SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Southwest Mustangs wrapped up its three‑game series at Our Lady of the Lake University on Saturday afternoon, battling in a tightly contested matchup before ultimately falling 5–3 in the finale. The Mustangs sought a rebound performance after dropping both games of yesterday's doubleheader and delivered one of their most complete efforts of the weekend.

Our Lady of the Lake opened the scoring with two runs in the second inning, but Southwest responded with a momentum‑shifting three‑run rally in the top of the fifth. Mark Gonzales sparked the offense with a leadoff double before Alesandro Morrison followed with a run‑scoring double to cut into the deficit. Morrison then came around to score on an error, tying the game, and Alex Montiel delivered a go‑ahead RBI single that pushed the Mustangs ahead 3–2. 

Pitcher Ryland Pittman kept Southwest in front through the middle innings, holding OLLU scoreless from the third through the sixth while working efficiently on the mound. Pittman finished with 6.2 innings pitched, allowing just four earned runs and striking out six. OLLU regained the lead in the seventh with a two‑run single and added an insurance run in the eighth. 

Offensively, Southwest tallied seven hits in the finale, led by multi‑hit performances from Montiel, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, and solid contributions from Morrison, Gonzales, Chavez, Rosales, and Colby Martinez. The Mustangs produced their highest‑scoring inning of the series in the fifth and continued to put runners aboard late, including a ninth‑inning single from Montiel, but were unable to pull even. 

Despite dropping all three games in the series, the Mustangs showed measurable progress across the weekend, highlighted by improved offensive execution, a strong outing on the mound from Pittman, and defensive stretches that kept Saturday's finale competitive into the late innings.

Southwest now looks ahead to its next matchup on Friday against Louisiana Christian at home. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.

Head Coach Steve Appel
"We just can't tie all three phases together right now. We got our tails kicked in game one but I'm happy to see our kids didn't quit after that game and showed fight the remainder of the series. Even though we lost the remaining two games I thought it was a win because we found a way to compete in the mound finally. 

I believe we just have guys pressing to make things happen. We have to also find ways to score in multiple innings rather than one. We were honestly a couple key hits away, a couple defensive plays away, and perhaps a couple of close calls that led to key walks for them away from winning two games. But again, I'm happy that they didn't quit and fought all weekend. I would still much rather get in the bus with our guys right now knowing that we have really great kids and I'm still excited to get back to work with them."

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