The University of the Southwest Baseball team returned home this weekend to host conference foe Jarvis Christian College. The Mustangs were looking to bounce back after dropping the series last weekend to Texas A&M-Texarkana. Southwest battled with Jarvis the previous season, taking the series with a clean sweep of the three-game set. Although they did not get the sweep, USW was able to take the series, losing the first game 6-5 but taking the next two 10-3 and 7-4. 
 
GAME 1
After a 1-2-3 top half of the inning, the USW offense got going after Sophomore Hayden Woods singled with one out and advanced to second on a balk. Junior Gavin VanGronigen singled to center field to drive in Woods for the game's first run. 
 
Jarvis would answer back in the second inning when a leadoff triple would lead to the Bulldogs' first run. 
 
The offense would strike back for the Mustangs in the bottom of the third inning. Junior Omar Baldenegro would get it going with a single to lead off the inning. A couple of batters later, Woods would triple to right center to score Baldenegro. VanGroonigen would then drive him in with an RBI groundout to give USW a 3-1 lead.
 
Jarvis would not go quietly as they threw up a four spot in the fourth off of Junior starter AJ Cordova. An RBI single with two men on would be followed by a three-run home run to right field to give the Bulldogs the lead. 
 
The Mustangs would scratch another across in the bottom half when Junior Jose Chavez Jr. hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. 
 
JCC would drive their final run with a sacrifice fly of their own to make it a 6-4 ballgame. Junior Isaac Baeza would come into the game in the top of the fifth to quiet down the Jarvis bats. 
 
The Mustangs continued to answer as a leadoff triple from VanGronigen would lead to an RBI groundout from Junior Eliazar Torres to make it 6-5. 
 
The combined efforts of Baeza and freshman Miguel Olivas held the Jarvis offense scoreless for the final 2.2 innings, but the Mustangs would end up dropping game one 6-5. 
 
GAME 2
The second game of the series saw Junior Cody Stone take the hill following a solid start last weekend against TAMUT. Against Jarvis, Stone would go eight strong while striking out five and allowing three runs off of five hits.
 
That is the strong outing the Mustangs were looking for, as the offense would explode for ten runs in the second game of Friday's doubleheader.  It all began in the first inning when a couple of singles and a stolen bag put runners on second and third. A wild pitch would bring in Freshman Kevan Diaz to open the scoring. Sophomore Steven Martinez would then drive in Hayden Woods for the second run of the inning. 
 
Just as they did in game one, Jarvis would answer back as they were able to load the bases and score after a hit by a pitch with two outs in the inning. 
 
The Mustangs provided another answer in the bottom of the second inning after Junior Kevin Rase walked, and Freshman Carlos Jaquez-Munoz doubled to center field to score Rase. Omar Baldnegro would triple to right center to bring in Jacquez-Munoz. Diaz hit a sacrifice fly, and just like that, the Mustangs were up 5-1. 
 
After a quiet few innings, Jarvis would bring across another off of Stone after an early walk. The Bulldogs worked to get their leadoff man to third base for a shallow fly ball to bring in the runner from third to make it 5-2. 
 
The Mustang offense would not let Jarvis breathe when a walk and hit-by-pitch began the inning with two on. A couple of batters later, Diaz just missed a home run to center field but would settle for an RBI triple. After Woods walked, Gavin VanGronigen would triple to bring in two runs. 
 
Jarvis Christian would be able to manufacture another run in the top of the seventh after a one-out single led to an RBI double to right field. That would be all for Jarvis, as they could not get a rally going at any point during the ballgame. 
 
USW would add some more insurance after a couple of early hits in the bottom of the seventh. Rase would reach first on an error and bring in Eliazar Torres. A couple of batters later, Baldenegro would drive in Freshman Carson Miller with a groundout to the shortstop. 
 
The Mustangs would hold Jarvis scoreless in the final two innings, with Sophomore Chisum Rush throwing the ninth and sealing the 10-3 victory. 
 
Game 3
Freshman Auden Bustamante would take the hill for USW in the deciding game three of the series. Jarvis would strike first off Bustamante when a single and two wild pitches put a runner at third base with two outs. An RBI single would follow to put the Bulldogs up 1-0 early.
 
It was not until the fourth inning that we got the game's second run, courtesy of the Jarvis Christian once again. Once again, with two outs, Jarvis was able to get a man to third base after he reached on a hit-by-pitch. A throw to second on a stolen base would bring in that runner to extend their lead to 2-0.
 
Southwest would answer in the bottom half after Senior Andru Sanchez reached on an error by the third baseman. Eliazar Torres would then single to center field, advancing Sanchez to second base. Two fly balls later, Kevin Rase would have himself an RBI sacrifice fly to make it 2-1. 
 
The Bulldogs would find a way to get another in the top of the fifth after a one-out single and balk gave them a man on second. A double to left field would drive in their third run of the game. 
 
With Chisum Rush going into his second inning of work in the seventh, Jarvis would get a man on second base via an error with one out. The following batter would single, and JCC now had a 4-1 lead.
 
The Mustangs struck back, with the offense coming alive to push across two in the bottom of the seventh. A leadoff single from pinch hitter Derrick Martinez started the rally for USW. After Martinez stole second, Omar Baldenegro single to left field. An errant pickoff throw would bring in Martinez and move Baldenegro to second base. Two batters later, Hayden Woods tripled to left field to drive in the second run of the inning. It would not stop there when Carson Miller singled a few batters later to score Woods and VanGronigen. Kevin Rase would single to center field to bring in two and make it a 7-4 ballgame. 
 
After a clean eighth inning from both sides, Junior Caden Davis would come in to shut the door on Jarvis. The Mustangs would complete their comeback and take the three-game series. 
 
This is what Head Coach Steve Appel had to say after the series victory, "I thought our guys played a better brand of baseball this weekend. We still have some things we need to overcome, but the guys battled a little more. We threw more strikes, had better approaches at the plate, and the dugout was much better." 
 
"We need to challenge ourselves this week during practice to really work on the things we need to improve down the road. Some guys are really stepping up in some spots, however." 
 
The Mustangs return next weekend when they host New Highlands University for a four-game set beginning on Friday. Continue to follow USW Athletics and USW Baseball on all social media for scores and updates throughout the season.