MARIANNA, Fla. – LSU Eunice had a taste of postseason baseball with a pair of close wins against St. John's River State College on Saturday on the campus of Chipola College. The Bengals (48-5) close out the regular season with a weekend of games at home of the NJCAA Division I National Champions.
The Bengals used early offense and another Andrew Sheridan jewel to capture a 2-0 victory in its first game against the Vikings, followed by a late rally in a 5-4 win. The two wins helped LSUE run its current win streak to 16 contests.
Landon Clifton enjoyed a breakout afternoon as the sophomore captain recorded a pair of saves to boost his season total to six on the season.
LSU Eunice will close out the regular season on Sunday with a matinee showdown against Chipola College, the two-time reigning NJCAA Division National Champions. Game time from Marianna is set for 11:00AM.
Game 1 vs. St. John's River State College – W, 2-0
LSU Eunice used a critical second inning to give Andrew Sheridan all the offense he would need to deliver a 2-0 victory against St. John's River State College to open the Saturday doubleheader. The Bengals had three of their four hits in the frame as offense was at a premium for both sides.
Slate Fuller led off the inning with a double and would come home on a Jack Merrifield single in the next at bat. Merrifield would land at third thanks to a balk and sacrifice bunt so Austin Kirkpatrick could produce his 23rd RBI of the season, giving LSUE a 2-0 lead.
SJR's starting pitcher Jackson Spiller would only allow a Jarret McDonald single in the third inning the remainder of the contest.
Andrew Sheridan stymied the Viking offense for just two hits in 6.1 innings of action despite recording just one strikeout. St. John's River would threaten with two runners in scoring position in the first inning before Sheridan induced a fly out and ground out.
Sheridan (W, 12-1) would sit down 11 consecutive batters and not allow another hit until the seventh inning. Landon Clifton would record the final two outs of the game to pick up the save.
Game 2 vs. St. John's River State College – W, 5-4
After giving up four runs and losing the lead in the seventh inning, LSUE battled back to grab a 5-4 win and a sweep of St. John's River State College.
Jack Merrifield would tie the game 4-4 in the eighth inning with a RBI single to bring in Jarrett McDonald. Evan Keller drove in the game winning run with a bunt single to score Javier Vaz. Keller was one of three Bengals to post a three-hit game, joining McDonald and Merrifield.
LSUE temporarily lost the lead after allowing four runs in the seventh thanks to five hits, a walk and an error.
The two teams could not muster much offense early one with Jack Merrifield's RBI single the lone run the first six innings of the game. River Town would push the LSUE lead to 3-0 in the top of the seventh with a two-run home run, his team's best ninth of the season.
Tod Gauthe' picked up the win after two innings of relief of starter Dane Dixon. Gauthe' (W, 4-0) gave up one earned run off three hits while striking out three batters. Landon Clifton grabbed another save after a perfect ninth inning.
