GEORGETOWN, Texas - With six runs in the first inning the Pirates defeated Howard Payne University 14-4 in SU's home opener on Tuesday afternoon. The win moves Southwestern to 2-2 on the year while HPU falls to 2-2-1 on the year.

 

Howard Payne threatened to score first as the game got underway, advancing runners to second and third with one out in the first, but starting pitcher Brantley Freeman struck out the next two batters to end the threat.

 

In the bottom half of the inning the Pirates had two outs with a runner on first when a Yellow Jacket error kept the inning alive for Southwestern. SU rattled off six straight hits to go up 6-0 after one.

 

Southwestern tacked on another run in the second and, thanks to a couple of singles followed by a two-run homerun by Nate Shipp (pictured), three runs in the third.

 

Kyle Belski's two-run bomb over the left field fence in the fourth put the Pirates up by 12 and Brett Martin added a line drive two-run homerun of his own over the right field fence in the seventh, giving Southwestern a 14-0 lead.

 

A steady stream of strong pitching kept the Yellow Jackets off balance and off the bases throughout the majority of the game. Howard Payne posted four runs in the eighth to come within 10. Freeman earned the win with great support from Chris Webber, Aaron Garza, Jason Stading, Alan Lowry, and Eric Kegley. HPU's Cruz garnered the loss.

Jay Sterling had a great outing for Southwestern, going 3-4 from the plate and scoring one run while driving in another.

The Pirates remain at home this weekend as they open up SCAC Conference action against Millsaps on Saturday. The double-header is set to begin at 1:00 pm.