While the LSU Eunice Baseball offense has been a guiding force in the Bengals’ earning the number one ranking in the NJCAA, the pitching staff led the way towards a Saturday road sweep of Delgado CC. LSUE (38-1) used a pair of strong starts on the mound, while the bullpen staved off two last-inning rally attempts by the Dolphins.
A weekend featuring two of the top four team-earned run averages in the NJCAA lived up to the billing with identical 3-1 scores in both games of the Saturday doubleheader. Alec Beversdorf held Delgado scoreless for six innings to open the day, while Xavier Woods picked up where Beversdorf left off, hurling five innings in another 3-1 win to complete the Saturday sweep. Both games were seven-inning contests.
LSU Eunice will wrap up the first leg of LCCAC play with a Sunday matinee against the Dolphins from Kirsch-Rooney Stadium in New Orleans. The game time is set for 1:00 PM.
Game 1 vs. Delgado CC – W, 3-1
Alec Beversdorf continued his stellar sophomore campaign, holding down Delgado in a 3-1 win for LSU Eunice. Beversdorf picked up his eighth win of the season, improving to 14-2 in his LSUE career.
Beversdorf came out the gates on fire, retiring the first ten Delgado batters in a row. He would work around two fourth-inning singles by getting one of five strikeouts in the game to end the inning. His outing would stretch into the final inning, finally being chased after surrendering two walks to start the seventh.
The sophomore gave up on an unearned run off two hits and three walks with those five punch-outs.
Aidan Mouton would take over from there, picking up his second save of the season. Mouton gave up a base hit that allowed the only run of the game to score off an outfield error. He would leave the bases loaded, ending the game with a strikeout and fielder’s choice on a force out at second.
LSUE would have to manufacture its offense, scratching two runs in the third inning. Cash Riley laid down a bunt that helped Mason Bordelon score, thanks to a wild throw to first base. Alex Dupuy beat out groundball to short that allowed Jordan Luna to score.
The Bengals would get a valuable insurance run in the fifth as Tyson LeBlanc grounded into a double play, but Dupuy would still score from third base.
Luna was the lone LSUE player to have a multi-hit game with the Bengals recording five hits in the contest.
Game 2 vs. Delgado CC – W, 3-1
LSUE relied on another standout pitching performance to take a 3-1 decision over Delgado. Xavier Woods provided five strong innings of work before turning it over to the Bengal bullpen.
It didn’t appear as if the finale of the Saturday doubleheader would turn into another pitching duel as both teams would score in the opening inning. Will Mabry was the catalyst for both LSUE runs, driving in Aidan Mouton on a bases loaded fielder’s choice. He would then induce a rundown to allow Tyson LeBlanc to score from third. Delgado answered with a RBI single in the bottom half of the inning, just one of four hits surrendered by the Bengals.
Woods settled down after the opening inning, retiring the Dolphins in order twice and getting out of a third inning jam by leaving two Delgado runners stranded. The freshman southpaw scattered four hits while hitting one batter and striking out three batters.
He would turn over the ball to Reese Ashworth and McCray Jacobs. Ashworth got an out to start the sixth inning before Jacobs finished the game to pick up his first save of the season. The Bengals turned an inning-ending double play in the sixth before ending the game in the seventh, working around a walk and an error.
LSUE got an insurance run in the top half of the inning, thanks to an RBI single by Dupuy.
Dupuy and Mouton each had two-hit games to lead the seven-hit attack by LSUE.