GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Southwestern baseball team swept a doubleheader from No. 24 Texas Lutheran on Saturday at Rockwell Field. The Pirates won the opening game of the day 7-4 and earned a 14-10 victory in the nightcap to take the series.
Southwestern (15-23, 10-8 SCAC) also clinched a bid for the SCAC Championships, which will take place next weekend in Seguin.
The Pirates honored nine seniors prior to Saturday's doubleheader – Tyler Bludau, Will Cates, Joseph Koch, Matt Litz, Joe McCormack, Michael Platz, Colten Shea, Clayton Sparks and Dickson Wharton.
The Bucs will host Texas-Tyler in the regular-season finale at 5 p.m. Monday.
GAME ONE
Southwestern tied the series thanks to a consistent effort in the middle innings of the first game of the doubleheader.
The Bulldogs (24-13, 14-4 SCAC) jumped out in front with a run in the opening frame. However, the Bucs picked up runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a 7-1 lead.
Cates hit a two-run homer in the third to give the Pirates a 2-1 advantage. Sparks and Cole Kelly both tallied RBI singles in fourth, while Ethan Luna drove in a run a frame later.
Southwestern scored it final run in the sixth on Kelly's run-scoring single.
TLU picked up two runs in the seventh inning and another in the ninth, but the Pirates held on to close out the contest.
SU tallied 12 hits in the game.
Austyn Laird was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Shea added three hits and scored two runs.
McCormack (1-1) earned the victory, as he limited the Bulldogs to one run over five innings.
GAME TWO
In the nightcap, the Pirates scored seven runs in the second inning to jump out to an 8-1 lead.
Southwestern added three more in the third to increase its advantage to 11-1.
However, Texas Lutheran plated seven runs in the top of the fourth to pull within three runs.
After the Pirates scored one in the bottom of the panel, SU tacked on two more in the sixth on Ethan Luna's home run to left field.
The Bulldogs managed two marks in the eighth, but Sparks came out of the bullpen to shut the door. The left-hander pitched 1.2 scoreless stanzas to record his first save.
Jordan Kessler picked up his first collegiate win, as the southpaw gave up an unearned run and two hits in 1.1 innings.
The Pirates posted 15 hits in the nightcap, led by Kelly's 3-for-5 performance that included three RBIs. Laird also was 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Luna had two hits and drove in four runs.
– SOUTHWESTERN –