Following a weekend off due to a bye in the schedule, the Bears returned to action Tuesday at Gulf Coast and put together arguably their best series of the season thus far, excelling in hitting, pitching and defense in a sweep of the Bulldogs, taking Game 1, 10-5 and Game 2, 9-1.
 
"It was a really good day, we played baseball all day from the first pitch to the last pitch, like we knew we were capable of doing," Southwest head coach Jack Edmonson said. "It was a great day."
 
The Bears (14-23, 5-7 MACCC) struck first in the first inning as Jake Meilstrup led off with a single and scored two at bats later, on a Lane Steinwinder sacrifice fly.
 
With the 1-0 lead, starter Brodey Walker kept the momentum on the visiting side in the bottom half of the inning battling back from a leadoff walk by getting a double play and retiring the ensuing batter, preserving the lead.
 
His offense provided additional help in the second as Davis Knight hit a double to center field scoring both Trace Roy and Cody Presley increasing the Southwest lead to 3-0.
 
After the Bulldogs scratched one run across in the bottom of the second, the Bears responded immediately in the third on a Presley ground out which allowed Justin Domiano to score once again making it a three-run lead for Southwest at 4-1.
 
Gulf Coast rallied in the bottom half of the inning with two runs to pull within one at 4-3. But it was as close as they would get for the remainder of the contest.
 
The Bears grew their lead in the fifth on a Domiano sacrifice fly and an RBI single from Cam Bolden.
 
Another run came in the sixth as Gage Hinnant joined the fray with a sacrifice fly of his own, making it a 7-3 game.
 
Pitcher Jackson Hawsey sat the Bulldogs down in order in the sixth, marking the second-consecutive 1-2-3 inning for the sophomore.
 
Additional offense came in the seventh when Bolden doubled to left allowing Presley to score increasing the lead to 8-3.
 
Gulf Coast narrowed the lead to 8-5 in the seventh with a run each on back-to-back at bats but Southwest got the last laugh getting those two runs back in the ninth on an RBI single from Bolden and Presley stealing home, making the score the eventual final.
 
Presley and Bolden led the Bears with three hits apiece, including a double. Presley added three runs scored and an RBI while Bolden added three RBIs.
 
In Game 2, the Bears relied on the arm of sophomore Dawson Richard and he quickly battled out of a bit of a jam, not allowing any runs despite the Bulldogs threatening with two base runners.
 
His offense helped in the second, scoring the game's first run on a Knight single to left bringing Bolden home putting Southwest up 1-0.
 
In the second, Richard settled down and retired the side in order, picking up two strikeouts in the process.
 
An inning later, however, the Bulldogs rallied to push one run across, tying the game at 1.
 
The surge did not phase Richard one bit as he got the ensuing batter out and once again retired the side in order in the fourth.
 
Southwest regained the upper hand the following inning when Meilstrup sent a 1-0 pitch over the right field wall for a two-run home run giving the Bears a 3-1 advantage.
 
The lead grew to 8-1 in the sixth on bases loaded walks drawn by Knight and Zayne Landry followed by an RBI single from Meilstrup as he continued his big game.
 
Another three at bat inning for Richard and the Bears in the sixth gave way to another score for the visitors in the ensuing inning. Presley doubled to left allowing Domiano to touch home increasing the lead to 9-1.
 
Richard came on in the seventh and shut the door on the Bulldogs with is fourth 1-2-3 inning in the contest.
 
He pitched 7.0 innings giving up only three hits, one run (earned) and one walk while striking out 10, just one shy of his career-high which he achieved earlier this season.
 
Offensively, Presley had another big game with three more hits to go along with one run and one RBI. Meilstrup also had three hits to go along with one run scored and four RBIs.
 
For the day, 17 of the Bears' 19 runs scored came with two outs.
 
Southwest has a quick turnaround and will host Delgado on Wednesday at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.