WESTWEGO, La. – LSU Eunice Baseball got a little bit of everything during a 9-2 win over Delgado on Saturday to advance to the LCCAC/Region 23 Tournament Championship round. The Bengals (43-9) move on to a Region Tournament final for an eighth straight season and 18th time overall under head coach Jeff Willis.
For much of the game, it was a classic pitching duel for the Bengals and starter
Lane Fenske (New Iberia, LA, Catholic-New Iberia HS). LSUE and Delgado combined for just five hits through the first seven innings with the game tied 2-2. The Bengals struck first with two runs in the second inning thanks to a
Marshall Louque (Lutcher, LA, Lutcher HS) solo home run and
Caleb Hastings (Lutcher, LA, Lutcher HS) RBI double.
The Dolphins erased the deficit in the sixth with a two-out, two run home run, one of just three hits given up by Fenske. The freshman struck out 10 batters, his second double-digit punch out effort of the season.
The offense would finally get rolling in the eighth inning, piecing together three runs on six hits to regain the lead for good.
Jake Smith (Rosepine, LA, Rosepine HS) pushed across the go ahead run on an RBI single up the middle to bring home
Cooper Scott (Pineville, LA, Holy Savior Menard HS).
Andrew Clapinski (Baton Rouge, LA, Catholic-Baton Rouge HS) and
Aidan Mouton (Rayne, LA, Notre Dame HS) added runs in back-to-back at bats later in the frame.
LSU Eunice continued its assault in the ninth with four more runs, all with two outs. Clapinski laced a sharp line drive down the left field line to score
Tate Dickinson (Belle Chasse, LA, Belle Chasse HS), followed by a two-run double by Mouton. Louque capped off the scoring with a shot back up the gut. After being held to just two hits in the first seven innings, the Bengals stacked ten hits in the final two innings.
Clapinski, Mouton, Louque, Hastings, and
Mason Bordelon (Marksville, LA, Avoyelles Charter HS) produced multi-hit games with Aidan Mouton leading the way with three RBIs.
While the Bengals caught fire late,
McCray Jacobs (Johnson City, TX, Johnson City HS) extinguished any threat from Delgado. The southpaw continued his strong postseason play, tossing two shutout innings out of the bullpen to pick up his first save of the season. Jacobs struck out four batters while only allowing one hit.
LSU Eunice will await the winner of tomorrow's Delgado and Baton Rouge contest in the LCCAC/Region 23 Championship round, set for 6:00PM on Sunday at Segnette Field.
