LUFKIN, Tx. – After extending time off due to postponement of games and spring break, LSU Eunice Softball geared up for the stretch run in impressive fashion with a road sweep on Sunday at Angelina College.  The Bengals (23-7) were away from the field for two weeks and made up for loss time with their second road doubleheader sweep of the season.
 
LSU Eunice used a big six-run fifth inning to take a 6-3 decision in the opener against the Roadrunners, followed by an early offensive explosion in the 13-9 finale.  Gracee Hess (Belle Chasse, LA, Belle Chasse HS) played a big role in both victories, tallying five hits that would produce four RBIs and four runs scored.  The sophomore slammed a pair of home runs in the second game.
 
The Bengals are set for the final homestand of the season, beginning Wednesday, March 27 with a 2:00PM doubleheader against NAIA Dillard University.
 
Game 1 vs. Angelina College – W, 6-3
It took some time to knock the rust off for LSU Eunice Softball, but the Bengals did with a six-run inning late to take a 6-3 decision to start Sunday's doubleheader.
 
The Bengals had just two hits and trailed 2-0 going into the fifth before returning to form.  LSUE pieced together six straight base hits to begin the inning, pushing out to a 4-2 lead.  Hadley Lemons (Kinder, LA, Kinder HS) closed out the scoring with a two-run single.  LSUE would close the game with 11 hits as Gracee Hess, Reagan Duty (Mont Belvieu, TX, Barbers Hill HS) and Kate Rills (Gonzales, LA, East Ascension HS) all connected with multi-hit games.
 
Reagan Rios (Longview, TX, Longview HS) would preserve the win after tossing 5.2 innings, improving to 10-4 on the season.  Rios scattered three earned runs off six hits and five walks.  She would strike out five batters.
 
Cate Nettles (Slidell, LA, Slidell HS) picked up her first save of the season, pitching 1.1 innings of shutout relief.  The freshman gave up one hit and one walk while striking out a batter.
 
Game 2 vs. Angelina College – W, 13-9
LSU Eunice picked up where it left off from the day's opener, racing out to an 8-1 lead and would hold on for a 13-9 victory over Angelina College.
 
The Bengals scored multiple runs in each of their first three at bats to grab the big advantage.  McKenna Howell (Pollock, LA, Grant HS) and Gracee Hess were key parts to the early surge as Howell had three separate run producing at bats in that span while Hess blasted one of her two home runs in the game.
 
Howell went 3-for-5 in the game, driving in four runs and scoring twice.  The freshman also picked up the win after tossing four innings in the circle, giving up two earned runs off three hits and three walks.
 
LSUE would see its lead swell to 11-2 in the fifth before the Roadrunners struck for six runs in the fifth off the Bengal bullpen.  LSUE had an answer, plating runs off Hess's solo home run and a run off one of two Angelina errors.
 
Reagan Rios squashed the Angelina comeback bid with a perfect seventh inning.
 
LSUE pounded 15 hits in the game led by Howell as well as Hess's three-hit contest.  She would drive in three RBIs and score three times.  They were joined by Katie Salling (Baton Rouge, LA, Parkview Baptist HS) and Kate Rills with multi-hit games.