EUNICE, La. – LSU Eunice Softball will invade the Magnolia State this weekend as part of the Wesson bracket of the 2026 Region 23 Division II Softball Tournament. The Bengals match up with Northwest Mississippi CC in the first round on Sunday, May 3 at 6:00PM.
The Bengals are the number four overall seed in the Region 23 Tournament field, joined in Wesson with the five-seed Northwest Mississippi, overall top seed Copiah-Lincoln, and play-in game participants Hinds (8-seed) and Southwest Mississippi (9-seed). The other half of the tournament will be in Poplarville with two-seed Pearl River, three-seed Jones, six-seed Itawamba, and play-game participants Meridian (7-seed) and Northeast Mississippi (10-seed).
The ten team Region 23 Tournament field features nine ranked teams in this week's NJCAA Top 25 including No. 4 Copiah-Lincoln, No. 5 Pearl River, No. 6 Jones, No. 9 LSU Eunice, No. 13 Itawamba, No. 14 Northwest Mississippi, No. 18. Meridian, No. 19 Hinds, and No. 20 Northeast Mississippi.
The two bracket winners will meet on Wednesday, May 6 for the overall Region 23 Tournament Championship. The main prize, however, is for winner of each double elimination bracket, who receives an automatic berth into the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, held later in May at Tyger River Park in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
LSU Eunice enters the postseason 34-15 under Meghan Collins, now in her seventh season on the Cajun Prairie. The Bengals navigated the top strength of the schedule in NJCAA Division II, producing the most prolific offense at LSUE under Collins.
Payton Prince (Sulphur, LA, Sulphur HS) leads the LSUE attack – ranking tops on the team in average (.414), hits (58), runs batted in (60), runs scored (57), doubles (12), and home runs (17). The team's .343 batting average is the best under Collins which includes 12 players hitting better than .300.
The pitching is led by the sophomore duo of
Ava Kordish (Bayou Chicot, LA, Pine Prairie HS) and
Erika Savage (Kingwood, TX, Kingwood Park HS) as well as freshman
Emily Rachal (Bossier City, LA, Airline HS). Savage is tops on the team with a 12-2 record while Rachal leads the squad with a 3.19 earned run average.
Northwest Mississippi comes into the postseason with a 26-17 record and 18-10 mark in the MACCC. The Rangers duo of Handley McAtee and Ava Claire Rhoden pace the offense. McAtee leads the squad with 32 RBIs and 10 doubles while Rhoden sports an impressive .453 batting average. Meredith Dearman is the top arm with an 18-7 record and 2.94 earned run average.
This will be the 11th all-time meeting between the Bengals and Rangers with the all-time series tied 5-5. LSU Eunice is seeking its 11th NJCAA National Tournament appearance and first since 2022.
All games will be livestreamed by Copiah-Lincoln CC on its athletic website, www.colinathletics.com. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or in advance by visiting the link provided at www.lsuebengals.net. Tickets are $15 per day and cover admission for an entire day of action, are general admission, and children under five receive free admission.
2026 NJCAA Region XXIII Tournament
Copiah-Lincoln CC | Wesson, MS | May 2-5, 2026
Wesson Bracket
| Saturday, May 2 |
| Play-In Game |
8.Hinds CC (33-16) vs. 9. SW Mississippi CC (28-16) |
TBA |
| Sunday, May 3 |
| Game 1 |
1. Copiah-Lincoln CC (44-5) vs. Play-In Game Winner |
3:00PM |
| Game 2 |
4. LSU Eunice (34-15) vs. 5. NW Mississippi (26-17) |
6:00PM |
| Monday, May 4 |
| Game 3 |
Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner |
1:00PM |
| Game 4 |
Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser |
4:00PM |
| Game 5 |
Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser |
7:00PM |
| Tuesday, May 5 |
| Game 6 |
Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner |
4:00PM |
| Game 7 |
If Necessary Game |
7:00PM |
