Playing in their first games in five days, the Bears were hoping to carry over some of that momentum built from Monday's wins against East Central and Baton Rouge into Saturday's pair against visiting Kaskaskia College.
 
And even though the Bears took Game 1 5-4, they could not keep it going into the nightcap dropping Game 2 3-2 to the Blue Devils.
 
"We just had a day that we did have a ton of energy or a ton of execution," Southwest head coach Jack Edmonson said. "We were glad that we got the first game but we wish that we could of gotten that second one."
 
In Game 1, the Bears (5-2) immediately struck first when Conner McHenry reached on an error by the Blue Devils catcher. It allowed Braiden Jones to race around third and score giving Southwest an early momentum boost.
 
On the mound, starter Hunter Harrell used that boost to his advantage, allowing another scoreless inning in the second keeping the Blue Devils at bay.
 
He got some additional help from the offense in the bottom half of the fourth. After Nolan Walther walked, Jerod Williams reached on an error and Christian Kell singled, the Bears loaded the bases with no outs. Next up was Braxton Thoms who was hit by a pitch, scoring Walther.
 
During the ensuing at bat, Williams scored on a passed ball making it a 3-0 advantage for Southwest.
 
The following inning, Kaskaskia struck back with a two-run home run to left, reducing the Southwest lead to just one.
 
At a time when the momentum was on the visitors side, Kell made sure to swing it back over to the home. In the bottom of the fifth, the sophomore stepped up, hitting a one-out double to left brining McHenry and Walther home and giving the Bears a three-run lead once again at 5-2.

"We needed the two runs and coach gave me a simple sign," Kell said. "(The pitcher) gave me a one on the inside portion of the plate and I hammered it. We needed to score those two runs back."
 
The Blue Devils rallied a bit in the seventh, but relief pitcher Myles Green shut the door on their chances, preserving the win in Game 1 for Southwest.
 
Kell led the Bears with two hits and two RBIs.
 
In Game 2, this time it was the visitors who struck first as a single followed by a double to open the game, giving Kaskaskia a 1-0 advantage.
 
The deficit did not last long for the Bears as in the bottom half of the inning a McHenry RBI single scored Tyler Otts, tying the game at 1.
 
The Blue Devils answered right back in the Top of the 2^nd with a pair of runs, taking a 3-1 lead.
 
Over the next few innings, the Bears kept pushing, trying to get back into the ball game. They scratched one run across in the sixth as Otts was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a throwing error. Next up was Harrell who hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Otts pulling the Bears within one at 3-2.
 
Unfortunately for Southwest, it was the final run scored as the Bears were sat down in order for the remainder of the game giving Kaskaskia the win in Game 2.
 
McHenry led the Bears offensively in Game 2 with one hit and one RBI. Pitcher Justin Thomas came on in relief and put up 5.1 strong innings giving up only one hit, one walk and no runs while striking out five.
 
The Bears have a quick turnaround as they will travel to Decatur on Sunday to face Southeastern Iowa. Game 1 is scheduled to get underway at noon with Game 2 to follow.