EUNICE, La. – The offensive fireworks continued between LSU Eunice and McLennan as the two teams split their Saturday doubleheader at Lady Bengal Field. The series caps off a marathon week for the Bengals (29-15), playing eight games in five days.
LSUE used a four-run frame to fuel a 10-5 victory in the opener before the McLennan bats got hot again in an 11-4 setback. The Highlassies, the top home run hitting team in the nation, knocked 11 over the four-game stint.
Olivia Hennen (Choudrant, LA, Choudrant HS) was the lead bat for LSUE in the twinbill, collecting five hits while driving in three runs and scoring three times including a home run.
The Bengals hit the road on Monday for a doubleheader at Louisiana College starting at 4:00PM.
Game 1 vs. McLennan CC – W, 10-5
A four-run inning helped break a tie game for the Bengals and deliver LSUE a 10-5 victory over McLennan.
The two sides went back and forth the first 3.5 innings.
Karli Fontenot's (Ville Platte, LA, Sacred Heart-Ville Platte HS) two-run double in the first was answered by two Highlassie runs in the second. The Bengals answered right back with a pair of their own.
McLennan's fourth inning two-run home run tied it up for a final time, 4-4, before the Bengals went on a fourth inning run.
LSUE connected on five hits and used one error and a walk to jump ahead 8-4. Olivia Hennen pushed home the go-ahead run on a RBI single, followed by a two-run home run by
Gracie King (Winnsboro, LA, Franklin Parish HS).
Ashlyn Roach (Calhoun, LA, West Ouachita HS) added the final run of the frame on a ground ball single to plate Fontenot.
Hennen would add a solo home run in the fifth while
Katelyn Courville's (Lake Charles, LA, St. Louis Catholic HS)RBI double in the sixth made it 10-4 LSU.
Kinsley Ashworth (Plainview, LA, Plainview HS) subdued the McLennan bats with a strong 3.2 innings of relief to grab the win. Ashworth (7-3) gave up one run off two hits and a walk while striking out three batters.
Game 2 vs. McLennan CC – L, 4-11
An early hole haunted LSU Eunice again as the Bengals dropped the finale with McLennan, 11-4.
The Highlassies jumped out a 9-1 lead after three innings thanks to a four-run and five-run inning.
LSUE showed signs of a comeback in the fourth after back-to-back solo home runs by
Rylie Candella (Centerville, LA, Centerville HS) and Ashlyn Roach followed by an Olivia Hennen RBI single made it 9-4, but it was as close as the Bengals would get.
The Bengals would manage just two hits the final three innings. LSUE left eight runners on base including bases loaded twice in the first and the fourth innings.
