EUNICE, La. – LSU Eunice Softball used key home runs to fight off a pesky Trinity Valley club in a Tuesday doubleheader sweep at Lady Bengal Field.  LSUE (26-9) secured two more ranked wins over the Division I No. 5 Cardinals, giving the Bengals eight wins over NJCAA ranked teams.
 
The Bengals smashed a pair of early home runs en route to a 7-4 opening win against Trinity Valley, followed by late offensive fireworks in a walk-off 10-9 victory to close out the action.  Payton Prince (Sulphur, LA, Sulphur HS) continued her recent surge, leading the team with four hits and six RBIs.  Prince would hit two home runs during the doubleheader, increasing her total to 15 long balls – the second most in NJCAA Division II.
 
LSUE hits the road on Friday for a doubleheader against NJCAA Division I No. 13 Galveston College.  The action from the Lone Star State begins at 1:00PM.
 
Game 1 vs. Trinity Valley CC – W, 7-4
A hot start helped propel LSU Eunice to a 7-4 win over Trinity Valley to start the Tuesday doubleheader.  The Bengals used a pair of two-run home runs to take an early lead it would never let go of.
 
Payton Prince provided the opening blow for the Bengals, smashing a two-run homer over the left field wall to give LSUE the 2-0 advantage.  Zoey Smith (Choudrant, LA, Choudrant HS) followed an inning later with another two-run homer.
 
Both teams swapped runs in the third as Amberly Dempster (Des Allemands, LA, Hahnville HS) doubled home Makinley Harris (Denham Springs, LA, Denham Springs HS).  TVCC would trim the LSUE lead to 5-3 in the fourth with two runs, one coming off a home run.
 
The Bengals added two key insurance runs in the fifth with Prince and Harris connecting on back-to-back two-out base hits.  The Cardinals added a solo home run in the sixth to cap off the scoring.
 
Ava Kordish (Bayou Chicot, LA, Pine Prairie HS) and Erika Savage (Kingwood, TX, Kingwood Park HS) combined for a solid game in the circle.  Kordish improved to 4-0 on the season with 3.1 innings of work.  The sophomore gave up three runs, two earned, off five hits and three free passes.  She would strikeout three batters, sitting down TVCC in order in the first.
 
Savage notched her first save of the season, entering in the fourth inning and limited damage with a bases loaded situation to one run.  She would strike out five batters in her action.
 
Game 2 vs. Trinity Valley CC – W, 10-9
Kadyn Schenk (Kentwood, LA, Jewel Sumner HS) capped off a wild final two innings, walking off the Bengals with a 10-9 victory.  The two teams scored 10 runs in the final two innings of play.
 
LSUE held on to a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning when the Bengals broke loose for four runs in the inning – all with two outs.  Makinzey Elisar (Prairieville, LA, St. Amant HS) doubled home a run before Payton Prince lifted a three-run homer.  LSUE was not out of the woods just yet at Trinity Valley responded with five runs of its own in the seventh.
 
That set the stage for Schenk's dramatics, using a leadoff single and error on a bunt to put two runners on.  After Jadyn Yesso (Houma, LA, Houma Christian HS) advanced the lead runner to third, Schenk smacked a two strike pitch to the gap in left, scoring Mya Lanoux (Gonzales, LA, East Ascension HS) and set off a celebration.
 
Makinley Harris joined Prince with a multi-hit game, lofting a two-run homer in the third inning.  LSUE outhit Trinity Valley 11 to 8.
 
Emily Rachal (Bossier City, LA, Airline HS) nearly went the distance for LSUE, pitching 6.1 innings.  Rachal gave up nine runs, eight earned, off eight hits and two free passes while striking out five batters.  Erika Savage came in relief again, picking up the win by getting the final two outs of the seventh inning.