Sports
Top-Ranked LSUE Hands Northwest Season-Ending 11-5 Loss
Courtesy of Northwest
A six-run fourth inning propelled the top-ranked LSU Eunice Bengals to an 11-5 win over Northwest in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament on Friday to end the Rangers’ season a win shy of the 30-win plateau.
LSUE advances to play Jones County in an elimination game, while Northwest ends its season at 29-21 overall.
Northwest stranded five runners in scoring position through the first three innings and trailed 1-0 after Janson Bourque’s double to left-center.
The Bengals extended their lead to 7-0 in the fourth, plating five of its six runs with two outs. Turner Francis’ leadoff triple got the big inning started and he was followed by an RBI-single from Bourque, two run single from Zach LaFleur and a two-run, opposite field home run from William Watson.
Northwest found new life in the fifth to make it a ballgame, putting the first three runners on base in the inning. Tanner Lloyd was plunked and Boyd walked before Hunter Wilson’s double to right-center scored both. David Herrington followed with an RBI-double, one of his three in the game, and Jamell Newson added a sac fly to make it 7-4.
LaFleur’s solo home run to left answered back for the Bengals in the top of the sixth and they’d add two more in the seventh to make it 10-4.
Herrington’s RBI-double in the bottom of the seventh plated Wilson for the Rangers’ final run in an 11-5 defeat.
LSUE out-hit Northwest 15-9 on the day, led by three hits apiece from Bourque and Francis. Herrington was 3-for-5 with three doubles and two RBIs, followed by Wilson and Aaron Campbell with two hits apiece.
Braxton Smith (5-1) earned the win for LSUE in 2.1 innings of relief, while Jarod Wright (5-6) was tagged with the loss.
Injury-riddled all season long, Northwest battled through overwhelming adversity to win 29 games, a first-round playoff series and advanced to its 25th NJCAA regional in program history. They end the season ranked 18th, their third straight NJCAA final ranking.
Courtesy of Northwest Sports Information
| Mon, Nov 4 |  | vs Long Island University | W, 90-60 |
| Fri, Nov 8 |  | vs Grambling | W, 66-64 |
| Tue, Nov 12 |  | vs South Alabama | W, 64-54 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Colorado State | W, 84-69 |
| Thu, Nov 21 |  | vs Oral Roberts | L, 100-68 |
| Thu, Nov 28 |  | vs BYU | W, 96-85 OT |
| Fri, Nov 29 |  | vs 13 Purdue | L, 80-78 |
| Tue, Dec 3 |  | @ Louisville | W, 86-63 |
| Sat, Dec 7 |  | vs Lindenwood | W, 86-53 |
| Sat, Dec 14 |  | vs Southern Miss | W, 77-46 |
| Tue, Dec 17 |  | vs Southern | W, 74-61 |
| Sat, Dec 21 |  | vs Queens University | W, 80-62 |
| Sat, Dec 28 |  | @ Memphis | L, 87-70 |
| Sat, Jan 4 |  | vs Georgia | W, 63-51 |
| Wed, Jan 8 |  | @ 23 Arkansas | W, 73-66 |
| Sat, Jan 11 |  | vs LSU | W, 77-65 |
| Tue, Jan 14 |  | @ 5 Alabama | W, 74-64 |
| Sat, Jan 18 |  | @ 17 Mississippi State | L, 81-84 |
| Wed, Jan 22 |  | vs 13 Texas A&M | L, 62-63 |
| Sat, Jan 25 |  | @ Missouri | L, 83-75 |
| Wed, Jan 29 |  | vs Texas | W, 72-69 |
| Sat, Feb 1 |  | vs 2 Auburn | L, 92-82 |
| Tue, Feb 4 |  | vs 10 Kentucky | W, 98-84 |
| Sat, Feb 8 | | @ LSU | 7:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 12 |  | @ South Carolina | 6:00 PM SECN |
| Sat, Feb 15 | | vs 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Feb 22 |  | @ Vanderbilt | 2:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 26 | | @ 2 Auburn | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 1 |  | vs 12 Oklahoma | 1:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Mar 5 |  | vs 1 Tennessee | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 8 |  | @ 6 Florida | 5:00 PM SECN |