POPLARVILLE, Ms. – LSU Eunice gave a vintage Bengal postseason performance, racing out a large lead on their way to a 10-0 victory over East Mississippi in the Region 23 Tournament on Tuesday at Dub Herring Field. The win puts the Region 23 Tournament into a secondary bracket with five teams still alive entering the third day of play.
LSUE will now face Jones College in an elimination game on Wednesday at 3:30PM.
The Bengals exploded out of the game, seeing the first six batters of the game reach base safely.
Peyton LeJeune (Church Point, LA, Teurlings Catholic HS) would get LSUE on the board, stroking a two-run single to right field. Two batters later,
Alexander Saunier (Lafayette, LA, Lafayette HS) doubled up the Bengals' advantage with a laced shot to left center, scoring LeJeune and
Cade Hart (Shreveport, LA, Calvary Baptist HS).
Cole Romero (Scott, LA, Acadiana HS) manufactured the final run of the five-run first with a sacrifice fly to center field.
That was more than enough for an impressive postseason debut by
Patrick Vienne (Natchitoches, LA, St. Mary's HS). The right hander limited the Lions to just four base runners all night, working out of a jam in the fourth as East Mississippi had a pair of runners on. One of Vienne's eight punchouts would squash the threat.
He would strike out the side in order to end the game in the fifth. Vienne improved to 11-1 on the season after a five-inning complete game shutout, scattering a pair of hits, a walk and a hit batter.
LSUE would put the run-rule into play in the second with a three-run frame. Cade Hart followed a LeJeune double with a RBI single, followed by Cole Romero and
Grant Mangrum (Sterlington, LA, Sterlington HS) connecting on back-to-back two-out RBI singles.
Hart would score in the third on a wild pitch before Alexander Saunier got the Bengals to double digits with an RBI double. Saunier enjoyed his first three-hit game of the season, leading the team in both hits and his three RBIs. The freshman also paced LSUE with two of the team's four stolen bases.
LeJeune joined Saunier with multi-hit games in LSUE's nine-hit output.
