By Charlie Cavell, BPCC Athletic Coordinator
In a battle of tenth-ranked NJCAA softball teams, Div. I No. 10 Bossier Parish Community College swept Div. II No. 10 LSU Eunice, 6-0 and 5-1, Monday at the BPCC Softball Field.
With the game tied 1-1 and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth of game two, BPCC’s Haylee Ladner hit a ground ball to LSUE second baseman Rylie Candella, who tagged out Dyllan Sanay who was on her way to second.
Unsure if she made the tag, Candella opted to throw home and get the force out. However, Sanay was called out on the play, taking the force out off allowing Samantha Eckert to slide across safely with the go-ahead run.
BPCC center fielder Hailey Pence then smashed a three-run home run over the left field wall to give the Lady Cavaliers a 5-1 lead.
Primrose Aholelei struck out two of the four batters she faced in the top of the seventh to secure the win and complete the sweep. Aholelei tossed seven innings, allowed just one run on three hits, walked three and fanned 11 to earn her 13th win of the season.
BPCC broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth in game one by hitting four home runs in the inning.
Pence led off the inning with a solo shot that hit off the flagpole in center field. One batter later, Eckert hit one over the center field wall, and after a strikeout, Uchenna Jong Loy belted her NJCAA-leading 20th homer of the season to make 3-0.
Sanay drew a two-out walk, then went to second on a wild pitch before Ladner singled her home. Tuliliau Sosi then blasted a two-run home run to give BPCC a 6-0 lead heading into the top of the seventh.
BPCC sophomore pitcher Mabry Smith tossed a one-hit, complete game shutout to earn her seventh win of the season. Smith walked two and struck out a season-high 14 batters.
She held the previous high of 13 strikeouts, which she set on Sat., April 17 against Kilgore. Smith had her no-hit bid spoiled by LSUE’s Sydnei Simon, who led off the top of the sixth with a single to right-center field.
BPCC improved to 36-6, while LSUE dropped to 29-19.
The Lady Cavaliers return to Region XIV action on Wed., April 21 when they play host to the Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals. Last week, TVCC snapped BPCC’s 21-game winning streak.
