March 16, 2009
CONWAY, Ark. -- The Southwestern University baseball team scored two runs in the first inning of each game and took a pair of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference games at Hendrix College on Sunday. The Pirates outlasted the Warriors in the opener, 5-4, and scored a 5-2 victory in the nightcap.
With the wins, Southwestern takes over second place in the west with an 11-12 overall record and 5-4 conference record.
The Pirates scored two runs to open the first game when sophomore 1B Kyle Belski belted a two-run homer to left center with two outs in the first inning.
The Warriors answered with one run in the bottom half of the inning on junior DH Nathan Hill's sacrifice fly to right field.
Hendrix tied the game in the second on another sacrifice fly by first year SS Clark Sims and gained a 3-2 advantage in the third when senior CF Daniel Ward blasted a solo shot over the left field fence.
Ward put another run across the plate in the fifth with a base knock up the middle to take a 4-2 lead into the sixth frame.
Back-to-back doubles ignited a three-run rally for Southwestern in the sixth inning. Pirates junior RF John Wooten knotted the game with an RBI triple and eventually scored the go-ahead run on a grounder second base.
Southwestern senior RHP Wes Willis improved to 5-2 with the win, while Warriors' sophomore LHP Jordan Suydam fell to 1-3 with the loss.
The Pirates lit up the scoreboard with another two run first inning in the second game. Belski highlighted the frame with a two-run double to right center.
Hendrix scored its first run in the third when junior SS Matt Gaglio walked, stole second and third, then raced home on a grounder to second base.
Southwestern would go on to score one run in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings, while the Warriors managed just one more run in the seventh.
Pirates' sophomore LHP Brantley Freeman earned the win and sophomore LHP Chris Churchwell picked up the save, while Hendrix first year Teddy Smoyer suffered his third loss of the year.
Belski had a monster afternoon for Southwestern going 4-7 with 5 RBI's and one run. Brent McMullen also performed well at the plate going 4-8 on the afternoon.
Southwestern returns to action on Tuesday for a game with Concordia-Austin at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas. Game time is slated for 1:00 pm.