After not playing a game for several days, the Lady Bears played an efficient brand of softball in Tuesday's opener against Hinds picking up a hard-fought 5-4 win over the Lady Eagles in Raymond. Southwest unfortunately lost momentum in Game 2, falling 8-4 in the nightcap.
"I feel like the girls played well together, they fought," Southwest head coach Shea Johnson said. "All in all, there were great outings tonight."
The Lady Bears (12-22, 6-10 MACCC) made a statement early on in the opener, plating two runs in the first inning on an Alyssa Leggett ground out scoring Maggie Wilks followed by a Corin Talbot single to left scoring Liberty Gillihan giving Southwest a 2-0 advantage.
Talbot, who got the start in the circle, battled out of a bit of a jam in the bottom half of the first. With two runners on, she retired three-consecutive batters and got two strikeouts in the process maintaining the lead for the Lady Bears.
In the third, Hinds rallied to tie the game at 2 following a two-run home run.
But the tie was broken by the visitors in the fourth as Erin Acey launched a ball over the center field wall for a three-run home run giving Southwest a 5-2 lead.
The Lady Eagles got one run back in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run, but Talbot and the Lady Bears retired the next three batters to hold on to the lead.
Hinds tried to rally in the seventh and got another solo home run to pull within one but another two strikeouts from Talbot and a heads up play by catcher Kate Clements throwing out a runner on a steal attempt at third prevented any further damage as Southwest held on for the win.
Talbot went the distance for Southwest giving up six hits, four runs (all earned) and five walks while striking out 10, just two shy of matching her collegiate career high.
Clements and Leggett led the offense with two hits apiece with the latter also adding an RBI.
In Game 2, the Lady Bears found themselves down 1-0 in the second inning as the Lady Eagles pushed a run across on an RBI double.
But Acey continued her big day with another home run, this time a solo shot to lead off the third inning and tie the game at 1.
Both teams continued to battle but it was Hinds who broke through offensively with four runs in the fourth on a double and a single.
Southwest fought but couldn't get the consistency it needed on offense as Hinds added three additional runs in the sixth.
The Lady Bears rallied in the seventh, plating a run on a Hinds error and two more on a single to right from Leggett but Southwest couldn't finish the rally as Hinds held on for the win.
Leggett once again shined offensively going 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Southwest has a quick turnaround and returns home Wednesday to host Northwest in a makeup doubleheader from the previous weekend. Game 1 is set to begin at 2 p.m.
