POPLARVILLE – LSU Eunice held Jones scoreless the final seven innings and plated five runs late to pull away for a 7-2 victory in Friday's NJCAA Region 23 Championship game at Dub Herring Park.

The Bengals, 52-7, get the automatic bid to the World Series in their final season in NJCAA Division II. LSUE will be moving to Division I next season.

Jones ends the year 41-16, its first 40-win campaign since 2017. 

Dawson Willis started the game off for LSUE with a solo shot to right-center.

Brady Thomas' triple off the wall and Gatlin Sanders' RBI-single two batters later tied the game at 1-1 after one. 

Hays Carley's fielder's choice plated Gavin Brassfield after a leadoff single in the second to give Jones a 2-1 advantage.

Tyler Johnson's solo shot to left in the fourth tied the game again at 2-2.

Connor Brooks logged 4.1 gutsy innings in relief to keep the game close, allowing three runs on five hits with six strikeouts.

A pair of two-out, RBI-singles in the seventh put LSUE on top for good, 4-2.

Jones got the tying runs to second and third with no outs in the bottom of the eighth but went strikeout, strikeout, lineout to strand them. 

The Bengals plated three in the ninth to make it 7-2 on a single and bases-loaded walk and hit-by-pitch.

Liam Watt scattered five hits, two runs and six strikeouts to get the win for LSUE.

Collin Pipkins made his first collegiate start and went 2.1 innings in a no-decision. Brooks, Brice Deaton and Brady Thomas closed it out.

LSUE out-hit Jones 9-6. Johnson was 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs.