Press Release by LSUE Athletics
EUNICE, La. – LSU Eunice Baseball has been tabbed the number one seed for the upcoming NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) announced on Tuesday during their selection show. The Bengals (52-7) headline the 12-team field that will invade David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Oklahoma from May 25-June 1.
The top billing marks the third time in as many trips the Bengals have been named the number one seed in the World Series, which began seeding the field in 2017. LSUE makes its 11th overall trip to the World Series, tied for the second most in NJCAA Division II history.
The Bengals seek their eighth NJCAA National Championship, the last coming in 2021.
This year’s World Series field expands to 12 teams with the addition of two at-large teams, East Central CC (51-7) and Southeastern Iowa CC (43-17). The tournament consists of two six-team double elimination brackets with the winner of each bracket meeting for a single Championship game.
LSU Eunice opens World Series play on Sunday, May 26 at 1:00PM against the winner of Saturday’s matchup pitting eight-seed Kellogg CC (43-10) and nine-seed Des Moines Area CC (36-24). Rounding out the Bengals’ bracket are four-seed Heartland CC (43-16), five-seed St. Johns River State (38-23) and 12-seed Westchester CC (31-17).
The other bracket consists of two-seed Brunswick CC (48-8), three-seed East Central CC, six-seed Madison College (37-12), seven-seed Southeastern Iowa CC, ten-seed South Arkansas CC (39-22), and 11-seed Montgomery CC (34-19). The World Series will conclude either Friday, May 31 or Saturday, June 1 depending on the week’s results.
LSUE qualified for the World Series as the Gulf District representative after sweeping through the Region 23 Tournament last week. The Bengals pitching staff shined, striking out an impressive 44 batters in the four games played while limiting teams to just under three runs per game.
The dominance comes as no surprise as the Bengals have been led by their pitching staff this season, boasting one of the top staffs in the nation. Blake Lobell leads the country in strikeouts (115), while Owen Schexnaydre posted his NJCAA leading 15th win of the season last week. Alec Beversdorf ranked fourth in the nation in earned run average (1.80) to round out the LSUE three-headed monster starting rotation.
As a staff, LSU Eunice is ranked number one in the country in total strikeouts (597), earned run average (2.27) and WHIP (1.11).
Offensively, the Bengals are led by the middle infielding duo of Dawson Willis and Tyson LeBlanc. Willis ranks second in the country in runs scored (83) and sixth in stolen bases (47). LeBlanc is tops on the team in batting average (.364), hits (68), doubles (19) and runs batted in (61). The freshman comes off a blazing hot week in the Region 23 Tournament, tallying seven RBIs and seven runs scored.
All games at the NJCAA Division II World Series will be livestreamed on the NJCAA Network. You can find the most up-to-date information for LSUE Baseball on www.lsuebengals.net, or following the Bengals on Facebook (@LSUEBengalsBSB), Instagram (@LSUEBengals) and X (@LSUEBengalsBSB).