EUNICE, La.  – LSU Eunice Softball celebrated its eight sophomores in style as the Bengals took a pair from Baton Rouge CC on Saturday at Lady Bengal Field.  LSU Eunice (27-7) held its sophomore day festivities following the completion of the Bengals' 12th doubleheader sweep of the season.
 
LSU Eunice won in two different ways on Saturday, first using a near perfect game from Reagan Rios (Longview, TX, Longview HS) in a 3-0 opener, followed by a late offensive surge to win 10-3 in the second matchup of the day.   The Bengals deployed a balanced offensive attack as nine different players recorded a hit in the two wins.
 
The Bengals close out their final homestand of the season with a pair of midweek doubleheaders.  LSUE welcomes Bossier Parish to the Cajun Prairie on Wednesday, followed by a Thursday matchup with Louisiana Christian University.
 
Game 1 vs. Baton Rouge CC – W, 3-0
LSU Eunice used a dominant performance by Reagan Rios to secure a 3-0 win over Baton Rouge CC to start the two teams' doubleheader.  It was LSUE's seventh shutout of the season.
 
Rios (W, 11-4) made quick work of the Bears flirting with a perfect game until the last inning.  A one out blooper to right field was the only base runner to reach against the freshman, who would strike out six batters in the game.  She would still only face the minimum as the base runner was thrown out trying to steal second to end the game.
 
The Bengals would manufacture their offense during the middle innings of the game.  Gracee Hess (Belle Chasse, LA, Belle Chasse HS) put LSUE on the board in the third with a sacrifice fly to score Sara Roussel (Luling, LA, Hahnville HS).  After the Bengals plated another run an inning later off BRCC's only error of the game, Hess would cap off the LSUE scoring in thrilling fashion.   A hard-hit line drive would go past the BRCC right fielder who was playing shallow.  Hess would race around the bases and score an inside-the-park home run after beating the play at the plate.
 
Hess drove in a pair of runs in the win while Roussel was the lone Bengal to have a multi-hit game.
 
Game 2 vs. Baton Rouge CC – W, 10-3
The Bengals rallied out of an early hole by plating nine unanswered runs in a 10-3 win over Baton Rouge CC to end Saturday's doubleheader.
 
LSUE found itself down 3-1 heading into the fourth inning before Kate Rills (Gonzales, LA, East Ascension HS) would wake up the Bengal bats.  The freshman belted an RBI single to spur a three-run frame and give LSUE the lead for good.  Sina Ballew (Pineville, LA, Buckeye HS) tied the game with an RBI single and Rills would give the Bengals the lead for good, converting a steal of home on a first-and-third situation.
 
The Bengals kept the momentum an inning later after Reagan Duty (Mont Belvieu, TX, Barbers Hill HS) belted a solo home run, followed by RBI doubles by Rills and Gabrielle Huetter (Magnolia, TX, Magnolia HS) to make it 8-3 LSU Eunice.  Gracee Hess ended the scoring in the sixth with a two-run double.
 
Rills led the Bengals offensively with a 2-for-3 game, driving in three runs and scoring twice.  Sara Roussel, Duty and McKenna Howell (Pollock, LA, Grant HS) also had multi-hit games in LSUE's 13-hit output.
 
Howell tossed six innings to earn her ninth win of the season.  The freshman would give up the three unearned runs in the second inning but settled down to squash the Bears for the remainder of the outing.  She scattered six hits and one walk while striking out three batters.
 
Kaylee Chandler (Watson, LA, Live Oak HS) worked around one hit with one strikeout to finish the day.