EUNICE, La. – LSU Eunice Softball will match up with Pearl River CC in the opening round of the Ellisville Bracket of the Region 23 Tournament, it was announced this week. The Bengals and Wildcats meet in the first round of the double elimination tournament on Sunday, May 4 at 6:00PM.
LSUE are joined in the tournament field by host Jones College and Pearl River CC, as well as play-in teams Mississippi Gulf Coast CC and East Mississippi CC. The play-in game on Saturday will take on Jones in the Sunday opener at 3:00PM. The winner of bracket earns an automatic berth as the Gulf B District representative into the NJCAA Division II World Series at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama from May 19-24.
The winner of the Ellisville Bracket will also play a NJCAA Region 23 Championship game on Saturday, May 10 against the winner of the Wesson Bracket. The tournament field in that bracket consists of host Copiah-Lincoln CC, Northeast Mississippi CC, Northwest Mississippi CC, Itawamba CC, and East Central CC. The highest seed of the two bracket winners will host the single game.
The entire Region 23/Gulf District Tournament field features six teams in the most recent NJCAA Division II rankings. LSU Eunice is ranked 10th entering the postseason and joined by Copiah-Lincoln CC (3rd), Jones College (7th), Northeast Mississippi CC (11th), Northwest Mississippi (13th), and Pearl River CC (18th).
The Bengals enter the postseason with a 40-10 record, the third straight year LSUE has eclipsed the 40-win plateau under head coach Meghan Collins.
Payton Prince (Sulphur, LA, Sulphur HS) is the Bengals' top offensive threat, leading the team in home runs (13), runs batted in (43), runs scored (51), and stolen bases (46). She's one of five Bengals that have a batting average over .350 – four of which are freshman.
The pitching combo of
Reagan Rios (Longview, TX, Longview HS) and
Ava Kordish (Bayou Chicot, LA, Pine Prairie HS) figure to carry the load this postseason. Rios (14-4, 2.18 ERA) and Kordish (13-3, 2.53 ERA) have each thrown more than 90 innings this season
Pearl River wrapped up the 2025 regular season with a 34-15 overall record, going 18-8 in MACCC play to finish fifth. Caroline Lindsey leads the team with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs, while Natalee Eaves adds a .411 batting average, and 38 runs scored. Kai Goodman is fifth nationally in stolen bases with 48.
Ana-Grace Garcia is PRCC's top arm, sporting a 14-4 record and 2.75 ERA. She has struck out 152 batters, ranking 23rd nationally in that category.
The Bengals and Wildcats meet for the 55th time in the two program's histories with the Bengals holding a 43-11 edge. They have met five times in the postseason with LSUE holding a 3-2 lead in the series.
Fans can purchase single-day tickets for $12 online or $15 cash-only at the gate. A weekend pass is available for $35 online at
www.jcbobcats.com/tickets. Gates open one hour before the first game each day.
All games will livestreamed on Bobcat TV at www.jcbobcats.com.
