CHALMETTE, La. – As the calendar has turned to the month of May, LSU Eunice Baseball turns its attention to the postseason after posting a Saturday doubleheader sweep at Nunez to conclude the regular season. The Bengals (41-9 record) finish LCCAC play with an 18-4 record and will hold the number one seed for the conference tournament.
LSU Eunice will take on four-seed Baton Rouge to kick off the four team double elimination tournament set for Thursday, May 7-Saturday, May 10 at Segnette Field in Westwego, Louisiana. More tournament details will be announced later.
The Bengals clinched the top seed for a second consecutive year after a pair of wins at Nunez. The two teams had to cancel two of the four-game series after rain hammered south Louisiana on Thursday and Friday. LSU Eunice took both games against the Pelicans by scores of 11-2 and 8-3. The Bengals saw 12 different players record hits in the doubleheader while using nine different pitchers.
Game 1 vs. Nunez CC – W, 11-2
The Bengals' offense put an exclamation point on its regular season with an 11-2 win over Nunez to start the Saturday twinbill. LSUE outhit Nunez 14-7, produced five extra base hits, and scored in five of the game's seven innings.
After both teams scratched a run in the opening inning, LSUE took the reigns on the game for good an inning later. The Bengals struck for four runs in the second inning, highlighted by
Aidan Mouton (Rayne, LA, Notre Dame HS) lifting a two-run home run to left center.
Marshall Louque (Lutcher, LA, Lutcher HS) and
Mason Bordelon (Marksville, LA, Avoyelles Charter HS) followed in the fifth with solo home runs to extend the LSUE lead to 7-1.
Milan Obradovich (Tuscaloosa, AL, Northridge HS) added a run in the sixth with the Bengals adding two more in the final inning off a bases loaded walk and Louque two-run double.
Louque and
Jordan Luna (Washington, LA, Opelousas Catholic HS) each had three-hit games while Mouton led the pack with four RBIs. Obradovich and
Caleb Hastings (Lutcher, LA, Lutcher HS) also had multi-hit games in the victory.
Lane Fenske (New Iberia, LA, Catholic-New Iberia HS) improved to 13-0 after tossing two innings, one of five LSUE pitchers to get work in during the game. Fenske gave up one earned run off three hits and a walk.
Kade LaCoste (Slidell, LA, Pope John Paul II HS),
Mekai Gallien (Rosenberg, TX, Lamar Consolidated HS),
McCray Jacobs (Johnson City, TX, Johnson City HS) and Aidan Mouton all saw time on the mound with Gallien punching out three batters to led LSUE in strikeouts.
Game 2 vs. Nunez CC – W, 8-3
LSU Eunice unloaded the bench and saw similar results to its opener, taking an 8-3 victory over the Pelicans. The Bengals used a five-run second inning to push past Nunez.
Rowen Bergeron (Sunset, LA, Opelousas Catholic HS) was the catalyst in the game, driving in four RBIs. The freshman smashed a two-run home run during the Bengals' five-run frame and followed that up an inning later with a two-run single to make it 8-1 LSU Eunice.
Hayden Hernandez (Youngsville, LA, St. Thomas More HS) also produced for the Bengal bats, producing an RBI single in the first inning and an RBI single in the second. Bergeron and Hernandez combined for four of the team's six hits in the game.
Aarren Marshall (Allen, TX, Lovejoy HS) and
Dylan Bell (Moss Bluff, LA, Sam Houston HS) added RBIs in the win.
Hudson Spangler (Zachary, LA, Zachary HS) grabbed the win after tossing two innings, giving up one earned run off two hits and a walk. He would strike out three batters.
Xavier Woods (Cleveland, TX, Cleveland HS),
Hunter Gambel (Hammond, LA, St. Thomas Aquinas HS), and
Ian Carlson (Kingwood, TX, Kingwood HS) finished the work on the mound. Gambel shined in relief, giving two shutout innings while striking out four of the eight batters he faced.
