EUNICE, La. – It wasn't easy, but LSU Eunice baseball managed to secure a weekend sweep of Kellogg CC after a 6-5 victory on Sunday at Bengal Stadium. The four-game series was a rematch of last year's World Series Quarterfinals and Semifinals, as well as a meeting of the preseason No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams.
Kellogg gave LSUE everything they could handle early, recording 10 hits the first five innings but with only two runs to show for it. LSUE would get out of two bases loaded jams in those early frames, as
Luke McGibboney (Gonzales, LA, Catholic-Baton Rouge HS) induced a fly out to right field to squash the threat in the second and
Dalton Burrell (Bossier City, LA, Airline HS) got a ground out an inning later.
The Bruins would leave 17 runners on base for the afternoon.
After the teams traded runs for four consecutive at bats, LSUE pushed ahead with two runs in the fifth inning.
Kole Myers (Jennings, LA, Jennings HS) manufactured an RBI with a sacrifice grounder to second base, followed by
Peyton LeJeune (Church Point, LA, Teurlings Catholic HS) singling home
Carter Quinn (Lake Charles, LA, Barbe HS).
The Bruins wouldn't go away, eventually taking just their second lead of the weekend after two runs in the seventh game KCC a 5-4 edge.
LSUE's veterans were up to the task as LeJeune and
Bryce LaRocca (Lake Charles, LA, Barbe HS) brought in runs on back-to-back at bats, giving the Bengals the lead back.
That was all
Jackson Rodriguez (Kingwood, TX, Kingwood Park HS) and
Brock Barthelemy (Gonzales, LA, Dutchtown HS) would need. The duo went the final 2.1 innings, scattering two hits with three strikeouts combined in scoreless relief. Rodriguez grabbed his first win of the year, while Barthelemy notched his fourth save.
LeJeune joined
Alexander Saunier (Lafayette, LA, Lafayette HS) and
Reed Eason (West Monroe, LA, West Monroe HS) with multi-hit afternoons in the Bengals' 11-hit output.
