In the third and final game of the series, Saturday against Mineral Area, the Bears grabbed the lead and never relinquished it, topping the Cardinals 4-2, to take 2-of-3 from the visitors from Missouri.
 
"Those are the ones (games) that you have to fight for," Southwest head coach Jack Edmonson said. "They are a little bit better, a little bit sweeter. I'm proud of the way that the guys fought all weekend. Mineral Area is a good team and we came out on top in 2-of-3.
 
Southwest (3-3) starter Jackson Hawsey and Mineral Area starter Matthew Marsh were locked in a pitcher's duel for the first five innings as both teams threatened at times but were unable to push any runs across.
 
The Bears broke the scoreless streak in the sixth. With one out, Tyler Otts reached via an error. He scored during the ensuing at bat when Colson Thompson tripled to the right field gap. It was then Thompson's turn to touch home as the following batter, Nolan Walther, singled to left making it a 2-0 game.
 
After the game Thompson, known for his power – finishing second in home runs last year, talked about a change he made that has helped him hit more triples this season as Saturday's was already his second in six games.
 
"I've changed up my stance a bit, Coach Edmonson has been tweaking some things with me," he said. "I'm taller now so I see the ball better and can make better contact."
 
Darius Dampier, who came on in relief of Hawsey, kept the momentum on the home side, striking out two of three batters he faced in the seventh.
 
Southwest added an additional run in the seventh as Trace Roy scored on a double steal attempt in witch the Mineral Area first baseman committed an error.
 
But in the eighth, the Cardinals scored two runs on a home run and an RBI single cutting into the Bear lead and making it a 3-2 game.
 
Marcus Jackson helped the Bears make it a two-run advantage once again in the bottom half of the inning, doubling to left bringing Thompson home for his second run scored on the afternoon.
 
Gage Hinnant came on to close out the Cardinals in the ninth, sealing the win for the Bears.
 
The trio of Thompson, Walther and Jackson each finished with two hits and one RBI. Thompson also had two runs scored. Trace Roy recorded two hits and a run scored.
 
The Bears will be on the road for their next contests, a double-header Wednesday at Baton Rouge CC with Game 1 slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch.