GEORGETOWN - The Southwestern University baseball team took an early lead, but could not maintain it as they fell to the No. 14 ranked Texas Lutheran Bulldogs in the first game of their three game series by the score of 8-4 on Friday night at Rockwell Field.

After getting out of the first with no damage done, the Pirates struck with two runs in the bottom of the first for the early lead. Sophomore Daniel Montgomery Jr. led things off with a double followed by a RBI single by freshman Seth Sparks and a RBI double from sophomore Byron Dowdell II. 

The Bulldogs responded with two runs in the second followed by a four run inning in the fourth to take their first lead of the game at 6-2.

In the sixth, the Pirates cut the lead to two thanks to a RBI double by freshman Austin Smith followed by a RBI ground out from Montgomery. Texas Lutheran got another two run inning in the eighth and was able to close out the game for the 8-4 win.

Senior Will Preston got the start and went 5.1 innings, allowing four earned runs to go with four strikeouts in the loss while Trey Schwarz and Bryce Sinclair saw relief work. 

Montgomery and Smith each went 1-for-4 with a double, a RBI, and a run scored while Sparks and Dowdell were each 1-for-5 with a RBI. Senior Ethan Hallmark had a double and a run scored while senior Jason McCormack added a triple.

Southwestern moves to 15-19 overall and 6-10 in the SCAC. They will close the conference season on Sunday, needing at least one win for a chance at the SCAC Tournament. The Pirates will play in doubleheader against the Bulldogs beginning at 2 PM on Sunday.