The LSU Eunice Lady Bengal softball squad, fresh off the National Junior College Athletic Association regional tournament in Mississippi, is headed to the NJCAA softball national championship next week in Bloomington, Ill.
"I'm very proud of them," says head coach Andy Lee. "These girls have worked really, really hard and achieved a lot." The Lady Bengals have compiled a 37-16 record in only the fourth year that LSUE has had a softball program.
The team is currently ranked sixth in the nation in the latest NJCAA Division II poll, the first time in school history the team has cracked the top ten. The Lady Bengals roster features several players who excelled at high schools in Acadiana: Ashley Parr (pictured with Lee following a home run Saturday in the regional tournament) and Chasity Gary, both of Comeaux High; Cheri Sammis of Lafayette High; Hannah Latiolais of Cecilia High; and Meredith Himel and Kelli Jo Soileau of Eunice.
The team went 3-1 at the regional tournament in Clinton, Miss., losing to Mississippi Gulf Coast in the championship game, to earn second-place. The top two teams from each regional tournament will compete in the national tilt May 14-16.