2006 - a team to remember

The first championship team in the history of LSU Eunice athletics will be inducted into the Bengal Hall of Fame on Saturday during the gala held at the Acadian Center.
“At that point in time there had never been a thought of winning the last game of the year,” LSU Eunice athletic director and head baseball coach Jeff Willis said of the 2006 Bengal baseball team. “It was our goal but until it happened no one really believed it could be done.
“That spearheaded our program and how it has gone,” the coach said of the three other national titles won in 2008, 2010 and 2012.
“They set the tone that if it could be done once, why not four times? They set all of that into motion.”
The 2006 team included All-American Brandon Richey, James Howell, Bryan Jaeger, Kyle Suire, Matt Berard, Matt Collins, Leonard Porche, Paige Hodges, Josh Pomier, Dustin Guidry, Rickey Noland, John Long, Skylar Sparrow, Mace Hebert and Vinnie Liberto.
The pitching staff included Casey Lambert, Josh Istre, Trey Davis, Thomas Tillery, Nate Duhe, Brett Durand, Matt Broussard, Luke Wagley, Josh Billeud, Alex McCollum and Corey Chapman.
“During the fall season Kyle Suire was being recruited at mid-term to play at LSU,” the coach said. “He turned down that opportunity and told us that ‘he would never leave us hanging’ because he wanted to stay here.”
The championship came in Willis’ fourth season at LSU Eunice, led by a strong group of sophomores including shortstop Richey.
“He was one of our best shortstops who ever played here,” the coach said. “He got to ball on defense that others couldn’t get to and he was one of the best offensive shortstops as he set several records.”
Richey’s accomplishments still remain among several Bengal records including a .424 batting average, 85 runs scored, 98 hits, 11 home runs, 160 total bases .693 slugging percentage and a .514 on base percentage.
Jaeger’s eight triples ranks second in the Bengal record book.
Durand’s 1.69 ERA is the fourth best in program history and his nine complete games is tied for third best. His 99 strikeouts is tied for fifth best, while Duhe is tied for third with 13 wins.
The 2006 team set the record with a 19-game winning streak, later tied by the 2012 team. The pitching staff set a record 2.07 ERA that season.
The first championship team was also the first squad to win more than 50 games, finishing at 52-11.
Chad Menard and Clint McAuley were the two assistant coaches who helped Willis to build the foundation of success for the Bengal program.
“When we got to the world series every one there had great respect for Grand Rapids who had won three titles in a row,” the coach reflected. “That didn’t seem to bother us as we weren’t intimidated.
“We had to win back-to-back games because Grand Rapids beat us on Tuesday night,” Willis said. “We had win on Thursday to force the if necessary game on Friday.
“Brett Durand was our starter that game and pitched a two-hit shutout,” the coach said of the 3-0 finish.
“When we won everyone was kind of shocked because not many had heard of LSU Eunice and everyone knew who Grand Rapids was,” the coach said.
The legacy of the 2006 team carried over into professional baseball including Richey and Suire who played in the Mets organization and Jaeger was drafted by the Rockies. Noland played in the Cardinals system, while Durand played for the Marlins and Billeaud played for the Chicago White Sox.
“This team was close-knit family who stood up for each other,” Willis said. “It was special to see what they were able to do to win it all especially the way it happened.
“They were playing their best baseball when it truly mattered - at the end.”
The gala is set to begin at 7 p.m. with Geno Delafose providing the entertainment. Tickets are $50 a person.
“It will be good time to reminisce about all the hard work they did while they were here because no one was talking about LSU Eunice baseball until they did what they did,” Willis said.