ENID, Oklahoma – In the history of LSU Eunice Baseball, there have been constant examples of "Bengal Magic" from the "Cardiac Cats", conjuring late game theatrics in high stakes games during the Bengals' storied NJCAA history.
Enter another chapter into the book.
LSU Eunice rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth to complete a wild 6-5 victory over St. Johns River State College on Friday at David Allen Memorial Ballpark. The win punched the Bengals' (55-8) ticket to the NJCAA Division II World Series Championship game against Brunswick CC on Saturday at 7:00PM.
The Bengals found themselves trailing 5-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth after the Vikings broke a tied game with three hits and two runs in the top half of the final inning.
Ashton Fuselier (Lake Charles, LA, Sam Houston HS) made a highlight reel diving catch in left field to squash the Vikings threat and leave two runners stranded.
In the home half of the ninth,
Alex Dupuy (Natchitoches, LA, Natchitoches Central HS) was hit by a pitch to lead off the rally, followed by a double from
Collin Husser (Ponchatoula, LA, Ponchatoula HS) to put two runners in scoring position.
Andrew Lee (Lafayette, LA, Ascension Episcopal HS) plated the first run of the comeback, firing a hard ground ball past the shortstop to bring home Dupuy, cutting the deficit to 5-4.
After
Dawson Willis (Ruston, LA, Ruston HS) walked, the Bengals would load the bases, and two batters later
Tyson LeBlanc (Maurice, LA, North Vermilion HS) worked a four pitch walk to bring home Husser and tie the game 5-5. St. Johns River State would go the bullpen for the second time in the inning to face
Weston Fulk (Ankeny, IA, Ankeny HS). The first pitch to Fulk would sail over his head, allowing pinch runner
Evan Joubert (Lake Charles, LA, St. Louis Catholic HS) to come home and set off a frantic celebration.
The wild ninth inning capped off an exciting final three innings that saw nine of the game's 11 runs scored. The Vikings struck for three runs in the seventh, two coming off a two-run home run to give St. Johns River the temporary 3-2 lead. LSUE answered in the bottom half as Dupuy doubled home Fuselier after he led off the inning with a triple to right field.
Dupuy was joined by Fulk,
Tyler Johnson (Kenner, LA, Brother Martin HS) and Lee to have multi-hit games, part of LSUE's 12-hit evening.
Fulk started the scoring in the fourth inning with a two-run home run to right center to put LSUE on the board first.
Blake Lobell (Holden, LA, Springfield HS) put in a valiant final start of his LSUE career, tossing eight innings in a no decision effort. Lobell gave up three earned runs off seven hits and two walks. His eight strikeouts brings his season total to 129 punchouts, the third most in LSUE single-season history and tops in the NJCAA regardless of division.
Collier Barham (Baton Rouge, LA, University Lab HS) was credited with the win, improving to 4-0 on the season. Barham recorded the final two outs of the ninth inning, working around a single hit and a strikeout.
LSU Eunice will play in the NJCAA Division II National Championship game for the ninth time in program history. The Bengals seek their 8th NJCAA National Title.
It will be the second all-time meeting between LSUE and Brunswick, having last met in the 2018 NJCAA Division II World Series.
