EUNICE, La. – LSU Eunice turned an ole fashioned pitching duel into a comfortable 11-4 win over Monroe College on Friday at Bengal Stadium. The Bengals (8-0) used six unanswered runs in their two at bats to secure their seventh win of the season of seven runs or more.
Starting pitchers
Patrick Vienne (Natchitoches, LA, St. Mary's HS) and Andrelis Payampas went toe-to-toe for the first half of the ball game with a 1-1 tie through the first four-plus innings. Vienne would work in traffic early on, leaving seven runners stranded the first four frames. Vienne would go six innings, giving up one unearned run off six hits and a walk. The sophomore also registered nine strikeouts on the night.
After scoring on a wild pitch, LSUE would take the lead for good with a three-run fifth inning. The heart of the Bengals' lineup would do the damage as
Zachary Thomas (Jesup, GA, Wayne County HS) and
Parker Coley (Sterlington, LA, Sterlington HS) belted back-to-back RBI doubles, followed by Coley scoring his second run of the game off a wild pitch.
Monroe would not go down easily, striking for three in the top half of the seventh inning including a two-run home run, trimming the LSUE lead to 5-4. That would just wake up the LSUE offense as the Bengals responded with authority.
Alexander Saunier (Lafayette, LA, Lafayette HS) blasted a towering solo home run over the center field batters' eye, igniting a four-run frame.
After a wild pitch and bases loaded walk made it 8-4 LSUE,
Dawson Willis (Ruston, LA, Ruston HS) drove in a run on a high chopper to short stop. The Bengals would plate two more runs in the eighth thanks to a wild pitch and one of four errors by the Monroe defense.
The duo of
Jacob Moore (Lacombe, LA, Lakeshore HS) and
Brandon Brewer (Sterlington, LA, Sterlington HS) subdued the Monroe bats the final two innings, giving up three hits but also striking out three batters combined.
Coley and
Korey Cooper (Dickinson, TX, Dickinson HS) produced multi-hit games as Saunier, Cooper, Coley and
Walker Bridges (Sulphur, LA, Sulphur HS) all scored twice.
Due to expected rain in the early morning, LSU Eunice has adjusted its weekend schedule with Monroe. The Bengals and Mustangs will play a single game on Saturday at 3:00PM, followed by a 1:00PM doubleheader on Sunday.
