Bengal Hall of Fame Gala Saturday

The sixth annual The LSU Eunice Bengal Hall of Fame Gala will be held. Saturday at the Acadian Center.
Doors open at 6:45 p.m. with entertainment provided by Linzay Young and the Prairie Players.
Hors D’oeuvres are included and a cash bar will be available.
There will also be silent and live auctions.
The Bengal Hall of Fame was established in 2009 to honor outstanding athletes, teams, coaches, and supporters for their athletic performance, leadership, and team contributions.
Fee and Anita Dupre, long-time supporters and builders of Bengal athletics will be the newest inductees.
In the fall of 1999, men’s baseball and women’s basketball began competition with softball being added in the fall of 2005.
Former State Rep. and Eunice Mayor Curtis Joubert became the first member of the Hall of Fame at the second Hall of Fame Banquet in 2011.
Joubert was honored for his unyielding support of Bengal Athletics.
LSU Eunice Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Stephen Guempel became the second member of the Hall of Fame in 2012.
Guempel was honored for his leadership in laying the ground work to form athletic programs at the university in mid 1990s.
Former All-American pitcher Kenny Plaisance was inducted into the Bengal Hall of Fame in 2013.
Plaisance, who played at LSU Eunice during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, was the first athlete inducted into the Hall and is the only two-time All-American in LSU Eunice athletics history.
Plaisance helped the Bengals to their first Regional Championship in school history in 2003 before the team captured both the Regional and District Championships in 2004 and the program’s first trip to the NJCAA World Series, finishing third in the country.
Both squads also set then-program records for victories in a season, with the 2004 team cracking the 50-win mark for the first time.
On the mound, the right-hander led the Bengals’ pitching staff in wins both seasons, finishing with 25 wins, 183 career strikeouts and 21 total complete games.
His 122.2 total innings pitched during the 2004 season stands as the benchmark for Bengal pitchers, while his four shutouts in 2003 top that category as well.
Following his Bengal career, Plaisance was drafted in the 23rd Round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 2006 LSUE baseball team was inducted into the Bengal Hall last year as the first championship in Bengal athletic history.
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.
The championship came in Willis’ fourth season at LSU Eunice, led by a strong group of sophomores including shortstop Richey.
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.