The University of the Southwest traveled to Louisiana to begin their week-long road trip, kicking it off with a matchup against Louisiana Christian University. The Mustangs are coming off a sweep in their previous RRAC series against Texas College. It would be difficult, as they would take on an LCU squad receiving votes in the NAIA top-25 polls. The Wildcats of LCU would continue their campaign for a top-25 spot as they would sweep Southwest in the series.
GAME 1
Louisiana Christian would jump out in front early on starter
Cody Stone as they would bring in four runs on five hits in the 1
st inning. The Wildcats did not stop there, as a two-run 2
nd inning would add to their lead and make it 6-0.
The Mustangs provided an answer in the 3
rd inning when a leadoff double from
Kevan Diaz led to an RBI single from
Gavin VanGronigen. Stone would settle in on the mound and only allow two more runners on base the rest of the game, tossing six innings and striking out three.
The bats would remain silent for the USW for the rest of the game as LCU took the opener of the series 6-1.
GAME 2
The Wildcats continued the trend of early offense as they went ahead early on a sacrifice fly in the 1
st inning. They would go on to score thirteen runs in the next four innings, including four run innings in the 3
rd and 5
thinnings.
The offense for USW could not find an answer, which would lead to a 14-0 victory for LCU. This would be the first time the Mustangs were shut out on offense all season.
GAME 3
In game 3, it would be USW that would get the scoring started in the first inning.
Gavin VanGronigen brought in the first run with a 1-out RBI single. The next batter,
Andru Sanchez, launched a bomb to right field to put the Mustangs up 3-0.
The Wildcat offense answered quickly with a four-spot in the bottom of the 1
st inning, including a three-run home run with two outs. LCU struck for another seven runs in the bottom of the 2
nd to give themselves an 11-3 lead. They would add another in the bottom of the 4
th via an RBI double to make it 12-3.
In the 7
th inning, Sanchez stepped up to dish with two runners on and put his second home run out to right field. Sanchez had himself a day, going 3-for-4 on the with five RBIs and a walk.
LCU added their final run in the 8
th inning with an infield single, capping off their 13-6 win to take the series.
The bullpen would step up for the Mustangs in this game, allowing only two runs in 6.2 innings. Freshman
Miguel Olivas threw 4.2 innings with five strikeouts and only allowed one run.
"We have not been good on the road and it definitely showed this series," said Head Coach
Steve Appel. "We came out flat in all three facets, and you just can't do that against good teams."
"This will be another tough test, but I think this group wants to achieve great things. We just have to relax and focus on one pitch at a time. I think that the guys are just putting too much pressure on themselves, including us coaches. We have had a good week of practice on the road, and we have to show ourselves that we can play well on the road to finish out this trip."
The Mustangs will stay in Louisiana as they prepare to take on LSU Alexandria on Friday and Saturday. Continue to follow USW Athletics and USW Baseball on all social media for scores and updates throughout the season.
