BOSSIER CITY, La. – LSU Eunice Softball heads into the postseason playing some of its best softball of the season, highlighted by the Bengals' emphatic sweep at Bossier Parish CC.  LSUE (40-12) took its second road sweep of the year against an NJCAA Division I ranked opponent with the Cavaliers entering the weekend ranked 15th in the most recent polls.
 
The Bengals also hit the 40-win plateau for the second straight year under head coach Meghan Collins.
 
LSUE began the day with a 3-0 shutout of the Cavaliers before seeing the Bengals' bats explode on their way to a 9-1 win in six innings. 
 
They will now play the waiting game as the Bengals get set for the Region 23 Tournament this upcoming weekend.  The tournament will be a new format with two four-team tournaments as each bracket winner receives an automatic berth into the 2024 NJCAA Division II National Tournament in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
 
Game 1 vs. Bossier Parish CC – W, 3-0
LSU Eunice used a trio of home runs and another Reagan Rios (Longview, TX, Longview HS) shutout to take a 3-0 opening game against Bossier Parish.  It was Rios' third complete game shutout of the year and went the distance for the 11th time this season.
 
Rios continued her late season dominance, allowing just one hit while not issuing a free pass in the game.  She would record two strikeouts against the BPCC offense.  The freshman took a perfect game into the fifth inning before a one-out single, the lone base runner of the game for the Cavaliers.
 
The Bengals offense would come late with solo home runs in each of the final three innings.  McKenna Howell (Pollock, LA, Grant HS) smacked a one-out shot to left field in the fifth to give LSUE the lead, the first of two long balls for the freshman.  Howell added another insurance run with a solo bomb to lead off the seventh.
 
Gabrielle Huetter (Magnolia, TX, Magnolia HS) added the other LSUE run with a solo home run of her own, knocking a two-out blast to left field.  Sina Ballew (Pineville, LA, Buckeye HS) was another offensive bright spot, going 3-for-3 in the game.
 
 Game 2 vs. Bossier Parish CC – W, 9-1 (Six Innings)
The offensive surge continued for LSU Eunice as the Bengals took a 9-1 mercy rule win over Bossier Parish in six innings.  It was the first time LSUE was able to run-rule the Cavaliers in a decade, the last time coming in March 2014.
 
The Bengals took advantage of the game from the start, scoring three runs in the first inning.  Gracee Hess (Belle Chasse, LA, Belle Chasse HS) started her monster game with a RBI double and would later score on a Gabrielle Huetter bunt single.  Reagan Duty (Mont Belvieu, TX, Barbers Hill HS) added the final run of the inning with a sacrifice grounder that would score Huetter.
 
Hess went 3-for-3 in the game, accounting for five runs including a 3 RBI outing.  She was joined by Huetter with a multi-hit game in LSUE's 13-hit attack.
 
After Bossier Parish scored its lone run in the first inning, the LSUE offense would get back to worth in the fourth.  Hess and Kate Rills (Gonzales, LA, East Ascension HS) produced back-to-back RBIs with Hess adding her final RBI in a three-run sixth inning.
 
Reagan Duty helped end the game early with a sacrifice grounder in the sixth inning to make it a 9-1 lead for LSU Eunice. 
 
After slamming a pair of home runs in Game 1, McKenna Howell would then shut down the Cavs in the circle.  Howell toss five complete innings, giving up just two hits without a walk.  She would sit down five batters before leaving the game for Cate Nettles (Slidell, LA, Slidell HS).  The fellow freshman worked around one walk in her scoreless relief inning.