Mustang Baseball wrapped its road trip to Louisiana this past weekend with a conference matchup against LSU Alexandria. The Generals had been hot as of late, coming into the series with a five-game winning streak on the line. USW was looking for a bounce back following a tough series loss to Louisiana Christian the previous. LSUA would continue their winning ways by taking all three games of the series, extending their winning streak to eight. 
 
GAME 1
The opening game began with LSUA sneaking out on top against starter Cody Stone. The Generals would bring in their first run on an RBI single and cap off the scoring with a 2-run home run to make it 3-0. 
 
The Mustangs answered with five runs in the top of the 2^nd inning. Omar Baldenegro started the scoring with an RBI single to bring in Kevin Rase. Kevan Diaz singled as well to drive in Eliazar Torres. Hayden Woods would step up next and blast one out to right field for a 3-run home run and a 5-3 lead. 
 
The Generals' offense would keep pace as a double would bring another run for them in the bottom of the 2^nd. With two outs in the inning, they would find one more on an RBI single to make it a 5-5 game. In the 4^th inning, LSUA drove in another run with an RBI single to take the lead. 
 
The Mustangs would rally late, and Diaz tied the game with a sacrifice fly. A couple of batters later, Gavin VanGronigen drove in Woods with a double to take the lead going into the final half-inning. 
 
Unfortunately, LSUA would create a rally for themselves in the bottom of the 7^th, scoring two runs to walk off the Mustangs in game one. 
 
GAME 2
LSUA would continue to roll on offense as they drove in two runs in the 1^st inning to give them the early lead. They would add to their lead in the bottom of the 3^rd with an RBI single to make it 3-0. 
 
USW would get on the board in the 4^th inning when Kevin Rase singled to right field to bring in Andru Sanchez. The next batter would be Jose Chavez Jr., who would drive in a runner with his own RBI single. In the 5^thinning, Sanchez singled to right field to bring in Hayden Woods to tie the game 3-3. 
 
A big RBI triple from LSUA in the bottom of the 5^th inning gave them the lead again. The Generals struck for five runs in the bottom of the 6^th, highlighted by a 2-out grand slam to put them up 9-3.
 
The Mustang offense worked hard to keep them in the game. In the 7^th inning, Woods tripled to center field to bring in Kevan Diaz. Gavin VanGronigen stepped up and drove in Woods with an RBI single to cut the lead to 9-5. 
 
LSUA blasted another home run in the bottom of the 7^th to create some more cushion going into the latter part of the game. 
 
In the top half of the 8^th inning, Woods would continue his strong game with a 2-RBI double to right field. VanGronigen drove in Woods again, this time with a double to left field. It would not be enough, as the Mustangs would drop game two 11-8.
 
GAME 3
The Mustangs would get a strong pitching performance from game three starter AJ Cordova. The Junior would go seven strong while allowing just two hits and three earned runs, tallying three strikeouts along the way. 
 
The Mustang offense would strike first this time as Kevan Diaz homered to right field for two early RBIs and a lead for USW.
 
LSUA answered the blow with a 2-run home run of their own in the bottom of the 4^th inning to tie the game. A few innings later, they would get their lead with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2 at the end of seven innings. 
 
USW would tie the game in the top of the 8^th inning when Carson Miller drew a bases-loaded walk. Once again, LSUA responded with an RBI double down the left field line with two outs to give them the lead. The back-and-forth affair continued with the Mustangs getting timely hitting their own in the form of Diaz's RBI single to make it 4-4. 
 
Junior Caden Davis threw well in relief for the Mustangs as he tallied 3.1 innings without giving up a hit and striking out three. We would be treated to some extra baseball on this day, and it would take us all the way to the 12^th inning. LSUA blooped in a single to bring in the game-winning run and secure the series sweep. 
 
Head Coach Steve Appel had this to say following the series, "I thought we competed well against a really hot LSUA team.  It was a tough, rough week for us, and unfortunately, we just didn't come out on top.  Getting walked off twice is tough, but I am confident that will make us tougher in the last couple of weeks when things really matter.  If we can put all phases together, this team could get really confident at the right time.  This week will get back to work and get ready to play in front of our home crowd for senior weekend." 
 
USW Baseball returns home to host Huston-Tillotson on April 21^st and 22^nd, with a Senior Day ceremony scheduled for before Saturday's game. Continue to follow USW Athletics and USW Baseball on all social media for scores and updates throughout the season.