AUSTIN, Texas – University of the Southwest baseball upped its winning streak to five in a row with a pair of wins at Huston-Tillotson Friday evening. The Mustangs won game one 10-8 and rolled in the night cap 23-3.
 
With the wins, USW improved to 22-14 overall and 7-10 in the Red River Athletic Conference. The Mustangs moved into the sixth and final spot in the conference tournament.
 
USW head coach Steve Appel was pleased to see his team compete and earn a pair of road wins.
 
"I thought we competed well today. Things were a little frustrating in game one, but our hitters stayed focused and found ways to score runs," Appel said. "I thought their approaches were better today and we found ourselves in a lot of positive hitter counts."
 
In the night cap the Mustangs used an eight-run first inning to put the game out of reach. Also, as a team the Mustangs hit four home runs.
 
Senior Chris Estrada batted 3-for-4 with four RBI and delivered a home run. Freshman Gabe Valdez went 3-for-5 with four RBI, scored two runs and hit a home run. Senior JC Velasco finished 4-for-5 with four RBI and hit a home run. Senior Josh Reyes batted 1-for-2 with a pair of runs batted in and drilled a home run.
 
As a team, the Mustangs batted 20-for-41 and drew eight walks.
 
Freshman JJ Kruzel earned the win on the bump. The Lil Elm, Texas product tossed 6.0 innings and scattered five hits, allowed five runs (three earned) and four walks and struck out four batters.
 
In game one the Mustangs trailed 6-5 and used a four-run fifth inning to gain control.
 
Senior Adrian Rodriguez batted 4-for-5 with three RBI and hit a home run. Fellow senior Ean Smith finished 2-for-5 with three RBI. Junior Ben Tingen and Velasco each added an RBI.
 
Senior and Hobbs native Aaron Higgins entered in relief and earned the win. He tossed 4.0 innings and allowed four hits, two runs and one walk and struck out three batters.
 
The Mustangs look to extend their winning streak to seven in a row with a Saturday doubleheader at Huston-Tillotson.