It may not have been the start to Wednesday's doubleheader at Baton Rouge CC that the Bears had hoped for, but they will take the finish as they avenge an 8-1 loss in Game 1 with an 8-4 win in the nightcap to close the day on a high note.
 
"I was really proud of the way that we continued to fight because we didn't play offense well, especially early," Southwest head coach Jack Edmonson said. "We didn't pitch as sharp as we have been pitching but the guys continued to fight, they continued to play the game which is what we talk about all of the time."
 
Southwest (4-4) fell behind early in Game 1 as Baton Rouge scored two runs in the second, three in the third and two more in the fourth to jump ahead 7-0. The visitors got on the board in their half of the fifth when Marcus Jackson and Gage Hinnant each singled before Jackson touched home on a Tyler Otts double to center.
 
Unfortunately for Southwest, the momentum didn't last long as Baton Rouge answered in its half of the inning with a run to once again make it a 7-run deficit for the visitors.
 
Jackson and Hinnant each had two hits to lead Southwest.
 
In Game 2, the visitors struck first as Jackson led off the game with a walk and scored later in the inning on a wild pitch giving Southwest a 1-0 advantage.
 
In the second, however, Southwest lost the lead after Baton Rouge plated two runs making it a one-run deficit for the visitors.
 
That deficit grew by one in the fourth when a solo home run from the hosts made it a 3-1 game.
 
Despite trailing, Southwest continued to fight and it began to pay off in the fifth. Otts drew a bases-loaded walk bringing Gavin Bledsoe home inching the visitors closer at 3-2.
 
But once again, their momentum was short-lived as Baton Rouge scored the following inning on an error making it a 4-2 game.

Southwest got that run back in the sixth when Lane Steinwinder doubled to center bringing Nolan Walther home.
 
Trailing by one the following inning, Southwest broke the game open. Hinnant scored when Colson Thompson reached on a dropped third strike, tying the game at 4. Three batters later, Cody Presley singled to center allowing Thompson and Walther to score giving Southwest its first lead of the night. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Bledsoe was hit by a pitch plating another Southwest run and increasing its lead to 7-4.  
 
The final Southwest run came in the eighth when Walther walked with the bases loaded making the score the eventual final.
 
Presley led the Bears with two RBIs. Hinnant and Walther each scored two runs. Blaine Causey had yet another good outing in relief as he got the win after going 2.2 innings allowing no runs, no hits and only two walks while striking out three.
 
Southwest has a quick turnaround as the Bears will be back in action on Friday with a 2:30 p.m. contest against Southeastern Iowa and a 5 p.m. game against Southwest Illinois. Both games will take place at East Central CC in Decatur.