Bears lose Region XXIII Tournament Opener to LSUE Bengals

Saturday, May 3, 2025: Baseball 

Denham Springs, LA  

The Baton Rouge Bears opened postseason play this afternoon as the number 4 seed in the 2025 Region XXIII Division I Baseball Tournament against the number one seed, the LSUE Bengals. The Bears struggled to contain the high-powered offense of the Bengals, resulting in a 12-3 loss due to the eight-inning run rule. 

The Bengals got on the board first in the opening inning with back-to-back singles by A. Mouton and W. Mabry, IV. They scored when T. LeBlanc grounded into a double play, leaving the score at 1-0 after the first inning. The Bears tied the game in the top of the second when Aidan Machado hit a single to left field. Although he was erased on a fielder's choice by Conner Kleinpeter, Cooper Martin hit a triple that brought Kleinpeter home from first base. However, the Bengals quickly retook the lead with a run in the bottom of the second, making it 2-1. Both teams remained scoreless in the third inning.  

In the fourth inning, the Bears regained the lead, scoring two runs to make it 3-2. Aidan Machado hit a double to left field, followed by a walk for Conner Kleinpeter. Cooper Martin then hit a single that scored Machado, and Trent Laporte added a single to right field, driving in Kleinpeter and moving Martin to third base. Unfortunately, the Bears left Martin stranded at third.  

The Bengals took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth when J. Legg reached base on a Bears error, followed by a two-run homer from A. Fuslier to left field. The Bengals increased their lead by adding two runs in the fifth and two more in the seventh inning, leading 8-3. The Bears fell silent offensively in the final four innings, failing to string together hits to score any additional runs. The Bengals capped off the game with four runs in the eighth inning, two of which were driven in by A. Mouton, who ended the game with a homer to left field. The final score was 12-3 in favor of the Bengals, with the game ending in the eighth inning due to the run rule.  

Cade Robin started on the mound for the Bears and took the loss, pitching 4.1 innings while allowing 6 runs (5 earned) on 4 hits, walking 2, and striking out 3. Klayton Wingfield (1.2 innings) and Cole Veronie (1.2 innings) provided relief for the Bears. A. Beversdorf started on the mound for the Bengals and was credited with the win, pitching 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits, walking 1, and striking out 4.  

Bears Highlights  

Jake Brouillette went 1 for 4  

Dillion Bird went 1 for 3 with a double  

Aidan Machado went 3 for 4 with 1 run and 1 double  

Conner Kleinpeter went 1 for 3 with 2 runs and 1 walk  

Cooper Martin went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and 1 triple  

Trent Laporte went 1 for 3 with 1 RBI 

With this loss, the Bears fell to 5-44, while the Bengals improved to 50-3 on the season. LSUE leads the all-time series against Baton Rouge with 79 wins and 21 losses.  

The Bears move to the loser's bracket, where they will face the Delgado Dolphins, who lost 7-1 to the Nunez Pelicans in the second game of today's tournament. The loser of this matchup will be eliminated from the tournament, ending their season.  

For more information about the Bears baseball team, follow us on Twitter at @BRCC_Baseball and on Instagram and Facebook at @BRCCAthletics.