Despite a valiant effort, the Lady Bears could not get past Bishop St. on the road Tuesday, falling to the Lady Wildcats 4-3 in Game 1 and 5-3 in Game 2.
After the games, Southwest head coach Shea Johnson said that it was a rough go as the Lady Bears were short-handed due to some girls being out due to illness or injury.
"We've been beat up and we are looking forward to getting some rest," he said. "We just have to get healthy, and we need some time off. Overall, the kids didn't play bad. Give them (Bishop St.) credit, they hit the ball well."
Early on, the Lady Bears (11-5) struck first. They plated three runs in the first inning as Presley Dease reached on an error, scoring a run, followed by back-to-back RBI doubles from Morgan Gras and Alyssa Leggett.
Southwest starter Lauren Mounce was flawless through the first two innings but ran into a bit of trouble in the third as the Lady Wildcats plated their first run of the contest on a solo home run to center.
Despite this, Mounce continued to press on, shutting down Bishop St.
In the 7th, however, with the Lady Bears leading 3-1, the Lady Wildcats caught fire and rallied. Back-to-back RBI triples was followed by a walk-off RBI single handing the Lady Bears just their second loss in the past nine games.
Gras led Southwest with three hits, a run scored and an RBI.
In Game 2, the Lady Bears once again plated the first run of the game. Leggett came through again with an RBI double to left, scoring Dease, and giving Southwest a 1-0 advantage in the second inning.
Abbey Pevey got the start for the Lady Bears and was lights out through the first five innings. Her offense provided a run each in the fifth and sixth innings on RBI singles from Richardson and Leggett, respectively.
But once again, Bishop St. rallied late. A three-run home run tied the game in the sixth before the Lady Wildcats added two more runs later in the inning which proved to be the difference in the game.
Leggett led the charge with two hits and two RBIs. Pevey went 5.0 innings giving up six hits, five runs (three earned) and no walks while striking out two.
The Lady Bears and the Lady Wildcats will face off in another doubleheader on Tuesday, this time in Summit. First pitch in Game 1 is scheduled for 1 p.m.
