PORT NECHES — Indians softball players had much to celebrate during Wednesday’s signing ceremony at Port Neches-Groves. Two of their athletes signed national letters-of-intent.

Third baseman and catcher Bailey Crorey and first baseman Alexis LaBure officially committed to Lamar State College Port Arthur and LSU-Eunice, respectively.

“We both have been playing ever since we were younger, and the fact we both get to go off and get to end our careers in softball is awesome,” Crorey said.

But the Southland Conference was well represented on the table of four signees inside PNG’s gymnasium. Second baseman and outfielder Logan LeJeune is officially headed to Lamar, joining a pair of other local commits to Will Davis’ first recruiting class.

“I always wanted to be at the next level playing baseball,” LeJeune said. “Going to Lamar and being so close to home, it’s just a great feeling. Everybody’s going to get to come see me play almost every game, so I’m just ecstatic.”

Golf standout Karlei Hemler signed with McNeese State, and now she can focus on adding to an already impressive junior golf and high school resume.

“It was a big weight lifted off my shoulders when I committed to McNeese, because I knew I didn’t have to focus on anything anymore,” Hemler said. “I just focus on my game getting better and better.”

LaBure and Crorey combined to drive in 36 runs last season for the Indians, who shared the District 22-5A championship. LaBure batted .349 with seven doubles, and Crorey hit .274 with 20 RBI and a home run.

“It was a pretty easy pick when I went toward the campus and met the coaches and everything,” LaBure said.

Lamar did not release a list of baseball signees Wednesday, but Nederland’s Chase Kemp and Brendon Dunkleberger are expected to sign Thursday. West Orange-Stark’s Jack Dallas also orally committed to playing baseball and football at Lamar.

Add LeJeune’s signing, and that would make 10 locals from Jefferson and Orange counties Davis has either signed or earned oral commitments from since his hire. Six are already on the 2017 baseball team.

“He’s just a great coach,” LeJeune said of Davis, who was hired as successor to Jim Gilligan in January and served as assistant coach last spring. “I’ve got two other players going to Lamar with me now. Having a couple of players go with me is just going to make it a lot more homely now.”

LeJeune batted .370 in 22-5A play last year and .329 for the season with a home run. His 26 runs (21 in district play) and 16 walks led the Indians, and he fielded .976.

Hemler has 51 victories on the Southeast Texas PGA junior, 40 on the First Tee and Southeast Junior Golf Tours and 14 in USSSA Junior Golf, two of which are national championships won at Champions Gate in Orlando, Fla., and TPC of Louisiana in Avondale. She won six times in four additional tours and is a three-time Babe Zaharias Player of the Year nominee, winning the honor in 2015.

For her high school career, Hemler is a 21-time winner, four-year letterman, three-time district qualifier, two-time district champ, three-time regional qualifier and two-time state qualifier, becoming the first PNG girl in 37 years to reach state in 2015. Her round of 68 is a school record for girls.

Currently ranked 19th in the state among recruits in the class of 2017, she was one of 81 junior golfer invited to play in The Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, Calif.

Now, she’ll keep her game on the Gulf Coast. And it’s a more sentimental reason than playing Division I golf that keeps her near home.

“You can’t pass that up,” said Hemler, who originally committed to Division III Mary Hardin-Baylor. “Mary Hardin-Baylor is 4 hours away and McNeese State is 45 minutes away. My dad had heart surgery about a year ago, and I wanted to be close in case anything happened. I’m a big daddy’s girl.”

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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews