The University of the Southwest Baseball Team took on the Generals from Louisiana State University Alexandria on Thursday and Friday in a matchup of the second and third place teams in the Red River Athletic Conference standings. The Mustangs entered the series at (23-10) and (15-6) in RRAC play and sat in third in the RRAC standings. The Generals came in at (20-9) and (18-3) in RRAC play, sitting in second in the RRAC standings. The two teams matched up a year ago in a four-game conference series with LSUA taking the series three games to one, with all games being decided by three runs or less. 
 
Following the series, Head Coach Steve Appel said "I thought the guys played well all weekend.  It was a big weekend for us and we knew we could handle it being at home.  I thought the 1^st day our guys played well in all three facets.  They really stuck to the game plan we had all week and we didn't come out flat.  It's hard to beat anyone when you can pitch it, field it, and hit it."
 
Game 1: The Mustangs would get on the board first in the series with an RBI single from Brian Rodriguez in the first to put the Mustangs up 1-0. LSUA would tie the game at 1-1 in the second and take a 3-1 lead in the top half of the third. Southwest would answer back with a three-run bottom of the third to retake the lead 4-3, and Tariq Levesque would add some insurance with a two-run homer to left-center field in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 6-3. The Mustangs would not look back from there, winning the game by the same score. AJ Cordova got the start on the mound and went six innings, allowing three runs, on four hits, and struck out six to earn the victory. Isaac Baeza came on for the seventh to throw a three-up three-down inning and earn his ninth save of the year, which is tied for first in all of NAIA and now has 13 career saves which are the most in program history. The Mustangs collected 11 hits offensively with eight of nine starters notching a hit in the contest. Tariq Levesque was two for four with two runs scored, two RBIs, a double, and the home run. Brian Rodriguez was two for three with two RBIs, a run scored, and a triple. The run scored for Rodriguez was his 109^th career run scored which puts him first all-time in program history. Hayden Woods was two for four with a run scored in the contest. 
 
Game 2: The Mustangs would combine tremendous hitting and excellent pitching to dominate game two. The offense collected fifteen hits, eight of them being for extra bases, on their way to scoring 11 runs. They would put up one run in the first, five in the third, three in the fourth, and two in the eighth for the walk-off 10 run-rule victory in eight innings. Tariq Levesque was on fire going four for four with a double, a triple, a walk, three RBIs, and a run scored. Gabriel Perez-Torres was three for four with two doubles, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Nicholas Palomino, Jesus Baldonado, and Hayden Woods would all collect two hits in the game. Palomino launched a three-run home run in the third inning for his second home run of the year. Cody Stone got the start on the mound for the Mustangs and was dominant throughout, tossing a complete game, allowing four hits, one run, and struck out six to earn the victory. 
 
Game 3: The Mustangs entered Friday having secured the series victory but were looking for the sweep. The game was a pitcher's duel for most of the contest with neither team scoring until the fifth inning. LSUA would take the lead 1-0 in the top of the fifth but Southwest would answer back in the bottom half of the inning with a Gabriel Perez-Torres two-RBI double. The score would remain there until the ninth inning before LSUA scored four to take the lead 5-2. The Mustangs were unable to answer this time and dropped the series finale 5-2. Gabriel Perez-Torres was three for three with a double, triple, and two RBIs. With the three doubles on the weekend, Gabriel Perez-Torres is now the program's all-time career leader in doubles with 34 and is tied for first in RBIs in a season with 43.  Freshman Rocky Sanchez got the start on the mound going six innings, allowing seven hits, one run, and struck out six in the no-decision. Jacob Chavarria and Caden Davis came out of the bullpen and tossed a scoreless seventh and eighth inning respectively.
 
Looking forward, Coach Appel explained "The next three weekends will be key for us.  I believe our guys are ready for the task at hand.  Hopefully, we can play good baseball at the end leading into the conference tournament."
 
The Mustangs earned the series victory two games to one and remain in third place in the conference standings, two games behind LSUA in second. With the series victory and some other results around the conference, the Mustangs have officially secured a spot in the RRAC tournament for the second straight year. Their next task will be taking on Huston-Tillotson in Austin, TX on April 15^th and 16^th.