The University of the Southwest Baseball Team took on the Wiley College Wildcats this past Friday and Saturday at Jake Williams Field. The series was a battle of the elements as it was extremely cold, especially on Friday. The Mustangs entered the series at (10-2) and (3-0) in conference play whereas Wiley entered (1-11-1) and (1-2) in conference play. The Mustangs were able to play their brand of baseball and come away with the sweep. 
 
Following the weekend Head Coach, Steve Appel said "I'm proud of the way our guys competed this weekend in frigid temperatures. On the first day, it was all about mental toughness and who wanted it more. It's not easy to play clean Baseball on these types of days, but our guys found ways to get the sweep." Getting more into the details he added "Our lineup produced all weekend and our guys were just good enough on the mound to win all three. There were times that we found ourselves under pressure, but we relied on our type of Baseball to secure the wins."
 
Game 1: Friday was scheduled for a single nine-inning game in some frigid temperatures. The Mustangs would pounce on the Wildcats in the 3^rd putting up five runs to make it 5-0 but Wiley would answer back with two in the top of the 4^th. The bottom of the 4^th is where the game changed, Brian Rodriguez hit a fly ball to left with two outs and two runners on base, and the left fielder dropped the ball. Two runs scored on this play and eight runs total would come across in the inning, making it 13-2. The Mustangs would cruise to a run-rule victory 16-3 in seven innings after that. There were five Mustangs with multi-hit games in the contest; Hayden Woods (3), Gabriel Perez-Torres, Tariq Levesque, Brian Rodriguez, Nicholas Palomino, and Kevin Rase. Starter AJ Cordova wasn't his best in the contest but was able to battle his way through five innings, allowing three runs, and earning the victory. TJ Ruiz would follow Cordova on the mound and put up two scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
 
Game 2: The first game of the day on Saturday was a back and forth affair where both teams were trading runs. The Wildcats would take advantage of a leadoff single and a base hit bunt in the 1^st inning to score two and take the 2-0 lead. The Mustangs would answer immediately with five runs of their own to take the 5-2 lead. The Wildcats would continue chipping away adding one in the 2^nd and two in the 3^rd to make it 6-5. The score would remain there until the bottom of the 6^th where Brian Rodriguez executed a safety squeeze to score a run, and Jesus Baldonado would double home another run to make it 8-5. Isaac Baeza would come on in the 7^th for the save, he allowed one run to cross but was able to pick up his third save of the year. Bo Sims earned the victory in relief going three scoreless, allowing one hit, and striking out five. Hayden Woods was two for four with a run scored, Gabriel Perez-Torres was two for four with two runs scored and an RBI. Jesus Baldonado was one for three with two RBIs and a run scored and Nicholas Palomino was two for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored.  
 
Game 3: The Mustangs headed into the final contest of the series looking for their second consecutive series sweep. They would strike first, going up 3-0 in the first inning. A Wiley sacrifice fly would make the score 3-1 after the top of the 2^nd. The Mustangs again would answer with two of their own in the bottom of the second inning. The score was 6-2 heading to the bottom of the 7^th when the Mustangs would explode for six runs and secure the run-rule victory. Starting pitcher Cody Stone was excellent once again going six innings, allowing two runs, striking out five, and earning the victory. Jacob Chavarria came on in relief of Stone and threw a scoreless 7^th with two strikeouts before the game was ended due to the run rule. Hayden Woods was two for four with two runs scored, Gabriel Perez-Torres was one for three with two RBIs and two runs scored. Brian Rodriguez was two for four with an RBI and a run scored. Michael Davis III came off the bench with a big two-RBI double in the 7^th, and Dair Ornelas was two for three with two runs scored and a walk. 
 
Looking into the near future Coach Appel explained "We have to keep riding this momentum and keep showing energy this next week. We know that winning will become tougher, but I believe our guys are ready to get back to work and get ready for this next week. They know we control what we want to control. I'm excited to getting back to work with these guys." 
The Mustang's next game will be a mid-week matchup with Wayland Baptist University Tuesday, March 1^st at 1:00 PM MST. The Pioneers enter at (12-3) and will be a tough test for the Mustangs to keep their nine-game win streak alive.