Delgado serves notice, rallying twice to win series over LSU-Eunice

NEW ORLEANS – It has been a good run for Delgado baseball.

After struggling to find an identity early in the season, the Dolphins entered a weekend series with powerhouse LSU-Eunice with an eight-game win streak.

Delgado did it on the strength of outstanding pitching.

In 2021, LSU-Eunice won its seventh Division II junior college national championship, all since 2006 under Jeff Willis.

The Bengals are a threat to win it again in 2022 and arrived in town having swept four games from Delgado in 2021.

The three-game series turned out to be simply outstanding. There was little, if anything, to separate the two teams.

There will be no sweep this season. The results proved that conclusively with three one-run games.

The sum of those games saw the Dolphins outscore the Bengals 14-13. Delgado had 32 hits to 26 for the Bengals. Delgado committed three errors to just one for LSUE. Delgado left 33 on base to just 17 for the Bengals. Each of the three games could have gone either way.

On Saturday, Delgado extended its win streak to nine games, beating the Bengals 6-5 in an eight inning thriller on a walk-off single by Ole Miss commit Ethan Lege.

The Dolphins rallied from a 5-1 deficit with two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings to force extra innings.

In the eighth inning, Bryan Broussard singled and Brayden Caskey was hit by a pitch. Lege singled home Broussard to provide a thrilling win for the Dolphins as J.T. Singletary belted a pair home runs and singled.

Hunter Draper picked up the win in relief with four shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out four.

The win streak ended in game two of the doubleheader Saturday as LSU-Eunice edged Delgado 4-3.

The story of the game was the fact that Delgado left 16 men on base, frittering away a slew of opportunities, leaving the bases loaded three times. Kole Myers slammed a two-run home run for the Bengals as Patrick Vienne improved to 9-0 with the win, going six innings, allowing two runs while striking out nine.

Singletary starred again, belting his third home run of the day and producing a pair of singles and a walk as well but it was not enough.

The rubber game Sunday saw the Bengals jump on the Dolphins early with two runs in the top of the second inning and two more in the third inning on a two-run home run by Bryce Larocca to take a 4-0 lead behind the outstanding pitching of Brenden Moody, who is set to pitch for the University of Louisiana next year.

The Dolphins chipped away, getting to Moody for a run in the sixth inning on an RBI double by Lane LeBlanc to make it 4-1.

Delgado got into the LSU-Eunice bullpen and did damage.

The Dolphins plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie it on consecutive singles by Cade Pregeant, Jake Kaufman and Brouusard, who drove in a run to make it 4-2. A wild pitch plated another run to make it 4-3 before Lege drove in a run with a groundout to tie the game 4-4.

Delgado got the game-winner in the bottom of the eighth without the benefit of a hit.

LeBlanc drew a walk and Tyler Cook ran for him. Collin Morgan sacrificed Cook to second and Hayden Kibbe walked.

Pregeant then hit a ground ball to the right side and Reed Eason could not handle it as it caromed off his glove into right field, scoring Cook to give the Dolphins a 5-4 lead.

Kaile Levatino came on in the ninth and pitched around a leadoff walk and a single to pick up his third save of the season.

Turner Toms started for Delgado and struggled early, giving up the four runs in three innings but Toms settled in nicely, putting up 3 2/3 shutout innings to keep his team in the game, giving way to William Reed, who pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win in relief.

Singletary finished the series 7 for 10 with three RBI.

All season long, Delgado pitching has given the Dolphins a chance.

This weekend, the Dolphins showed tremendous resolve to rally from four runs down twice to win games and take the series from an elite opponent.

Now 27-10, Delgado hosts Nunez Community College in a three-game Region 23 series next weekend, including single game on Good Friday at noon and a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. with all three games streaming video at www.delgadoathletics.com and on radio on Dolphin Radio 99.1 FM. The Dolphins are 3-0 against the Pelicans this season and have never lost to Nunez and Delgado is 3-0 against Baton Rouge Community College in Region 23 play as well.

Delgado is 6-0 in Region 23 play and this year’s tournament will be at Pete Goldsby Field in Baton Rouge May 6-8. The Dolphins have won Region 23 eight straight times, dating back to 2013. The last team other than Delgado to win the region was Meridian Junior College in 2012.

Delgado will face a rematch with LSUE to close the regular season, playing three games in two days at Eunice April 30 and May 1.

Once again, Joe Scheuermann’s club is doing it with many local products and Louisiana players from Archbishop Rummel, Assumption, Benton Brother Martin, Catholic (BR), De La Salle, Destrehan, Dutchtown, Holy Cross, John Curtis Christian, Lakeshore, Northshore, Opelousas Catholic, Parkview Baptist, Pearl River, St. Amant, St. Augustine, St. Charles Catholic, St. Thomas Aquinas, Vandebilt Catholic, Vermilion Catholic and Zachary.

Winners of 10 of 11, if the Dolphins can find enough offense, they will be a dangerous team down the stretch.