Press Release by LSUE Athletics
EUNICE, La. – LSU Eunice Baseball will head to Alabama this weekend for a ticket to Grand Junction on the line to face Shelton State in the NJCAA Division I South District Championship. The meeting of the NJCAA Top 10 squads will be a best-of-three series, with the winner receiving one of ten automatic berths into the 2025 NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series later this month as the South District representative.
The games will mark the first ever meeting between the Bengals and Buccaneers. Game One is set for 6:00PM on Thursday, May 15 from Tuscaloosa with Game Two on Friday at 6:00PM. The if-necessary Game Three will be on Saturday, May 17 at 1:00PM. The entire series will be livestreamed through JockJive.com.
After taking the LCCAC regular season championship in its first season of Division I play, the second-ranked Bengals cruised in the conference tournament last weekend. LSUE defeated all three LCCAC opponents by a combined score of 39-11 including an 18-3 decision in the championship game against Delgado. Will Mabry IV was the hot bat during the weekend, going 8-for-14 with nine runs and six runs batted in during the three games.
LSUE (52-3) enters the South District series as one of the most complete teams in the nation – ranking Top 15 nationally in runs (575), home runs (70), batting average (.349), and stolen bases (174) as well as earned run average (3.64) and batting average against (.234). The All-LCCAC trio of Aidan Mouton, Tyson LeBlanc, and Jackson Legg carry the load at the plate for the Bengals, combining for 178 RBIs and 29 home runs.
The sophomore pitching tandem of Alec Beversdorf and Caden Tarango each sport double-digit win seasons, striking out 78 and 88 batters, respectively. McCray Jacobs is the top arm out of the bullpen, making 23 appearances with a 2.09 earned run average.
The Bengals will face one of the traditional powers in the Gulf South and all of NJCAA Division I in Shelton State (46-11). The 10th-ranked Buccaneers are led by former MLB pitcher and NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Bobby Sprowl, now in his 35th year at the helm. Under Sprowl, Shelton State has made seven trips to the NJCAA Division I World Series, including three of the last four seasons.
The Bucs hang their hat on pitching and defense, ranking number one nationally in both earned run average (2.90) and batting average against (.225). Their fielding percentage (.976) is third in the country, committing just 40 errors in 1,678 chances. Shelton State’s top two arms are freshman Eli Driskell and Mason Steele, who have combined for a 12-3 record and 100 strikeouts. All-ACCC relief pitcher of the year John Michael Pickens has a 5-1 record with a 2.96 ERA and four saves.
James Graphos leads the Shelton State offense with a .350 batting average and a team’s best 37 RBI. Steele, a two-way threat for the Bucs, leads the team in home runs (6) and runs scored (44).