LSUE batters MSGCC 12-4 in Regionals
By Tom Dodge
POPLARVILLE, Miss. – It was a night Matt Creel will remember for a long time.
Creel hit two home runs with four hits at five at-bats, scored four times and drove in five runs to help lead the LSUE Bengals to a 12-4 win over Mississippi Gulf Coast Friday night in the second round of the Region 23 tournament.
And if the hits weren’t enough, Creel was also the winning pitcher as he limited Gulf Coast to four runs on eight hits as he struck out nine, walked one and had one hitbatsman.
LSUE recorded 12 runs on 13 hits and left eight runners on base as the Bengals recorded its second straight mercy-rule victory to remain the only undefeated team left in the tournament heading into Saturday’s action.
LSUE (46-11) was scheduled to face the Gulf Coast/Pearl River winner Saturday at 7 p.m. with a chance to head to Sunday’s 1 p.m. championship round.
The Bengals scored three runs in the bottom of the first when Boomer Blanchard was hit by a pitch and scored on Delta Cleary’s single. Creel then cleared the bases with a powerful home run down the right field line.
LSUE added two runs in the bottom of the third, begun Kellen Bozeman was hit by a pitch and scored on a wild pitch. Tyler Slocum singled and scored on a single by Chase Blanchard for a 5-0 advantage.
Gulf Coast closed the gap to 5-1 in the top of the fourth when Jeremy Davis singled and scored on Aaron Mitt’s single to left field.
LSUE responded with a three-run surge in the bottom of the inning to forge ahead 8-1.
Cleary bunted his way on and scored on Creel’s single. Creel singled and Slocum doubled and the duo scored on Perry Smith double off the centerfield wall.
The Bengals continued its scoring parade with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth when Cleary reached on an error and Creel belted his second home run of the contest for a 10-1 advantage.
MGCCC scored twice in the top of the sixth inning when Davis was hit by a pitch and Jacob Daniel hit a round tripper to close the gap to 10-3.
The two teams then exchanged home runs when Slocum hit one in the bottom of the sixth to push LSUE ahead 11-3, but Matt Bennett answered with a solo shot in the top of the seventh to pull the Bulldogs within seven runs.
But the Bengals completed the eight-run mercy rule decision when Creel singled and scored on Bozeman’s RBI double down the left field line for the 12-4 LSUE win.