The University of the Southwest Baseball Team was out in New Orleans, LA over the weekend for a three-game conference series against Xavier University of Louisiana. This was the first time the two teams have matched up as it is the first year in the Red River for Xavier. Southwest entered at (16-3) and (9-0) in the RRAC, while the Gold Rush of Xavier entered (8-10) and (3-6) in the RRAC after going (27-11) a year ago. 
 
Following the series, Head Coach Steve Appel explained "I thought the guys competed well all weekend long. The goal is always to find a way to take the series on the road, and the guys found ways against a good Xavier ball club. Their arms kept us off balance for most of the weekend." He also added "Overall, our arms competed well all weekend not allowing more than 10 runs to cross. They were never rattled and got out of some big jams."
 
Game 1: The lone game on Saturday was a back and forth affair that saw the Mustangs take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second but Xavier would answer back with two of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Southwest would add two in the top of the third and two in the fifth and take a 5-2 lead to the eighth. Xavier would tie the game at five on a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. The Mustangs answered back in the top of the ninth with pinch-runner Hunter Wright scoring on a wild pitch and Tariq Levesque hitting a two-run home run to put the Mustangs back ahead 8-5. Isaac Baeza would come on and go three up three down in the ninth to earn his sixth save of the year, which is tied for first nationally, and secure the 8-5 victory. Starter AJ Cordova went six innings, allowed four hits, two runs, and struck out seven. The Mustangs collected six hits and six walks in the contest to score their eight runs. Tariq Levesque was one for five with three RBIs and the big home run. Hayden Woods was one for three with two walks and three runs scored and Gabriel Perez-Torres was two for three with two walks and two runs scored. 
 
Game 2: Mustang pitching dominated game two as starter Rocky Sanchez went six innings, allowing only two hits, no runs, struck out three, and earned the victory. Cade Contreras came on for the seventh and allowed a run before securing the 5-1 victory for the Mustangs. The offense collected seven hits to scratch across their five runs in the contest, scoring once in the first, one in the third, one in the fourth, and two in the fifth. Gabriel Perez-Torres led the way for the offense going three for three with two doubles and three RBIs. Omar Baldenegro was one for two with two runs scored and Brian Rodriguez was one for three with a double and a run scored. 
 
Game 3: The Mustangs entered looking for their fourth consecutive conference series sweep but would come up just short in this one. Southwest would get out to a 2-0 lead after scoring a run in the third and the fourth but a four-run fifth by the Gold Rush would put them down 4-2. The Mustangs would scratch across a run in the top of the eighth and get the tying run on in the ninth but weren't able to score and would fall 4-3. The offense collected seven hits and two walks in the contest. Gabriel Perez-Torres went two for four with a double and a run scored and Brian Rodriguez went two for three with a run scored and an RBI in the contest. Starter Cody Stone would go four and two-thirds innings on the mound allowing three runs and striking out six. Jacob Chavarria came out of the bullpen to go three and one-third, allowing three hits, one run, and striking out five. 
 
Moving forward Coach Appel explained "We know that we are targets right now and everyone wants to take us down. So, these guys have to keep winning each inning on the road and don't lose focus of what's in sight." He added "We have a crucial series coming up and we need to focus on the little things this week leading up. We need to get some rest tomorrow (Monday) and enjoy our day off. I'm excited to see how our guys compete this week."
 
The Mustangs are now tied atop the RRAC standings with LSU Shreveport at (11-1). They will take on Loyola in a non-conference doubleheader tomorrow and then have a battle for first with LSU Shreveport on Thursday and Friday before making their way back to Hobbs.