Column: Bengals set new standard in title run

By Tom Dodge

Sports Editor

Head coaches sometimes are reluctant to compare championship teams.

But that doesn’t mean that sports editors can’t crunch the numbers and figure out on paper which team and players set new records.

It is a very interesting comparision between LSU-E’s 2006 and the 2008 national championship teams.

Thursday night, Ryan Boudreaux pitched a complete game as the Bengals beat Lenoir 17-5 to finish the season at 52-12.

Back in 2006, Brett Durand tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout as LSUE grabbed a 3-0 over three-time defending champion Grand Rapids to close out the season at 52-11. So the two teams tied for best overall season record with 52 wins and most regular season wins with 44.

The 2008 Bengals set 10 team records, many of which were set by the 2006 LSUE team (15 records set in 2006).

Boomer Blanchard, Nate Peterson, Delta Cleary, and Kellen Bozeman made all-tournament team. Perry Smith was named World Series MVP.

So as a team the new 2008 records include: batting average (.373 to .357), hits (735 to 687), doubles (162 to 126), triples (37 to 28), home runs (80 to 61), RBI (535 to 516), total bases (1,211 to 1,052), slugging percentage (.614 to.547) on base percentage (.454 to .449) and stolen bases (184 to 166).

The 2006 team still holds records for runs scored (580 to 571), walks (254 to 237), hit by pitch (91 to 79).

Overall the 2006 pitching staff set more records including earned run average (2.07 to 3.28), complete games (30 to 12), shutouts ( 8 to 3) and strikeouts (465 to 431).

The 2008 team set the record for saves (14 to 13), while the 2006 defense recorded a better fielding percentage (.959 to .951).

So just by comparing records set, the 2006 team seemed to be a little bit better pitching and on defense, but this year’s team was a more powerful offensive squad.

Numerous individual records were set this year including Matt Creel and Delta Cleary tying 2006’s Brandon Richey for total hits with 98. Kellen Bozeman tied last year’s second-place finish of Kade Keowen with 88 hits.

Boomer Blanchard moved into third place with 87 hits, while Tyler Slocum edged out 2006’s Matt Berard (83) for fourth place with 84 hits on the season.

Creel also moved into fourth place with overall batting average (.419) behind Scott Carboni (2000 - .466), Dustin Guidry (2007 - .436) and Richey (2006 - .424).

Cleary moved into fifth place with a .407 batting average.

Boomer Blanchard set the new season record with 90 runs scored to push past Richey (85 in 2006), while Cleary jumped into third place with 71 runs and Kellen Bozeman moved into fifth place with 67 runs scored.

Slocum set the doubles record with 25 just ahead of Boomer’s 24, Cleary’s 22 and Bozeman’s 21 to tie previous record holders Ryan Reed (2004) and Richey (2006).

Bryan Jaeger still holds the triples record set in 2006 with eight, but Creel, Cleary and Boomer Blanchard all moved into second place tie with six to match Matt Matis (2003) and Koewen (2006).

Bozeman set the single- season home run record with 15 to pass Carboni’s 13 hit in 2000. Boomer Blanchard finished in fourth place with 11.

Cleary blasted his way to the RBI record with 82, while Bozeman hit 72 as the duo surpassed Kyle Suire (67 in 2006), Keowen (62 in 2007) along with Berard (58 in 2006).

The total bases record was also reset by Cleary (162) to pass Richey (160 in 2006) while Bozeman and Blanchard (156) along with Creel (154) round out the new top five.

Lucas Soileau still holds the slugging percentage with .722 set in 2001 and Richey remains in second at .693 (2006), but Bozeman (.690), Boomer Blanchard (.678) and Cleary (.672) moved into the list.

Nate Peterson moved into the top three with 41 walks behind Carboni (44 in 2000), Matt Casbon (42 in 2004) and tied David Broussard (41 in 2004).

Boomer Blanchard set the new record for hits by pitch with 16, just ahead of David Broussard (2004), Rickey Nolan (2006), and Richey (2006) with 15. Kellen Bozeman tied Blake Sibley (2003) with 14 plunks on the season.

Guidry still holds the on-base percentage record set last year at .572, followed by Richey (.514 in 2006), but Peterson (.488) and Boomer Blanchard (.487) moved into the top five,

Delta Cleary tied the steal record with 32 to join Richey (2006) and Jaeger (2006) atop that category.

Chase Blanchard (31) and Boomer Blanchard (30) were close behind to finish in the top five of that category.

The pitching records slighty changed this season as Rayn Boudreaux moved into second place with 12 wins wedged between Kenny Plaisance (14 in 2004) and Nate Duhe (13 in 2006).

Boudreaux just missed the top five in the complete games list with six games, while the record stands with 12 set in 2003 by Plaisance.

Boudreaux did finish in a three-way tie for second place for shutouts with three to join Damien Dalfrey (2004), Plaisance (2004) but Plasiance also holds the overall record with four shutouts in 2003.

Boudreaux also left his name in the LSUE record books with 106.1 innings pitched just behind Plaisance’s 122.2 innings in 2004. He also finished in third place with 100 strikeouts behind Wagley (109 in 2007) and Plaisance (105 in 2004).

Slocum finished in third place with six saves, behind Jared Bourque (13 in 2004) and Robbie White (10 in 2000).

Now that all the complete but unoffical results have been tallied (I checked my math more than once, but I could have missed something), I understand why LSUE head coach Jeff Willis refused to compare teams when we talked on the field last week after the title game.

I am not sure if they were both teams on my PlayStation College Baseball game, which team would win the series.

But we all know they are both championship teams filled with top-quality players.

And they have the records to prove it.