Hoping for one final push of momentum heading into the start of conference play this weekend, the Bears faced off against a pair of ranked opponents in Poplarville Wednesday in No. 1 Pearl River and No. 15 Hinds. Despite playing a strong brand of baseball in both games, the Bears came up short in both, falling 9-5 to the Wildcats and 7-6 to the Eagles.
 
"Our guys, they played well, they played well all day," Southwest head coach Jack Edmonson said. "We played the No. 1 and No. 15 teams in the country and had a chance to win both of them, so I am really pleased with that."
 
In the opener against the Wildcats, the Bears (10-11) faced immediate adversity. Bradley Whitaker had to take over on the mound due to initial starter Gage Hinnant exiting the game with an injury during warm ups.
 
Despite this, Whitaker held his own, keeping the No. 1 Wildcats in check, retiring three of the first four batters he faced.
 
In the second inning his offense provided some help. Marcus Jackson singled and touched home two batters later when Brett Boutwell provided a single of his own. Next up was Christian Kell who followed suit, bringing Boutwell home, putting Southwest up 2-0.
 
Whitaker then retired the side in order in the second, keeping the momentum on the Bears' side. This proved vital as the offense fed off of that momentum and added two more runs in the third on a Connor McHenry sacrifice followed by an RBI single by Jerod Williams, making it a 4-0 game.
 
A Southwest error in the bottom half of the inning hurt the Bears as it resulted in two Wildcat runs cutting the lead in half.
 
The Bears managed to get one of those runs back the following inning as Boutwell walked and later scored on a passed ball pushing the lead to 5-2.
 
A Pearl River solo home run in the bottom of the fourth made it a two-run lead for Southwest once again before another in the fifth cut the advantage down to one at 5-4.
 
After the Bears were unable to answer, the Wildcats put together their best inning of the game offensively, putting up a five-spot to jump ahead 9-5. Southwest was unable to respond in the seventh, sealing the win for the hosts.
 
Hunter Harrell, Braiden Jones and Williams all finished with two hits for the Bears.
 
Against the Eagles, the Bears had to battle back from an early deficit. Hinds jumped ahead 3-0 in the first on a three-run home run. They ate into that lead slightly in the second as Tyler Otts grounded into a fielder's choice allowing Colson Thompson to score.
 
Bear starter Brycen Smith sat the Eagles down in order in the second, picking up two of his three strikeouts in the process.
 
In the third, Hinds added to its lead with a two-run home run putting Southwest down 5-1. But in the fourth, the Bears came alive. Jackson hit a two-run home run to center before a Braxton Thoms sacrifice bunt later in the inning pulled the Bears within one at 5-4.
 
Williams provided the game-tying run in the sixth doubling off the left-center wall brining Thoms home. A Thompson RBI single the following inning pushed Southwest ahead at 6-5. But the Eagles had the last laugh with a two-run walk-off home run in the seventh.
 
Jackson led the Bears with two RBIs. Otts, Jones and Thompson all finished with two hits with the latter also posting two runs scored.
 
The Bears return home to open conference play Saturday against Northwest Mississippi. Game 1 is set to begin at 2 p.m.