Bolivar, Mo. – The baseball team of Southwest Baptist University (SBU) concluded their opening weekend of conference by splitting their doubleheader against the Rockhurst Hawks. The Bearcats now have a season record of 7-9 and Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) record of 1-3.
 
Game 1: SBU 1-4 Rockhurst
 
Southwest Baptist opened the beautiful Sunday afternoon with a hard-fought loss to the Hawks. Redshirt senior Roberto Garcia took the mound, and a shaky start saw SBU fall behind 0-2 early. He soon settled in not allowing another run until the 5th inning. In the bottom of the second inning, senior Scott Allan walked to get on base and was brought home by a double from junior Cameron Dean for the Bearcats' only run of the ball game. Rockhurst added two more runs in the top of the fifth to give the Hawks their 4-1 win.
 
Despite the loss, Garcia put in a solid performance, striking out six of the 20 batters he faced and only allowing five hits and two earned runs. Senior Koen Van T Klooster came in to relieve Garcia in the fifth inning, notching three strikeouts while only allowing two hits and no runs.
 
Game 2: SBU 16-12 Rockhurst
 
The final game of the series had a little bit of everything. The Bearcats found themselves in an early 0-4 hole after a rough first half-inning. However, in the bottom of the first, Southwest Baptist responded with five runs of their own, making the score 5-4 after just one inning. The Hawks tied the game in the top of the second before senior Conner Titus hit a home run to regain the lead in the bottom of the second. The two offenses continued to explode, and after a fourth inning with seven total runs, the Bearcats held a 12-7 lead. Home runs from seniors Raydley Legito and Allan in the sixth and seventh innings sealed the win for Southwest Baptist, resulting in a 16-12 final score.
 
Allan was particularly impressive for the Bearcats, scoring four runs and hitting for three RBIs in the game. Titus and Legito both also provided major contributions to SBU's offense, each scoring three runs and the latter going an impressive 4-5 at the plate.
 
The winning pitcher for Southwest Baptist was senior Jake Fuller. Fuller came into the game in the top of the first inning after just one out had been made. He pitched the next 5.1 innings, striking out four of the 25 batters he faced. Redshirt junior Jude Sundquist served as the Bearcats' closer. Sundquist entered the game at the start of the ninth inning, pitching a shutout and throwing two strikeouts to secure the win.
 
Looking Forward
 
The Bearcats return to action in one week for their second series of GLVC play from home against the University of Indianapolis. The series is set to span three days, beginning on Friday, March 13 at 5:00 p.m. On Saturday, March 14, the two teams play a doubleheader with games set to begin at 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Finally, the series will wrap up on Sunday, March 14 with a game beginning at 12:00 p.m.