After enduring a rough ending to Saturday's 7-1 Game 1 loss against visiting Holmes, the Lady Bears regrouped and put together a stellar performance in Game 2 in a 4-2 win over the Lady Bulldogs.

"I thought that we played well. I thought the first game got away following that rough inning when we made some errors and it was frustrating," Southwest head coach Shea Johnson said. "I thought that we could have hit the ball a little better in the first game."

But he had high praise for freshman Abbey Pevey, who notched her first collegiate win in in the nightcap, adding that he believes getting the win takes pressure off of her for the future. 

Pevey not only shined in the circle, going the distance and giving up two earned runs and two walks while striking out four, but she also had a good day at the plate going 3-for-3 with two RBIs.

"We've been struggling (as of late) at the plate so I just wanted to do what I can in the circle and at the plate for my teammates," Pevey said. "I felt comfortable, and I was a little shaky against some of the bigger hitters but I knew that I had a job that needed to get done."

In Game 1, the Lady Bears (13-15, 2-10 MACCC) ran into a bit of trouble in the first inning as the Lady Bulldogs struck first with a run putting Southwest down.

Over the next five innings, the pitchers and defenses for both teams took center stage preventing any further scoring.

That pattern changed in the seventh and unfortunately for Southwest, Holmes got into a rhythm and rallied. A grand slam put the Lady Bears in a 5-0 hole before the Lady Bulldogs added two more runs later in the inning.

Trailing 7-0, Southwest continued to fight and pushed a run across in the bottom half of the inning when Alyssa Leggett launched her fourth home run of the season over the left center field wall. Her home run was followed up by singles from
Pevey and Anne Claire Sistrunk, but unfortunately, the Lady Bears couldn't keep it going as Holmes got the last two outs to seal the win.

Leggett led the Lady Bears with two hits, a run scored and an RBI. Sistrunk also finished with two hits.

In Game 2, Holmes was the first to strike once again, getting a run across in the first inning putting Southwest down. But Pevey battled back to prevent any more damage.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Lady Bears responded.

With the bases loaded and only one out, Sistrunk hit a sacrifice fly to center, allowing Anlyssa Richardson to race home and tie the game at one. Next up was Pevey who helped her own cause with an RBI single to right giving Southwest its first lead of the contest at 2-1.

During her next at bat in the third, she delivered once again with another RBI single to left bringing Gabby Carr home and making it a 3-1 game.

Pevey led off the sixth with a single and scored two batters later when Erin Acey hit a double off of the wall putting Southwest up 4-1.

Holmes pushed one run across in the seventh and threatened to inch closer but Pevey shut the door getting a ground out to preserve the win for the Lady Bears.

In addition to Pevey's big day at the plate in Game 2, Acey was also key, finishing with two hits and one RBI. Presley Dease also had two hits.

Southwest will be on the road Tuesday at Hinds. Game 1 is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.