Pilots Survive Gritty Southwest Lineup, Advance to Second Round of RRAC Tournament [1]
With the change in format in the Red River conference tournament, the action started at Pilot Field in Shreveport rather than the Sterling Sports Complex in Sterlington, Louisiana.
[2]When comparing the numbers for LSU-Shreveport and Southwest, you would think it was an easy sweep for the Pilots. However, the Mustangs were playing with nothing to lose against the reigning champs. The possibilities were endless.
In Game 1, it did look like things would come easy for LSUS. A 10-0 run-rule win that ended in the 8th. Brock Lucas took the mound, and took the spotlight, which is nothing new. Across 7 innings, 3 hits and 2 walks given up with 12 strikeouts. Lucas has been the clear ace of the team despite the slow start to the season. There was a stretch where he would start a game slow. He would give up a string of base runners and maybe a few runs but eventually settled in by the 4th inning or so. It seems now that those struggles are over. Domination from start to finish.
Dorien Jackson and Carlos Vega lead the offense with identical lines of 3 hits and 2 RBIs. Makana Olaso tallied 2 hits and 3 RBIs. Credit to the Southwest bullpen though, as 8 of the 10 Pilot runs came in the first 3 innings. The Mustangs clutch pitching carried into game 2. Through 7 innings, 3 runs were allowed. The Pilot bats were scoreless for 5 of those 7 innings.
Through 5 innings it was relatively low scoring. Then came the back and forth. Southwest takes the lead back with 3 runs in the 6th. LSUS answers late with 3 in the 8th. Southwest takes it back again with 3 in the 9th. The Pilots tied things bottom 9 but could not finish the job with the winning run in Vega on third base. In the bottom of the 10th, LSUS again had a chance to win with Que Walton on third base. Jackson took a valiant attempt to walk it off with a ball shot deep in the left-center field gap, but Southwest’s Jack Anderson tracked it down.
Fortunately for the Pilots, they again found a way to hold down the Mustang bats in the 10th and 11th innings. Finally, bottom 11, a Spencer Sullivan double set up one of the top players in the country, Carlos Sanchez, to put the team on his back like he had the entire season. An opposite field double that burned right fielder Vyncent Chavez punched the Pilots ticket to the 2nd round of the RRAC tournament.