Despite putting up a fight and playing a good brand of baseball against visiting No. 4 East Central, the Bears were unfortunately unable to get past the Warriors falling 9-5 in Game 1 and 8-1 in Game 2.
 
"We played really good baseball until the last innings," Southwest head coach Jack Edmonson said. "Credit to them for putting a good swing on a tough pitch. We played good baseball all day and we are really close, but we have to figure out how to beat the No. 4 team in the country."
 
In Game 1, the Bears (12-21, 3-7 MACCC) found themselves locked in a back-and-forth battle with the Warriors.
 
After East Central plated two runs in the top half of the first, Southwest responded with two runs of its own which came on RBI singles from Gage Hinnant and Trace Roy scoring Jake Meilstrup and Lane Steinwinder, respectively.
 
Both offenses were stifled in the second before each plated additional runs in the third. The Warriors scored four and the Bears answered with three on a ground out by Steinwinder, an RBI single from Roy and Justin Domiano touching home on a passed ball.
 
Southwest tried to pull even once again but unfortunately could not find the offense it needed as East Central added single runs in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings before sealing the game.
 
Domiano, Hinnant and Roy all finished with three hits apiece with Roy also also adding two RBIs.
 
The majority of Game 2 was a pitcher's duel between Southwest's Dawson Richard and East Central's Bryson Goff.
 
Both impressed early, not allowing a run through the first two innings.
 
The Warriors, unfortunately, broke through and plated a run in the third putting the Bears down.
 
But Southwest retaliated an inning later as Meilstrup led off the fourth with a single and during the ensuing at bat, advancing to third on an error and scoring on a passed ball, tying the game at 1.
 
The momentum, however, did not last as East Central plated another single run in the fifth putting Southwest down 2-1.
 
The Bears tried to answer back but could not get its offense in rhythm.
 
The deficit grew in the seventh as East Central plated six runs to make the score the eventual final.
 
Richard went 6.1 innings giving up eight hits, four runs (three earned) and five walks while striking out seven.
 
The Bears have a quick turnaround and are back in action on Thursday as they travel south to New Orleans, LA to face Delgado at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.