GEORGETOWN, Texas — Jake Harris was hit by a pitch with bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to give Southwestern its second walk-off victory of the day, defeating the Centenary Gentlemen 9-8.
Centenary struck first in a back-and-forth game, scoring on an error with two outs to take a 1-0 lead. The Gents added to that at the top of the second. Cole Collins and John Beaudion opened the inning with back-to-back walks, setting up Brady Robinson's RBI single up the middle. Chris Haggard followed with a groundout to first, scoring Beaudion.
Southwestern scored its first run on a sacrifice fly by Matthew Escamilla, scoring Lance Kruse, who reached on a leadoff single in the bottom of the second. The Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the third with another sacrifice fly, hit by Jacob Tanner, and a Lance Kruse RBI-single to right field.
Haggard put Centenary back on top with an RBI-single through the left side, scoring Hewitt, who reached on a walk and was in scoring position due to an error.
The Pirates responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Maxwell Mims hit the third sacrifice fly for Southwestern, scoring Landon Durdin on a drive to center field. Tanner followed with a two-RBI single up the middle, scoring Lobkowicz and Escamilla.
Mims added another run in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single up the middle, scoring Escamilla.
Robinson opened the top of the sixth with a leadoff home run. Preston Ludwick added another run with a single through the left side to score Haggard, who was hit by a pitch. The Pirates held the 8-7 lead through the seventh and eighth innings until Centenary broke through in the top of the ninth, scoring two unearned runs on two hits with two errors.
Preston Witt opened the bottom of the ninth with a single up the middle. Durdin reached on a fielder's choice with Witt being thrown out at second. Escamilla walked, and Lobkowicz tied the game on an RBI single. The Gents intentionally walked Mims to load the bases, costing Centenary when Harris was hit by a pitch to end the game.
Mims finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two walks, and one run scored. Tanner was 1-for-4 with three RBIs. Durdin finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Escamilla had one hit and drew three walks, scoring three runs.
Southwestern earned its first conference series sweep, ending Centenary's 18-game winning streak on Friday and closing the series out with a pair of wins on Saturday. The Pirates improve to 12-12, including 9-3 in conference play. Centenary falls to 24-5 with a 9-3 conference record.
The Pirates host Hardin-Simmons on Tuesday for a doubleheader with two seven-inning games. Southwestern will hit the road next weekend for a series against Texas Lutheran University.