Bengals win sixth baseball championship

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ENID, Oklahoma – With a flair for the dramatic, LSU Eunice’s Slate Fuller blasted a walk-off two run home run to give Bengals a 5-3 win over Parkland and the 2018 NJCAA Division II national title.
Brent Hebert singled in the bottom of the ninth and then with two outs, Fuller’s towering homer gave the Bengals its sixth national championship since 2006.
Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Bengals finally responded when Cameron Horton drew a two-out walk, pinch runner Brennan Faulk stole second and Jacob Richard was hit by a pitch for the fifth time in the tournament.
Koi Westbrook singled up the middle to plate Faulk to tie the game, 3-3.
The Bengals jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second begun when Slate Fuller singled and scored on a passed ball.
Hayden Mixon singled and later scored on a hit by Jacob Richard who advanced on a Parkland error.
LSUE threatened in the third when Brent Hebert walked but could not advance.
Bengal pitcher Zach Hebert struck out seven of the first nine batters, but the Cobras took advantage of an error and a double to tie the game in the top of the fourth.
Brendan Joyce reached on a mishandled bunt, Conner Aube walked and Trystian Raikes then ripped a two-RBI double to centerfield.
LSUE threatened again in the bottom of the fourth when Fuller and Cameron Horton both walked but neither could score.
Parkland grabbed a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth on a solo home run by Max Downs.
Mixon walked and Horton singled in the bottom of the sixth frame but again neither could advance.
The Bengals had another chance in the bottom of the seventh when Koi Westbrook walked and Hebert was hit by a pitch but the Parkland defense held.
After the Downs home run, Parkland had opportunties to add insurance runs in both the seventh and eighth innings but stranded four base runners.
Hester had a strong outing as he pitched eight innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits with nine strike outs, three walks and one hit batsman.
Justin Barton closed the ninth inning for the Bengals as he struck out two in the shut out inning.
The Bengals finished with eight hits against five Parkland pitchers.
Fuller went 2-for-4 with a walk and the game winning two RBI home run.
Westbrook finished 2-for-4 with a RBI.

LSUE 9, Parkland 5
LSU Eunice used a pair of three-run home runs to take down Parkland College 9-5 in the opening game of the NJCAA Division II Championship Series.
The Bengals (58-6) overcame an early deficit for the third consecutive game.
Parkland College used a pair of two-out RBIs to go ahead 2-1 after 3.5 innings, but set the stage for what's become habit for the Bengals at the World Series.
Cameron Horton lifted a three-run opposite field home run to give LSUE the lead for good, 4-2. Horton became the fifth different Bengal to hit a home run at David Allen Memorial Ballpark this weekend.
Brian Fairbanks held serve for LSUE on the mound.
The redshirt freshman received a no decision after throwing four innings, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks. Fairbanks also struck out two batters.
LSUE built up a 9-3 advantage thanks to a run scoring double by Mason Templet in the fifth inning and Koi Westbrook's three-run no doubter home run to right center in the sixth inning.
Westbrook and Templet both collected multi-hit games in LSUE’s eight-hit effort.
LSUE also stole five bases with Westbrook and Richard swiping a pair each.
Noah Beason (3-0) picked up the win after relieving Brian Fairbanks for two innings.
The freshman threw two complete innings, giving up one run off two hits and a walk. Jacob Spell allowed two runs in the seventh to allow the Cobras to creep to 9-5.
Justin Barton, Austin Bradford and Landon Clifton shut down the Parkland bats for the final 2.1 innings, giving up two hits to close out the game.
Josh Garner was tabbed with the loss after throwing five innings for the Cobras.
The 58th win for LSU Eunice sets a new single-season program record, breaking the 2012 team's 57-win mark.
This year's team tied the 2016 squad with 50 regular season wins, also a Bengals' standard.

LSUE 10, NOC-E 1
LSU Eunice dominated in all facets as the Bengals cruised past NOC-Enid in run-rule fashion, 10-1, to advance to the NJCAA Division II championship series.
NOC-Enid threw the first punch with EJ Taylor’s RBI single in the first inning. But from that point, LSU Eunice put together one of its most complete performances of the season. The onslaught began an inning later as Westbrook blasted a grand slam to help the Bengals take the lead for good.
After giving up the Jets’ only run of the game, LSUE starter Dane Dixon shut down the high-powered NOC-Enid offense. Dixon retired the next 15 batters and allowed just one hit in the final six innings.
The redshirt freshman improved to 5-1 on the year, striking out six batters while not issuing a walk.
Dixon was helped by some impressive defensive plays including a diving stop and throw to first from his knees by LSUE third baseman Hayden Mixon in the fifth.
Fuller hit his second home run of the World Series with a two-run blast in the third inning to push LSUE’s lead to 6-1.
Mason Templet and Mixon helped add two more in the fifth while the Bengals scratched the final two runs in the sixth off a bunt and ground out.
Templet was the lone Bengals to have a multi-hit game while six LSUE hitters recorded a hit.
This is LSUE’s seventh all-time appearance in the NJCAA Division II national championship and the sixth title sets a new NJCAA Division II record mving ahead of Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids won five NJCAA Division II championships including 1996, 1997, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
The Bengals grabbed a 3-0 win over Grand Rapids for its first title in 2006 at USA Stadium Millington, Tennessee.
LSUE then earned a 17-5 win over Lenoir in 2008 in Millington.
The Bengals’ third championship win was in 2010 as LSUE rolled to a 10-2 victory over UConn-Avery Point in Enid.
LSUE then earned a 7-3 win over Western Oklahoma State College for the 2012 title.
The Bengals finished as national runners-up in 2013 after a 4-3 loss to Murray State College.
LSUE’s fifth national title came in 2015 as the Bengals defeated Western Oklahoma State College 16-1.
Parkland College won in 2002 and 2009.