EUNICE, La. – LSU Eunice broke out its bats in a big way as the Bengals notched a pair of mercy rule wins over Dillard University on Wednesday at Lady Bengal Field.  The two wins kicked off a final eight-game homestand for the Bengals (25-7).
 
LSUE exploded for 27 runs over its two wins over the Bleu Devils, grabbing 10-0 and 17-1 victories.  Kate Rills (Gonzales, LA, East Ascension HS) collected five hits in the two games while Gabrielle Huetter (Magnolia, TX, Magnolia HS) produced six RBIs and three runs scored to pace the Bengal bats.  The two mercy rule wins gave LSUE 12 on the season.
 
The Bengals will honor their eight sophomores on Saturday as part of Sophomore Day festivities after their doubleheader against Baton Rouge CC.  The twinbill against the Bears is slated to start at 12:00PM from Lady Bengal Field.
 
Game 1 vs. Dillard University -W, 10-0 (Five Innings)
LSU Eunice wasted no time as the Bengals jumped out to a quick lead over Dillard University, taking a 10-0 decision in five innings. 
 
The Bengals struck for four runs in the opening inning with the freshman trio of Reagan Duty (Mont Belvieu, TX, Barbers Hill HS), McKenna Howell (Pollock, LA, Grant HS) and Hadley Lemons (Kinder, LA, Kinder HS) causing the damage.  The balanced attack would see ten different players score a run in the win.
 
After adding a run off a Gracee Hess (Belle Chasse, LA, Belle Chasse HS) RBI single in the second, LSUE struck for five more in the third.  Howell added two more RBIs with a single to right field while Gabrielle Huetter laced a two-run single of her own.
 
Howell was joined by Kate Rills with multi-hit games as the duo also led the Bengals with two RBI outings.
 
The duo of Alyssa Boutte (Erath, LA, Erath HS) and Cate Nettles (Slidell, LA, Slidell HS) kept the Bleu Devils off the scoreboard.  Boutte produced her first collegiate win as she tossed four shutout innings. The freshman gave up two hits and two walks while striking out four batters.  Nettles twirled a perfect fifth inning.
 
Game 2 vs. Dillard University – W, 17-1 (Five Innings)
The LSU Eunice offense picked up right where it left off in the Dillard opener, striking for two big innings in a 17-1 run-rule win over the Bleu Devils in five innings.  The 17 runs were a season high for the Bengals and the most since plating 25 runs against Dallas Christian during the 2022 season.
 
LSUE would find itself in a hole to start as Dillard would strike for a solo home run in the second inning.  That would awaken the Bengals offense as they would strike for six runs in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead for good.    The total team theme continued from game one as LSUE used six different players to help produce the runs in the second inning.
 
The Bengals would put the game out of reach and in the fourth inning as LSUE crossed 11 runs off eight hits and three free passes.  Gabrielle Huetter provided the big hit in the inning as she smashed a three-run home run to push the LSUE lead at the time to 12-1.
 
Reagan Duty and Kate Rills paced the LSUE offense with three-hit games each, both falling a home run short of the cycle.  Duty drove in one run and scored three times, while Rills plated a pair and scored once.  Huetter joined the duo with a big game at the plate, driving in career best four RBIs while scoring twice. 
 
Rounding out the strong performances at the plate, Kirsten Lalonde (Leonville, LA, Beau Chene HS) drove in a career-high three RBIs while scoring twice.  Out of the 13 hits in the game against the Bleu Devils, nine were for extra bases.
 
The freshman pair of Kaylee Chandler (Watson, LA, Live Oak HS) and Cate Nettles handled the pitching duties with Chandler improved to 4-0 on the season.