EUNICE, La. –
Rylie Candella (Centerville, LA, Centerville HS) collected five hits to help lead LSU Eunice to a Tuesday sweep of Alvin CC at Lady Bengal Field. It is LSU Eunice's (26-12) second home sweep of the season, and completes a four-game season sweep of the Dolphins.
Candella went a perfect 3-for-3 in the Bengals' 8-1 opener, then blasted the go ahead home run in the fifth inning for a come from behind 8-5 victory. The sophomore went 5-for-6 on the day, driving in three runs and scoring twice with three extra base hits.
LSU Eunice returns home on Wednesday for a doubleheader with Galveston College. The two sides split a doubleheader in Texas last week.
Game 1 v. Alvin CC – W, 8-1
A five-run inning gave LSU Eunice all the momentum it needed to capture an 8-1 victory over Alvin in the opener.
After three scoreless frames,
Cendall Barton (Elmer, LA, Alexandria Senior HS) put the Bengals on the board first with a two-out two-run single to left field to score Rylie Candella and
Karli Fontenot (Ville Platte, LA, Sacred Heart-Ville Platte HS).
Sydnei Simon (Rayne, LA, Notre Dame HS) and
Maddie Leal (Houston, TX, Spring HS) would hit back-to-back doubles to bump up the lead to 5-0.
After both teams traded runs, Simon would put an exclamation point on the win with a solo home run in the sixth inning. The freshman finished 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs and two runs scored to lead the Bengal cause. She was joined by Leal and Candella's 3-for-3 outing a Bengals with multi-hit games.
Candella capped off the scoring with a RBI double in the sixth.
Kinsley Ashworth (Plainview, LA, Plainview HS) and
Raegan Pilgreen (Ruston, LA, Quitman HS) tag-teamed to keep the Dolphin bats at bay. Ashworth (5-2) tossed five innings, giving up one run off three hits and a walk, while Pilgreen went two innings of scoreless relief.
Game 2 vs. Alvin CC – W, 8-5
Rylie Candella's two-run home run gave LSU Eunice the lead for good as the Bengals managed to grab the Tuesday sweep in an 8-5 win over Alvin CC.
After the Dolphins took their first lead of the day, 3-2, in the fifth inning, Candella answered with a two-run shot to give LSUE the lead back. It was Candella's team's best 11th home run of the season. Cendall Barton added another run in the fifth with a sacrifice fly to score
Gracie King (Winnsboro, LA, Franklin Parish HS).
The Dolphins clawed back to within a run an inning later, but not before LSUE responded with three more runs. The Bengals used a Sydnei Simon RBI single and two Dolphin errors to push the lead to 8-4.
It was one of six Alvin errors, as only three of the Bengals' eight runs were earned.
The scoring started in the second inning, as LSUE jumped ahead 2-0 thanks to a Karli Fontenot home run and
Katelyn Courville (Lake Charles, LA, St. Louis Catholic HS) sacrifice fly.
Chloe Brouillette (Mansfield, LA, Stanley HS) (6-0) picked up the win in relief, going 2.2 frames. Brouillette struck out a pair of batters while giving up two unearned runs off three hits and two walks. Sydnei Simon got the start, giving up three runs and three hits in 4.1 innings worked.
