HOUSTON — Southwestern baseball team's power surge continues, posting two wins over the University of St. Thomas Celts to open the three-game conference series with four home runs.
Game 1: Southwestern 6, St. Thomas 3
Southwestern senior Ted Lobkowicz returned to the lineup for the first time since sustaining an injury on March 25, entering the game in the top of the seventh inning and producing a 2-for-3 hitting performance with an RBI-triple in the top of the 10th inning to cap off a 6-3 win over St. Thomas.
Preston Witt picked up where he left off last weekend, opening the game with a solo blast in the first inning for his fourth home run of the season.
Travis Harvey set the tone for Southwestern defensively, striking out two of St. Thomas's first three hitters and keeping the Celts scoreless through the first four innings.
Southwestern added two runs in the fourth inning on an RBI triple by James Vaquero, scoring Henry Fisher, who reached on a single. Alexander Cannata followed with a double to left-center, scoring Vaquero.
St. Thomas opened the fifth inning with a double by Leo Galvan and a single from Brandon Herrera, putting runners in the corners. The Celts attempted a double steal, scoring Galvan while Vaquero threw out Herrera at second.
Lobkowicz pinch-hit for Sam Castillo in the seventh and delivered a single to right-center but was one of two Pirates left stranded.
Harvey surrendered consecutive singles in the bottom of the eighth, leaving the game with Gregory Ferguson replacing him. Cameron McClure followed with an RBI single to shortstop, and Tristan Pitkin reached on an error, scoring Dylan Lamb to tie the game.
Jacob Tanner sparked the Southwestern offense with a leadoff double in the 10th inning. Fisher followed with a groundout to second, moving Fisher over. Cannata followed with an RBI single, and Lobkowiz capped off the inning with his RBI triple.
Ferguson surrendered a one-out single in the bottom of the 10th but struck out the next two hitters to end the game.
Harvey and Ferguson continue to be a potent 1-2 combination on the mound for Southwestern, combining for 10 strikeouts and seven hits surrendered with only two runs earned. Harvey finished with seven strikeouts, and Ferguson picked up his fifth win. Tanner and Cannata each hit 3-for-5 with a run scored. Cannata also added two RBIs.
Game 2: Southwestern 18, St. Thomas 4
Southwestern flexed its muscle with home runs from Maxwell Mims, Christian Melillo, and Vaquero to defeat St. Thomas 18-4.
St. Thomas took an early 3-1 lead, answering an unearned Southwestern run by scoring on a two-RBI triple and sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second. Southwestern responded with a 12-run third inning punctuated by a pair of three-run home runs by Vaquero and Melillo.
Mims added a solo home run to lead off the sixth inning, giving Southwestern a 16-4 lead. Tate Winfield added a two-RBI double to center in the seventh inning.
Starting pitcher Ben Ludwig went five innings, striking out six with four earned runs surrendered on seven hits and three walks. Trey Dees and Trey Schwarz each pitched one inning, with Schwarz striking out three.
Mims hit 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Melillo hit 2-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Southwestern finished with 14 hits and six walks.
The Pirates now have 10 home runs in the past four games and improve to 15-14 with a 7-7 conference record. Southwestern will face St. Thomas tomorrow at noon.