Press Release Courtesy of LSUE Athletics
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – LSU Eunice Baseball stayed alive in the JUCO World Series with a vintage performance, defeating Wabash Valley 14-7 on Tuesday at Sam Suplizio Field. LSUE (47-12) advances in elimination bracket play and will face Blinn on Wednesday at 2:00 PM MST.
The Bengals and Warriors traded blows early, with a 4-4 game after four innings. Marshall Louque swung the game in LSUE’s favor with a three-run home run to left field in the fifth, giving the Bengals a 7-4 lead. It was one of four home runs in the game for LSU Eunice, upping its program single-season record to 101 home runs.
Wabash Valley would threaten in the seventh, loading the bases with no outs. Hudson Spangler would come in and minimize the damage, inducing a double play before getting a fly out to escape with only one Warrior run across.
LSUE would use that momentum in a big way. After a one-out error and two free passes, Mason Bordelon uncorked a mammoth grand slam over the bleachers in left field to push the Bengals’ advantage to 11-5. It kickstarted what would be a seven-run frame for LSUE to distance itself from Wabash Valley for good. Jake Smith added a sacrifice fly before Andrew Clapinski knocked in a pair on a two-out, two-run single.
Wabash staved off the eight-inning run rule with a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning.
Louque led the Bengals with a five-RBI day, scoring the first runs of the game with a two-out, two-run double in the first inning. Jordan Luna enjoyed a game-high three-hit outing, scoring three times in addition to hitting a solo home run in the third. They were joined by Milan Obradovich, Mason Bordelon, and Tyler Mitchell, who had multi-hit games, as LSUE outhit Wabash Valley 15-11.
Caleb Hastings added a solo home run in the fourth.
Kade LaCoste would pick up the win after tossing 3.1 innings of relief to improve to 7-2 on the season. LaCoste fanned five batters, including striking out the side in the fifth inning. Spangler tossed three innings out of the pen, while Xavier Woods got the start and would go 2.2 innings.