The Southwestern Pirates used strong pitching and timely defense to take two out of three games from Hendrix College in Arkansas this weekend. After losing the first game in extra innings, the Pirates were able to rebound in two exciting games.
Game one of the series started with a ptichers duel that saw the game end in the final at bat. Pirate starter Alan Lowry had a rough start to the game, giving up two singles and a stolen base that led to the Warriors' first run of the game. Lowry settled down to get a double play ball and a ground ball to hold Hendrix to just one run in what started out as a dangerous inning. This was the last serious trouble Hendrix would give Lowry until extra innings.
The Pirates got on the board in the fourth when second baseman Nate Shipp drew a one out walk to be the Pirate's first baserunner of the afternoon. After a fly out and a walk to first baseman Kyle Belski, senior center fielder Todd Boone ripped a single to center field to plate Shipp and even the game at 1-1. This would be the Pirate's only run of the game even though their bats continued to be hot. Southwestern was on Hendrix College starting pitcher Teddy Smoyer from the beginning, hitting several line drives right at outfielders with runners in scoring position.
The game remained tied at 1-1 through the 7th inning. In SCAC play, the first game of a double header is a 7 inning game. Starter Alan Lowry, who had been masterful all game, was pulled in the bottom of the 8th after a leadoff single. Pirate reliever Russell Kelly was called upon to hold the game where it was. After a ground out and two walks, one intentional, the Pirates were unable to throw the winning run out at the palte on a sacrifice fly to right field.
Alan Lowry was charged with the loss despite giving up 2 runs on 7 hits in 7 innings. Nate Shipp, Todd Boone, John Wooten, Cray Betts, and Matt Clark all had one hit for the Pirates.
Game 2 of the series was played on Saturday night and was a monumental mountain for the Pirates to climb while trying to break a streak of bad luck, injuries, and poor pitching that had plagued them for the past few weeks. Sophomore starting pitcher Chris Webber was called upon to hold Hendrix College at bay and he answered the call with a great performance. Webber's only run allowed came in the 3rd when, with two outs, a runner reached by way of a Pirate error and came around two batters later to score. Webber allowed just 8 baserunners, gave up 0 earned runs, and held Hendrix to just 4 runners left on base thanks to double plays by the Pirate infield.
The surging Pirate offense started off early after a one out double by sophomore second baseman Nate Shipp and a single by senior outfielder John Wooten led to a 1st inning 1-0 lead. After the Warriors tied the game up 1-1 in the third, Southwestern's lineup answered to plate what would be the winning run. Freshman short stop Charlie Garrett lead off the inning with a single to left. After a sacrife bunt by Todd Boone moved Garrett up to second and a fly ball to deep right field by Nate Shipp move Garrett to thrid, John Wooten once again came through with a 2 out single to center field to plate Garrett. The scoring remained quiet until the top of the 7th when Kyle Belski drove a double over the right fielder's head to plate John Wooten who reached on a fielder's choice. The insuarce run would be more than enough for Webber and the Pirate defense as the shut the Warriors' offense down in the 7th to seal the victory. Game two of the double header was shortened to 7 innings because of the extra innings played in game 1.
Offensive standouts for the Pirates were Nate Shipp, 2-4 with 2 doubles and a run scored, and John Wooten, 3-4 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored. Also of note, freshman catcher Johnny Gavrel threw out three Hendrix baserunners to stifle the Warrior running game.
The rubber game of the series was a nail biter. Pirate pitching allowed 4 earned runs over the first 7 innings. Despite hitting the ball well, the Pirates were in a 4-0 hole going into the top of the 8th inning.
Junior first baseman Kyle Belski drew a leadoff walk but was followed by a strike out and a flyout. Freshman pinch hitter Lance Gottardy then hit a line drive for a single to center field. He was followed by a walk to pinch hitter Jeff Glasgow, and a single by Charlie Garrett that drove in Belski and Nick Mace, who was running for Gottardy. Todd Boone singled to center to load the bases for Nate Shipp who drove in two more runs with a single to right field. The Pirates scored 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks to even the game at 4-4.
After relief pitcher Aaron Garza held Warriors to a 1-2-3 inning, the Pirate bats went to work again. Sophomore outfielder Cray Betts legged out a perfect drag bunt with one out to give the Pirates a chance to take the lead. A single by first year catcher Johnny Gavrel moved Betts up to second base to set the stage for freshman Jeff Glasgow to single to centerfield and plate Betts for the go ahead run. After a walk to Charlie Garrett and Todd Boone to plate another run, a great diving catch by the Hendix centerfield on a line drive off the bat of Nate Shipp kept the game within striking distance for the Warriors.
Garza, after 3 2/3 innings of great relief work, was pulled in the bottom of the 9th after allowing a single and a walk. After another walk to load the bases with no one out, Russell Kelly was called upon to achieve the near impossible. With bases loaded a no outs, Kelley got an infield fly and a 5-4-3 double play to end the game with the score 6-4. The Pirates racked up another double digit hit performace with 14 on the game.
Aaron Garza earned the win and Russell Kelly was awarded the save. Offensive stars of the game for the Pirates were Todd Boone, 2-5 with 1 RBI, Nate Shipp, 2-5 with 2 RBI, and Charlie Garrett, 3-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored. Chris Lowry was 2-3 on the day with a pair of singles. Kyle Belski, Cray Betts, Lance Gottardy, Jeff Glasgow, and Johnny Gavrel each had one hit on the game.
The Pirates will look to continue their winning ways against UT-Dallas this Tuesday at 3 pm at Rockwell Field in Georgetown.