GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The Southwestern baseball team was handed a 6-4 loss by No. 8 Centenary in the opening round of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship Friday afternoon at the AirHogs Stadium.

The Pirates (20-20) will play the loser of Texas Lutheran and Trinity at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in an elimination game.

With the game tied 3-3 in the third inning, the Gents (32-7) scored two runs in the bottom half to take the lead for good.

Southwestern picked up its final tally in the fifth, as Kevin Wallace posted a run-scoring single, driving in Ben Little following his triple.

Centenary added an insurance run in the eighth on Andrew Russell's sacrifice fly.

The Bucs put two runners on base in the final frame, but the Gents thwarted the threat with a strikeout.

Little paced the Pirates with a 3 for 4 performance at the plate. He drove in a run and logged a triple. Cameron Cooper added a hit and two RBIs.

Bryce Sinclair (0-2) suffered the loss, as the left-hander gave up five runs on six hits in 2.1 innings.

Centenary used two pitchers to pick up the win. Kaleb Kirk (9-3) went seven innings and yielded four runs, but earned the win, while Cole Lavergne racked up his eighth save with two scoreless frames.

- SOUTHWESTERN -