The University of the Southwest Baseball Team took on the Tigers of Central Christian College over the weekend at Jake Williams Field in Hobbs, NM. This would be the second series of the season thus far for the Mustangs, who were looking to bounce back after being swept by Mid-American Christian University last weekend. Last year, Southwest was able to sweep Central Christian College in a four-game set here in Hobbs. This year would be the same as the Mustangs were able to take all four games, improving their record to 4-3 on the year. 
 
GAME 1
The Mustangs got out to an early lead as Sophomore Jesus Baldonado worked a walk with the bases loaded to bring in Junior Gavin VanGronigen. 
 
USW did not stop there, as they were able to put up five runs in the second inning. Freshman Kevan Diaz reached on an error that brought in Junior Gabe Najera and then Junior Omar Baldenegro after Diaz was thrown out trying to get to second. A couple of batters later, Senior Andru Sanchez doubled to right field to drive in another run. Junior Jose Chavez Jr. would walk later in the inning to bring in another run, and Najera would top it off with an infield single to dive in Sanchez and make it 6-0. 
 
The Mustangs would tack on another in the third inning when VanGronigen singled to center field. USW would score the rest of their runs in the fifth inning when a hit by pitch and walk score a pair of runs. Baldonado then hit a bases-clearing triple to make it 12-0 in favor of the home team. After some free passes, Diaz came up with a single to left field to drive in Baldonado. Junior Kevin Rase would then reach first on an error to drive in the final run for the Mustangs. 
 
That was more than enough run support for Junior AJ Cordova as he would pitch a complete game shutout, striking out eight and only allowing five hits.  
 
GAME 2
Central Christian got off to a quick start in game 2 of Friday's doubleheader, putting up two on USW starter Junior Cody Stone. Stone would settle down after the first inning on his way to a complete game while only allowing those two runs, striking out six, and just one walk. 
 
The Mustangs tacked one in the first inning with a passed ball after a strikeout, scoring Kevin Rase. Another run was added to tie the game after Baldonado's sacrifice fly scored Andru Sanchez. 
 
USW would score the bulk of their runs in the fourth inning, starting with Omar Baldenegro's sac bunt to score Baldonado. Kevan Diaz would then drive in another run as he reached on an error. Two batters later, Gavin VanGronigen roped a double to left field that would score Rase and Diaz. Sophomore Hayden Woods would drive a single to right field, scoring another run. In the fifth, Diaz would hit a sacrifice fly to make it 9-2. 
 
GAME 3
The scoring began in the third inning with an Andru Sanchez sac fly, followed by a walked-in run, a 2-RBI single by Baldenegro, and an RBI hit by pitch for Freshman Santiago Garcia. VanGronigen would add two more with a 2-RBI single to left field. 
 
Central Christian would claw back a bit in the fourth inning with a run-scoring from a wild pitch and an RBI single following that. Freshman Auden Bustamante would shut down the Tigers after that on his way to throwing 5.1 innings with eight strikeouts and only allowing four hits. Sophomore Angel Rios would come in a close out the rest of the game, adding two strikeouts of his own. 
 
The Mustangs would add three more runs in the sixth inning when Junior Eliazar Torres was hit by pitch with the bases loaded, and Baldenegro hit a two-run-scoring single to left field, making it a 10-2 victory. 
 
GAME 4
USW got off to another early start in game 4 when VanGronigen tripled over the center fielder to drive in Kevan Diaz. After reaching base, Andru Sanchez would steal later in the inning, drawing a throw and allowing courtesy runner Hunter Wright to score from third. After a walk and hit by pitch, Freshman Carson Miller doubled into center field, driving in two runs on the play. Miller would then score on a wild pitch two batters later to make it 5-0 after the first inning. 
 
Sanchez added one in the second inning with a sacrifice fly. Jaquez singled in the third inning to drive in Eliazar Torres. Miller, who walked earlier in the inning, would score after Jaquez drew a throw on an attempted stolen base. 
 
Hayden Woods would rope a double in the sixth inning to score two runs for the Mustangs. Junior Jonathan Gamboa stepped in for a pinch-hitting spot and drove in Woods with a sacrifice fly to center field. A few batters later, Diaz would line a double to left field to score two more runs and make it 12-0. 
 
Sophomore Chisum Rush got the start on the bump and delivered for the Mustangs. Efficiency was the name of the game for Rush as he threw six innings of scoreless ball with four strikeouts on only 67 pitches. Junior Caden Davis would come in to throw a scoreless seventh inning to seal the deal on the four-game sweep.
 
After the series, Head Coach Steve Appel said, "I thought our overall mentality was better this weekend. It was something we definitely needed to improve on from last weekend. Our success doesn't come from talent; it comes from playing 'Southwest Baseball.' We are a club that needs to throw strikes, play good defense, execute the small things offensively, and play the game with great passion. And we did just that this weekend."

On the weekend, the Mustangs outscored the Tigers 55-4 with no home runs hit and only two errors in the field. Pitching also delivered for USW with 30 strikeouts and limiting free passes, as they only had six walks in the four games.
 
"Our focus after the first week was more mental than anything," said Appel. "We had some struggles on all three aspects of the game, and with maybe the weather, it was good to stay inside and just work on some small things. A big focus of the week was our approach at the plate. During the first weekend, we just swung at bad pitches and found ourselves in bad counts all weekend long. The guys did a nice job this weekend putting that work into play." 
 
"Overall, it was better, and now we need to focus on preparing for our next weekend. If our guys on the mound can pound the zone and keep guys off balance like we did, we will have a good chance to keep ourselves in each ball game. I'm looking forward to getting back to work this week with our coaches and players."
 
The Mustangs return next weekend to start a four-game set with Oklahoma Panhandle State, starting at noon next Friday. Continue to follow USW Athletics and USW Baseball on all social media for scores and updates throughout the season.