GEORGETOWN, Texas — Southwestern was solid in all phases of the game, generating 11 hits, stealing three bases, striking out five hitters to three walks, and turning two double plays to defeat the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets 7-4.
Maxwell Mims opened the bottom of the first with a rocket down the left-field line, sliding in headfirst for a leadoff double. Southwestern's star sophomore then showcased his speed, stealing third on a pickoff attempt to second.
After Preston Witt went down swinging and Trent Raschke popped out to first, Jacob Tanner blasted a shot off the left-field wall for the RBI double. James Vaquero followed with an RBI single up the middle for the 2-0 lead.
Mims delivered again in the second inning, this time hitting a standup RBI double to left-center, scoring Henry Fisher, who reached on a fielding error.
Defensively, Southwestern allowed three hits through the first three innings but mitigated the damage with double plays in the second and third innings.
Trey Dees replaced Southwestern starting pitcher Joshua Werner in the top of the fourth inning. Werner allowed three hits with a walk and hit one batter in three innings.
Sam Castillo sparked the Pirates with an infield single in the bottom of the fourth, beating the throw from shortstop. The Pirates then scored on Fisher's single through the left side when Howard Payne's left fielder William Burford overthrew the third baseman, Derek Gifford, launching the ball into Southwestern's dugout to score Castillo and give Fisher second.
After Fisher advanced to third on a wild pitch, Alexander Cannata drove him in with a sacrifice fly to right field, giving the Pirates a 5-0 lead.
Howard Payne broke through with four runs off Dees in the top of the fifth. The Yellow Jackets stung Dees with six hits, getting a two-run blast from Burford, RBI double from Gifford, and an RBI single by Noah Coronado before Bryan Meissner replaced Dees and got out of the inning with a strikeout.
Southwestern loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning but Howard Payne escaped unscathed on a beautiful diving catch in left field by Burford to rob Ted Lobkowicz.
Braden Anderson (1-1) took the mound for Southwestern to start the seventh inning and struck out four of the next six hitters, retiring the seventh and eighth innings in order to earn the win.
Christian Melillo added another run for the Pirates with an RBI single to left field in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Vaquero from second, who reached on a double. Southwestern scored its final run on a wild pitch with bases loaded in the eighth inning.
Ryan Corbett replaced Anderson on the mound in the ninth inning and retired the side in order with three consecutive flyouts to earn his first save.
Southwestern had 11 hits, led by Vaquero's 3-for-5 performance with two doubles, driving in an RBI, and scoring a run. Mims and Tanner each hit 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Southwestern improves to 17-18. The Pirates will close out the regular season this weekend with a three-game series against the University of Dallas. Game 1 begins Friday at 7:00 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 1:00 p.m.