A lot happened this past weekend, beginning March 1, for SU sports. Southwestern hosted both baseball and track and field, so it was a busy weekend for athletes, parents, and students alike.

Our sports teams also had a crazy travel weekend; softball and men’s lacrosse spent their sunny weekend traveling on the road.

Oh, and the basketball teams also won various awards…Go Bucs!

To top it off, it was perfect weather; spring was definitely in attendance, and the weekend couldn’t have gotten any better. 

 ICYMI, the Megaphone is here to report. 

Here is a recap of what happened both at home and on the road!

Baseball

While the softball and men’s lacrosse teams were finding success on the road, the baseball team found their own success on the Rockwell. They played against University of the Ozark last Friday and a double header against them last Saturday. 

Series Highlights

In the first game, Southwestern had 32 at bats and almost everyone on the lineup scored a run. They kicked off the game scoring a run in the first inning. Throughout the rest of the game, SU held off Ozark and continued to score runs, starting in the fourth inning. Right fielder and freshman Jordan Coronado had four at bats, three hits, scored one run, and two RBIs. Southwestern finished the first game, 7-2. 

However, the second game was much closer. Southwestern took control of the game, scoring two runs in the first inning and one more in the next inning. Ozark found their bats and brought in a run in the fourth inning. But at the top of the sixth inning, Ozark found their bats again and scored three runs. This gave Ozark the lead, 4-3. 

But this lead didn’t last for long as SU was able to score a run in the bottom of the seventh inning. This run made it a tied game, 4-4. During innings eight and nine, it was a stalemate—neither team was able to bring in a run. This forced the game to go into extra innings. But it didn’t take long for Southwestern to score with a fly out, but bringing in freshman Tanner Teffs, to seal the game. The final score for game two was 5-4. 

Despite going into extra innings in the previous game, Southwestern did not let them off the hook during game three. Just in the first inning, they scored five runs. They scored again in the fourth, seventh, and eighth inning. They didn’t allow Ozark to score at all during the game. The team finished the game, 10-0 in eight innings. 

During this game, Coronado had four at bats, and two hits, runs, and RBIs. But Coronado wasn’t the only one who had great stats this game. Freshman Brandon Lang had 3 at bats, 2 hits, 1 run, and 3 RBIs.
The baseball team is currently 6-3 (Win-Loss). Their next game is away, against University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on March 5 at 6pm. Be sure to catch their game live and support them from afar!

Track and Field

While baseball was playing their double headers, Southwestern hosted the CenTex Invite. Here are some highlights from the meet: 

Senior Jamal Maxey placed second in the long jump with his farthest jump being 6.80m. 

Freshman Jaycee Green won the shot put with her longest throw being 11.89m. She also placed third for the hammer throw event with her farthest being 40.18m. 

Junior Breanna Steele won the 1500M run with a time of 4:43:77. She also placed fifth for the 800m run with a time of 2:24:43.  

Senior Arden Neff won the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:03:56, while her teammate Triniti Gray placed fourth with a time of 1:08:32. 

Throughout the duration of the meet, Southwestern honored their seniors: Brian Armijo, Jamal Maxey, Xander Bailey, Dominic Davila, Gannon Hall, Simon Rupe, Yadon Tramel, Jessie Chiella, Arden Neff, and Charlotte Scannell. 

Softball

On February 28, SU softball left for Sherman, to face off against the Austin College Kangaroos. Our WL was 5-7 before the ACC series. But the team was ready to play against Austin College, and they brought the heat, sweeping the Kangaroos 9-1, 7-5, and 8-4. 

Series Highlights

Southwestern finished the first game in five innings, scoring five runs in the first two innings! They then hit another three more runs in the fourth inning. The Pirates won the first game in five innings, 9-1. 

In game one, senior Pitcher Madison Vela pitched all five innings, only allowing seven hits, a walk, and three strikeouts. Talk about holding off the other team! 

After getting swept in the first game, the Kangaroos came back with a strong offense, scoring the game’s first run. Although the game was close after the Kangaroos offensive surge, Southwestern refused to back down, scoring three runs in the sixth inning. This comeback sealed the second game.

In the final game of the series, Austin College came out swinging once again and scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning. However, Southwestern was quick to respond. Senior Meghan McCarthy hit a double, bringing in two runs in the top of the third inning. After that inning, the score was tied, 4-4.

This seemed to rattle the Kangaroos who were finally finding their edge, and the Pirates held them off while continuing to score, only allowing two errors.

The Lady Pirates finished the weekend 8-7 (WL). Their next game is a doubleheader at home against Carnegie Mellon University on March 7 starting at 4pm. Make sure to come out to the Taylor-Sanders field and show your support!

Men’s Lacrosse

The Pirates played in early February against Hendrix College, which they won 23-7. This put the team’s WL at 1-0. But the team didn’t let this win distract them and continued to practice. Over this past weekend, men’s lacrosse played two games: Virginia Wesleyan University at Virginia Beach, on Friday and William Peace University on Sunday March 2. 

Well, said practices paid off, earning them a win against Virginia Wesleyan, 19-8. This was remarkable, given that SU’s last game was two weeks before Virginia Wesleyan, while Virginia was 2-0 (WL) and their last game was five days ago. The Pirates had 52 shots on goal and won 14 of the 25 faceoffs. 

By the first half, SU was leading, 11-4. From there, they maintained their control over the game. Their leading scorers were #4, senior Cade McDonald with eight goals and an assist, closely followed by #14 Jackson Strauser with five goals. To add to the weekend’s excitement, freshman #7 Jake Trailer scored his first career goal only two minutes into the first quarter! They finished the game 19-8! 

 After beating Virginia Wesleyan, SU played William Peace University who was also 1-0 (WL). SU’s recent win against Virginia Wesleyan boosted their confidence, which you could see in the way the men played. 

The team immediately took control of the game and scored 17 in the first half. They only allowed two goals, one in each quarter, to get past them. By the end of the first half, the score was 17-2.  In the second half, SU showed their offensive dominance on the field. They maintained their control, scoring seven goals in the third quarter, and one more in the fourth quarter, and won the game, 25-5. McDonald, Strauser, and#11 Matthew Houtz each scored four goals, and Freshman #13 Keaten Cox scored three goals of his own, two in the second quarter and one more in the third quarter.

Men’s lacrosse team will be back home to play against Clark University this Saturday, March 8, at 11am. Be sure to come out and support your Pirates!

Basketball Award (Men’s and Women’s)

Basketball season might be over, but the teams celebrated their successful season by winning some awards. 

Starting with the men’s, freshman Jared Robins got the All-SCAC Freshman Team Award and an honorable mention for the All-SCAC. During his first season with the Pirates, Robins played 593 minutes, scored 231 points, and 12 assists. Junior Shobby Enakpene got an honorable mention for the All-SCAC award. This past season, Enakpene had a total playing time of 537 minutes, scored 181 points, and 48 assists. 

As for the women, sophomore Adrianma McCoy got the Third Team All Conference Award, and senior Ellie Ward and sophomore Trinity Benitez both got an honorable mention for  the All-SCAC. This past season, Benitez played 560 minutes, scoring 245 points and was often the team’s top scorer, and McCoy played 725 minutes, and scored 303 points. Ward finished her basketball career at Southwestern with a total playing time of 2,592 minutes, 204 assists, and 851 points. 

Although the athletic seasons are far from over, SU athletes are certainly their peers and families with their exceptional performances. We can only expect more greatness!