The University of the Southwest Lady Mustangs hosted a pair of RRAC opponents from Louisiana over the weekend. USW was coming off a tough previous weekend after dropping series to Texas A&M-San Antonio and Our Lady of the Lake. Looking for a bounce-back weekend, the Lady Mustangs set their sights on Louisiana Christian first and were able to split with the Wildcats. On Saturday, Southwest would get another series split against Xavier (LA.).
 
Louisiana Christian
 
Game 1
Game one stayed scoreless through 4^th, with Hope Quinones throwing four shutout innings up to that point. LCU would tack on one in the top of the 5^th off a wild pitch. The Wildcats added another three in the 6^th inning from a passed ball and a 2-RBI single.
 
The Lady Mustangs got their rally going in the 6^th with a single from Amanda Perez to bring in Mikayla Trevino. Marley Moralez would ground into a  fielder's choice leading to Felicity Villanueva scoring and making it 4-2 going into the 7th. 
 
Natalie DeLeon throws a scoreless 7^th inning, setting up a possible comeback in the bottom half. Villanueva doubled to bring in Xyla Madry to make it a 4-3 game, but it would not be enough as USW would fall 4-3.
 
Game 2 
The offense began quicker than in game one, with LCU putting up a run in the first off an RBI triple. 
 
The Wildcats managed to throw up three scoreless innings until the 4^th inning, when Marley Moralez singled to bring in Felicity Villanueva to tie the game up. Moralez would pitch phenomenally on the mound for USW, putting in seven innings of work with five strikeouts and only allowing one hit and one run. 
 
In the bottom of the 6^th, Xyla Madry would come up with some timely hitting and singled to bring in Moralez and Amanda Perez for the 3-1 lead. Moralez would go 1-2-3 in the top of the 7^th to give USW the 3-1 win. 
 
 
Xavier (LA.)
 
Game 1
Xavier would get themselves on the board early when a two-out walk would come around to score on an RBI triple. The Gold Nuggets added a pair of runs in the 4^th inning with two outs again. A two-out single was followed by an RBI triple and then an RBI single to make it 3-0.
 
That is all Xavier would get against starter Marley Moralez as the Junior would go all seven innings while striking out three and walking just one batter. 
 
The USW bats would wake up in the bottom half of the 5^th when Mikayla Martinez singled in Moralez for the Lady Mustangs' first run. Kenzie Savell would follow and drive in Martinez to make it a 3-2 ballgame. 
 
Southwest returned in the 6^th inning and put two more up on Xavier to take the lead. Amanda Perez drove in Felicity Villanueva with an RBI double. Martinez would bring in Perez two batters later with a sacrifice fly for her second RBI of the game. The Lady Mustangs would hold onto the lead in the bottom of the 7^th to take game one by a score of 4-3.
 
Game 2
There would be plenty of offense in game two as Xavier would get the scoring going in the 1^st inning. Three USW errors would lead to three runs, putting the Gold Nuggets up 3-0. 
 
An RBI double in the 3^rd inning would make it 4-0 in favor of the visiting side. The top of the 4^th inning would be more of the same as Xavier struck for five hits and five runs to put USW at a 9-0 deficit. 
 
The Lady Mustangs would not go quietly as they would also have a solid 4th inning. Amanda Perez would bring in Felicity Villanueva with an RBI triple to begin the scoring. The next batter, Marley Moralez, drove in Perez. Hannah Campos stepped up and blasted a 2-run home run to make it 9-4. Later in the inning, Mikayla Martinez singled to bring in Kenzi Savell to make it a 9-5 game.
 
Xavier returned in the 6^th inning with an RBI double to bring in another run, followed by an RBI triple and RBI single to bring their run total up to 12. 
 
Campos would drive in her third RBI in the bottom half with a double. Three batters later, Martinez would drive in Campos with a single to cut the lead to five. 
 
The Lady Mustangs would add two more in the bottom of the 7^th when Perez drove in Villanueva with a double and then scored on a Moralez RBI single. The comeback could not be completed as Xavier would stay on top in the end, 12-9. 
 
After the weekend split, Head Coach Chris Petroski said, "We battled in both series and have to continue to produce offensively and work as a team. New goals are set in place, and it's our time to show what we are capable of." 
 
The Lady Mustangs return home for their next two series as they host Texas A&M-San Antonio on April 14th for Senior Day and Our Lady of the Lake on April 15th. Continue to follow USW Athletics and USW Softball on all social media for scores and updates throughout the season.