Tom Dodge
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth of a 12-story series celebrating LSUE’s baseball and softball national championships.
Even with six national championships, former LSUE head coach Andy Lee still remembers the one that slipped away.
The Lady Bengals won their first championship in 2011 and seemed poised to grab another in 2012 as LSUE rolled through the Region 23 tournament and then powered its way to the national championship game.
The top-seed Lady Bengals opened the World Series with wins over East Central College (8-0), Muskegon Community College (6-0), Cowley College (7-0) and then downed Phoenix College (3-2).
LSUE needed just one more win to grab the title, but Phoenix College swept the Lady Bengals, 5-1, 2-1.
“We could have won four in a row,” Lee remembered. “We were in the championship game and just had to split one game to win our second title in a row.
“Phoenix defeated Parkland (8-0) and then beat us twice,” Lee said. “That was the worst day of my coaching career.
“We had it in our grasp and it was snatched away.
“But Phoenix battled and they deserved the trophy.”
The 2013 Lady Bengals entered the Region 23 tournament after an impressive 30-1 home record.
“We were strong in every position,” Lee said of that team. “We had speed, we had power and good pitching.”
Lee said his line-up was impressive including NJCAA first team All-American third baseman Kelsey Hollier and third team All-American pitcher Julienne Broussard.
The losses to Phoenix was on their minds all season according to Lee.
“We talked about it all year as we were so close,” Lee said. “Our girls were super motivated all year to get another chance for a championship.”
“Phoenix was the standard we were trying to reach said. “Everybody knew the champion road went through them.”
LSUE opened the regional with wins over East Central (6-1), Mississippi Gulf Coast (10-0) before a 5-4 loss to Jones County.
The Lady Bengals regrouped for a 8-0 win over Pearl River and then swept Jones (6-0, 10-4) to win the Region 23 title and advance to the national tournament in Clinton, Mississippi.
“We cruised through the World Series with a stellar group that helped build the Lady Bengal legacy,” Lee said.
Top-seeded LSUE opened the series with a 12-4 win over Murray State College, sparked by a six-run third inning.
In that inning, the Bengals sent 10 batters to the plate highlighted by Brooklyn Clark’s two-run single, Ashley Subervielle’s two-run double and a RBI single by Pam Wainwright.
The inning was capped by Codi Covington’s three-run home run, the first of two home runs for Covington.
The Lady Bengals hit three home runs on the game with Brooklyn Clark provided a two-run blast in the fourth frame.
Brooklyn Guillot earned the win after tossing four innings and allowing three runs off three hits and two walks while striking out ten batters.
LSUE followed with a dominant 19-1 win over Mercyhurst North East, aided by a 13-run fourth inning.
The Lady Bengals used bunts, steals and errors to jump out to a quick 6-0 edge.
The fourth inning began with a three-run home run from Taylor Simon, three of her five RBIs on the game.
LSUE had 20 at-bats in the 13-run frame.
Kelsey Hollier tallied two RBIs on the game which helped her become the Lady Bengals’ single-season record holder with 81 RBIs.
Haley McCall held the record with 73 RBIs in 2011.
Broussard went four innings and fanned nine, walked one and allowed one run on three hits.
For the fourth time in a two week span, LSUE met Region 23 rival Jones County and the Lady Bengals smashed a trio of home runs in an 8-2 victory.
After falling behind with a first inning JCJC run, Hollier responded by smacking a two-run blast that gave LSUE the lead for good.
After a solo home run by Simon in the third inning, Codi Covington provided more fireworks with a two-run shot that helped push the Bengals to a 6-1 edge.
The duo of Elizabeth Delafield and Broussard silenced the Jones County bats for the majority of the afternoon.
The pair scattered two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and issuing three walks.
LSUE advanced to the national championship with a 6-1 win over Phoenix College.
Simon and Hollier provided the scoring punch by driving in five of the six Bengal runs.
Simon gave LSUE the lead in the first with an RBI single then helped extend the lead with another RBI single in the second.
Hollier followed suit with a bases loaded 3-RBI double to help LSUE race out to a quick 5-0 advantage.
Hollier continued the scoring with a RBI single in the fourth inning.
Broussard held the Phoenix bats quiet with a complete game allowing one run off four hits while striking out four batters and giving up a pair of walks.
LSU Eunice completed a sweep in Clinton with an 8-0 shutout of Phoenix College as the Lady Bengals captured the program’s second national championship.
After fighting through three scoreless innings, Subervielle put LSUE on the board first with a two-run home run to centerfield.
The Lady Bengals then piled it on with six runs in the sixth inning.
A two-time All-Tournament selection, Hollier drove in a run off a double which was followed by a huge two-run long ball by Emily Nolan.
Covington provided the final three runs of the game with a bases loaded 3-RBI triple.
Broussard won her single-season record 29th game of the year by throwing a complete game shutout, her ninth of the season.
Broussard scattered five hits with a strikeout and two walks.
She forced seven ground outs and 12 flyouts and threw 105 pitches, 68 for strikes.
Broussard was named the Pitcher of the Tournament as she finished with a 0.89 ERA and allowed two earned runs in 20 1/3 innings of work.
She recorded 19 strikeouts and earned three wins in four appearances.
Broussard set the school single-season record with 30 wins (Heather Abshire 23 in 2011) and 205 strikeouts (Tina Schulz 148 in 2011).
World Series MVP Subervielle had a break-out tournament in right field and at the plate.
Her two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning against Phoenix in the title game gave the Lady Bengals a lead they would not relinquish.
She hit .412 (7-for-17) over the five games including two doubles and a home run and also made several spectacular catches in the outfield during the tournament.
Covington earned Most Outstanding Offensive Player honors as she hit .600 (9-for-15) with a triple, three home runs, 11 RBI and four runs scored for the tournament.
Simon was named to the All- Tournament team for the second year in a row.
Simon hit a home run (2-for-4, three runs scored) against Mercyhurst.
Simon also hit a round tripper against Jones County (1-for-3, 2 RBI) along with a strong defensive presence all tournament.
Broussard’s 29 wins was the best in the country and Delafield finished third in the country with a 0.77 earned run average.
Simon led the country with 213 at bats just ahead of Hollier’s 211.
Simon also led the nation with 30 doubles, while Hollier was second with 81 RBI.
Clark was fourth with 23 doubles and seventh with 88 hits.
Brooke Thomas finished ninth in the nation with 66 runs scored.
Emily Nolan was third in the country with 39 walks.
LSUE finished the season with an impressive 62-5 record.
2013 LSUE Roster
1 OF Brooke Rozas
2 P Julienne Broussard
3 2B Taylor Simon
4 OF Brooke Thomas
5 INF Brooklynn Clark
7 3B Kelsey Hollier
9 OF Ashley Subervielle
10 OF Alexandra Jung
14 IF Carey Alexis
15 P Elizabeth Delafield
16 IF Caitlen Blanchard
17 SS Pamela Wainwright
18 C Morgan Tauzin
19 C Chelsea Evans
20 IF/C Emily Nolan
21 OF Codi Covington
22 C Randi Vosburg
24 P Brooklyn Guillot
Coaching Staff
Head Coach Andy Lee and Assistant Coach Dani Leal
UP NEXT: The 2014 LSUE softball national championship revisited.