DENHAM SPRINGS, La. – LSU Eunice used a total team performance to take the Region 23 Tournament Championship in convincing fashion, routing Delgado CC 18-3 on Monday at All Star Field. The Bengals (52-3) captured their first Division I Region 23 Championship in their inaugural season in the Louisiana Community Colleges Athletic Conference (LCCAC), and the program’s 12th region title in their 23 years under the direction of head coach Jeff Willis.
It was the seventh straight season the Bengals have made a Region 23 Tournament Championship game and the 17th time overall with Willis at the helm.
LSU Eunice now awaits its opponent in the South District Championship Series, playing at the winner of the Alabama-based Region 22 champion in a best-of-three series May 15-17 for an automatic berth into 2025 NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado later this month.
Early on, the Bengals’ championship tilt against the Dolphins played out much like it had during the regular season – a pitching duel. The two sides combined for three hits with no runs to show through the first two innings. Jackson Legg would turn the game on its head and give a sign of things to come during the rest of the evening, smacking a two-out, three-run home run to right field to give LSUE the advantage.
The Bengals would pour it on an inning later, plating seven runs off seven hits and two walks. Will Mabry IV started the scoring, doubling home a run and scoring two batters later off a Cash Riley III single up the middle. Legg would again turn up clutch in a big spot, looping a double down the left field line to plate two more runs. Milan Obradovich brought home two more in the next at bat, driving a single to left field. Mabry IV finished what he started, driving in another RBI on an infield single to give LSUE a commanding 10-0 lead.
Mabry IV enjoyed a standout weekend in Denham Springs, going 8-for-14 during the tournament. The sophomore accounted for nine runs, including six RBIs, with one extra base hit. He had a team-high four hits in the championship game, driving in five RBIs and one run scored. The Bengals saw seven different players notch multi-hit games, part of LSUE’s 19-hit attack – its most in a game in nearly a month.
The Bengals would score in each of the next four innings, using a bases loaded walk in the sixth inning, a Tyler Mitchell RBI single in the seventh, three more Mabry IV RBIs, and a Jordan Luna RBI single in the eighth.
Legg and Mabry IV led LSUE with five RBIs a piece while Obradovich had a hand in six LSUE runs (three RBIs, three runs scored).
Lost in the offensive showcase was another solid performance on the mound by Caden Tarango. The redshirt sophomore improved to 10-0 on the season, giving up two earned runs off three hits, three walks, and a hit by pitch. Tarango punched out eight Delgado batters, bringing his team-best total to 88 strikeouts on the season – ranking 13th overall in the NJCAA Division I.
Tarango held Delgado scoreless the first five innings of his outing, putting down the Dolphins in order twice. A one-out walk and hit by pitch would chase the righty with his only runs allowed scored on a walk and a wild pitch after his departure.
Reese Ashworth bridged the Bengals to Alex Dupuy to close out the game. Ashworth tossed 2.2 relief innings while Dupuy worked a perfect ninth inning. Peyton Beck also saw time on the mound.