder's choice and advanced on a pair of wild pitches before scoring on a sacrifice by Bourgeois to grab a one-run lead.
The Bengals added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to push ahead, 8-5.
Michael Claverie (Live Oak) singled, advanced on wild pitches and scored when Hebert reached on a fielder's choice.
Micah McHugh (Zachary) walked, advanced on a wild pitch and later scored on a single by Myers to increase the Bengals' margin to three runs.
The Trojans responded with two runs in the top of the ninth as Pilutti singled and Rieves later hit a home run but the Bengal defense held to preserve the win.
Bengal starter
Michael Brawner (St. Joseph HS) went 2.2 innings as he walked one and allowed two earned runs on seven hits.
Braxton Smith (Orangefield) (4-2) earned the win as he struck out five and allowed an earned run on five hits over 5.1 innings.
Josh Taylor (Teurlings Catholic) grabbed his fourth save of the season as he allowed two earned runs on three hits in the ninth inning.
Bourgeois went 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Myers went 2-for-4 with a RBI and Forte finished 2-for-3 with a RBI.
