Tom Dodge
LSU Eunice built a national powerhouse in baseball and softball as the two teams captured 12 national titles including one every year since 2010.
The Bengal baseball program earned titles in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2018.
The Lady Bengal softball team won NJCAA Division II championships in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
“I really want to recognize my first two teams that didn’t win a national cahmpionship,” former LSUE head coach Andy Lee said. “They set a culture of excellence that every lady followed after.
“For nine years straight every player that played their during their two years won a championship.”
LSU Eunice’s Jensen Howell has been named the 2019 NJCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year
“Jensen was such a huge part of a really great season,” former LSUE head coach Andy Lee said. “She teamed with Heather Zumo to make what I think was the best 1-2 pitching duo in the nation and she worked really hard to put herself in a position to succeed.”
Howell capped off a prolific season as the NJCAA Division II National Tournament Most Outstanding Pitcher.
The sophomore shined in postseason play, posting a 4-0 record with one save that included a 0.23 earned run average.
She helped to guide LSUE (52-6) to an undefeated postseason run, the first in program history, culminating with the Bengals’ sixth NJCAA Division II National Championship.
For the season, Howell was 22-3 with a 1.19 ERA, tops nationally, including 173 strikeouts and a .183 batters against average. Her four saves also ranked third in the country.
She tossed the school’s first no-hitter in four years during a 15-1 victory over Baton Rouge Community College.
Howell threw 12 complete games during the season while posting three double-digit strikeout performances including a season-high 13 against BRCC.
The Louisiana Tech transfer also hit .322, driving in 33 RBIs and three home runs.
Howell hauled in numerous post-season accolades including first-team NJCAA and NFCA All-American, first-team All-Region and second-team LSWA All-Louisiana.
She becomes the seventh LSUE student-athlete to win a NJCAA National Player or Pitcher of the Year award, including the 2018 NJCAA Division II Baseball Pitcher of the Year, Zach Hester.
LSUE’s Raven Cole was named the NJCAA Division II National Pitcher of the Year in 2014 after helping the Lady Bengals to their third National Championship.
Cole was named as a NJCAA All-American, earning her spot on the listing as a pitcher on the First Team after helping the Lady Bengals to a 64-3 season in the circle, as well as at the plate, as LSU Eunice won their second consecutive national championship.
“Raven was a major part of our success with her dominance in the circle.
She also carried us on the final day of the national tournament by throwing the majority of the three games and leading us to another National Championship,” Lee said.
Entering the final day of the national championship needing three wins, the Lady Bengals turned to Cole, who tallied back-to-back wins to force the final game for the championship. The right-hander was named to the All-Tournament team following her performances over the national tournament week.
Cole collected 27 wins inside the circle in her freshman campaign, the fifth-most in the country this year, while striking out 217 batters to set a LSU Eunice program records and tally the third-most in the nation in that category.
She pitched 166.2 innings in 2014 while finishing with a 1.09 ERA, the eighth-best in the country.
At the plate, she collected five doubles and 10 home runs while driving in 73 RBIs to finish with a .319 batting average, a .438 on-base percentage and a .613 slugging percentage.
While she wasn’t named a national player of the year Rebecca Skains was a two-time All-American and set many offensive records for the Lady Bengals.
Skains was twice named the MVP of the national tournament, helping LSUE to back-to-back national championships
In 2017, Skains had a .419 batting average, 18 home runs and 74 RBIs.
She set a single-season school record with 25 home runs as a freshman
In her two years at LSUE, she hit .448 with 43 home runs, 157 RBI, 148 runs scored and 183 hits.
Pitcher Destin Vicknair was also a two-time All-American in 2014 and 2015.
Her sophomore season at LSUE, Vicknair finished 18-4 with a 1.19 ERA, 192 strikeouts in 141.0 innings of work.
She was NJCAA’s third-most strikeouts per game (9.53) and had 17 complete games and four shutouts
As a batter, she recorded 37 runs, 69 hits, 18 doubles, 11 home runs and 65 RBI, while registering a .431 batting average.
In 2014, Vicknair helped lead LSUE to a 64-3 record and the NJCAA DII National Championship.
She had a 28-2 record with a 0.94 ERA and 150 strikeouts.
Vicknair had 21 complete games and seven shutouts in 180.0 innings of work
At the plate, she batted .410 with 68 hits and scored 41 runs with 16 doubles, 15 home runs and 60 RBIs.
All-Americans Brooklyn Clark, Cody Covington, Cole, Vicknair and Skains all played for the NJCAA team in the Canada Cup to close their Lady Bengal careers.
“I believed we won with a great combination of talent, hard work, grit and a sisterhood camaraderie,” Lee said.
“No one wanted to let their teammates down but knew they were loved if they failed also. Egos were check at the entrance of the dugout and everyone played as one.
“We never talked about winning championships during the year,” Lee said of his six title runs. “
We didn’t focus on making it to the world series or winning it all.
“We just wanted to get better every day and win that game.”
While the six titles helped build the Lady Bengals’ national powerhouse legacy,’ Lee said there was more to the program than wins.
“What means the most to me is the relationships I built with the players and families and seeing all the wonderful things they are accomplishing now out of playing the game,” Lee said.