Bengals grab two from Pioneers to earn fifth title

ENID, Oklahoma - It took resolve and determination as well a strong defense combined with timely hitting to lift top-ranked LSU Eunice to two wins over Western Oklahoma State College on Saturday as the Bengals won their fifth baseball national championship.
The Bengals trailed 10-1 against the Pioneers in the fourth inning before LSU Eunice began a remarkable comeback to grab a 14-12 win to force the winner-take-all finale.
LSU Eunice outscored Western 13-3 in the final five innings, sparked by two home runs from David LaFleur to force a 10-10 tie in the eigth inning.
After Western retook the lead with two runs in the bottom of the frame, the resolve of the Bengals began to be on display.
Brennan Bozeman singled and scored on a sacrifice by LaFleur, while Madison Nickens doubled and scored on a wild pitch to tie the game.
Steven Sensley was intentionally walked and Nick Coomes drew a two-out walk to keep the inning alive.
Jordan Romero then singled in Sensley, while Trey Caswell’s hit scored Coomes to give the Bengals a two-run advantage.
The LSU Eunice defense then put the Pioneers down in order in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win and grab the momentum for the rest of the night.
“It says a lot about the character of the kids as they were down 10-1 in the first game and no one in the stadiun expected us to win except for the guys in our dugout,” Bengal head coach Jeff Willis said. “We were down to one strike and we tied the game on a wild pitch but that shows as long as there is an out left on the board you have a chance to win.”
Western Oklahoma took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first of the finale, but the Bengals then exploded for 16 unanswered runs as LSU Eunice cruised to the title win.
The Bengals scored in six of eight innings, including four runs in the second and five more in fifth inning to push ahead 15-1.
LSU Eunice put another run across in the seventh when Sam Walley blasted his second solo home run and the Bengal pitchers continued to hold the Pioneers off base.
Ben Braymer pitched eight innings, striking out 12 with four hits and one walk to earn the win.
Zack Hamilton pitched the final inning with a strikeout and two hits as the Bengal defense turned a double play to end the game.