Bengals look to continue strong pitching tradition

The question facing LSU Eunice this season is how do you replace two of the best pitchers to wear the Bengal uniform?
Last season, LSU Eunice had the duo pitching punch of Brady Domangue and Zac Person, who are both now with the LSU Tigers.
Domangue finished at 14-2 in 2013 with a program best 1.34 ERA and 118 strikeouts to earn NJCAA All-American Pitcher honors.
Person went 17-0 in two seasons at LSU-Eunice to help the Bengals win the 2012 JUCO national title and runners-up in 2013. Person finished at No. 6 in strikeouts in 2013 with 98.
“The question mark is our starting pitching and how that will all shake out, Bengal head coach Jeff Willis said. “After Chad Reeves we still haven’t figured out who will be second, third and fourth starters - but time will tell.”
Reeves finished last season with a 10-2 record and 2.46 ERA including 85 strikeouts and 58 walks.
“He is a good way to start a pitching staff as he is coming off a 10-win season as a freshman,” the coach said. “He also pitched in two games of the World Series last year and won one of those.”
Scheduled to join Reeves in the starting rotation to open the season are freshmen Nick Hartman (Katy, Tex.), Zach Hamilton (Parkview Baptist) and Nick Lawrence (Wellington, Fla.).
“Those three can all throw three pitches for strikes,” the coach said. “It is not their job to win the baseball game, but it is their job to throw strikes and make the opposing teams earn what they can get.
“They need to keep us in the ball games until the middle innings where the bullpen can come in and take over.
“The best thing about this pitching staff is the bullpen is going to have a lot of depth,” Willis said. “There are going to be some guys who are going to be able to come in at crucial situations in the middle innings and be able to shut down the opposing teams.”
Sophomores who return to the Bengals bullpen are Will Bacon (Parkview Baptist), Ben LeBlanc (Jewel Sumner), Ryan Domingue (Vermilion Catholic) and Jevin Huval (Teurlings Catholic) along with Sam Houston State transfer O.J. Latin (Pearland High)
Freshmen pitchers include: Ben Chauvon (Family Christian Academy), Sam Walley (Taylorsville, Miss.), Ben Braymer (Catholic-Baton Rouge), Hayden Marze (Westminster Christian Academy), Dillon Walker (West Monroe) along with redshirt freshmen Paul Carpenter (Boyce), Nick Holt (Woodlawn-Baton Rouge), Kolby Green (Northside) and reshirt-sophomore Kyle Beede (Auburn, Ma.).
Arkansas transfer Hayden Barnett will join the staff after he finishes his rehab.
Domingue finished 2013 with a 4-0 record, 1.17 ERA, 17 strikeouts and seven walks over 23 innings pitched.
LeBlanc had a 1-0 record with a 1.37 ERA, 22 strikeouts and nine walks over 26.1 innings pitched.
Huval went 2-1 in 2013 with a 3.68 ERA, 13 strikeouts and 11 walks in 14.2 innings.
“Jevin Huval had a tremendous fall for us, O.J. came here from Sam Houston and Westminster’s Hayden Marze has one of the best arms on the team,” the coach said. “Plus we get Will Bacon back sometime in March after he was our go to guy out of the bullpen in 2012. Also, Ben LeBlanc had really good stats last year.”
Walley is set to be the Bengal closer, according to the coach, as sidearm thrower Domingue will move into a middle reliever role.
“Having returners help set the tone,” Willis said. “We have a good pitching staff that may have some growing pains early in the year but they are going to figure it out.
LSUE opens the season on Jan. 31 in a three-game series against North Lake College from Dallas.