Coming off of a thrilling win Tuesday night in Hammond over Baton Rouge CC, the Bears were hoping to keep the momentum going at home with a double-header Friday against the Mineral Area College Cardinals. Unfortunately, Southwest fell just short losing Game 1 3-1 but closed out the day on a high note pulling out a 2-1 win in the night cap.
"I'm really proud of the way that we played all day today, I thought that we pitched very well," Southwest head coach Jack Edmonson said. "We played better defense today which gave us a chance to win both games. Credit Mineral Area who got a couple of good swings on balls in the first game which basically gave them the win."
In Game 1, the Bears (2-3) got off to a good start getting a run in their half of the first inning on a single by Nolan Walther bringing Marcus Jackson home.
With a runner on in the third inning, the Cardinals struck back with a two-run home run putting the Bears down. They added another run in the third to make it a 3-1 deficit for Southwest.
The Bears tried to answer by getting at least one baserunner on in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but the Cardinals shut the door on each attempt. The Bears went down in order in the seventh sealing the win for Mineral Area.
In Game 2, Southwest was again the first one to strike. In the second inning Colson Thompson led off with a double and advanced to third during the ensuing at bat when Walther laid down a sacrifice bunt. Next up was Lane Steinwinder who grounded out to second but it allowed Thompson to touch home giving Southwest a 1-0 lead.
That lead unfortunately did not last long as Mineral Area answered back in the third when a runner raced home on a dropped third strike. Despite the score, Bear starter Luke Lirette battled out of the inning, while also recording his fifth of six strikeouts on the evening.
Davis Knight took over the pitching duties in the fifth and picked up where Lirette left off, retiring the side in order and getting a strikeout in the process.
He got some help from his offense as Steinwinder stepped up again. He led off the fifth with a walk and after stealing second base, he scored later in the inning when Dawson Richard singled to right.
After the game, Steinwinder said that he was glad he could be a big contributor.
"I came in and I feel I made the most of it, I only had two at bats, and I got two runs," said Steinwinder who finished with one run scored and one RBI.
With the 2-1 lead, Knight got right back at it shutting down three of the four batters he faced in the sixth.
"I felt really comfortable up there," Davis said. "I know my role on this team and I will do anything I can to help my guys…throw strikes, get outs."
He recorded the first two outs of the seventh before Blaine Causey came in and finished off the Cardinals to preserve the win for the hosts.
Southwest will meet Mineral Area once more on Saturday at Noon.
