After Wednesday’s disappointment in a split with East Central to open conference play, the No. 13 Lady Bears got back to their winning ways Sunday picking up a pair of road victories at Coahoma CC. Southwest won Game 1 9-0 and Game 2, 13-1.

“The girls played really well,” SMCC head coach She Johnson said. “It was a long drive and we had to leave early. We did what we were supposed to do to get two wins.”

In the Game 1 win, the Lady Bears relied heavily upon the pristine pitching of starter Jensen Gremillion and relievers Cora Robinson and Kaylynn Vicknair — who all combined for a one-hitter — and an offense led by leadoff hitter Lilli Robertson who posted a 3-for-3, three runs scored performance.

“Today we did what we were supposed to do and we put the ball in play,” Robertson said. “We hit the ball really hard and we were really aggressive on the bases.”

Right out of the gate, Robertson made an impact for the Lady Bears (16-1, 3-1). She singled and scored two batters later when Aundria Eirls reached on an error. Two at bats later, Southwest added its second run when Mel Lewis took advantage of a Lady Tiger error making the score 2-0.

The lone hit of the contest for Coahoma led off the second, but the runner didn’t spend long on the base paths as she was thrown out at second by catcher Abby Myers following a Gremillion strikeout.

Gremillion got into a groove in the second, striking out the side. She received additional help from her offense in the third when Eirls stole home for Southwest’s third run of the game.

The Lady Bears pulled away even further in the fourth when Kayci Beth Wallace, Robertson and Lewis all walked to begin the inning. Wallace then stole home before Eirls, Halee Jenkins and Bailey Buckley were hit by pitches during consecutive at bats. The latter two of the three plated another two runs. Next up was Myers who hit into a fielder’s choice bringing Eirls home, pushing the visitors’ lead to 7-0.

After Robinson came on in the fourth and retired the side in order while recording a strikeout, the Lady Bears scored their remaining two runs in the fifth on an RBI single from Kacey Stampley and Robertson scoring on a wild pitch.

Vicknair closed out the game in similar fashion to Robinson with a 1-2-3 inning while also picking up a strikeout.

In Game 2, Southwest got another strong pitching outing, this time from the duo of starter Madi Smith and reliever Emme Wallace. That — combined with a big offensive performance — helped the Lady Bears shine.

Both Buckley and Eirls led the charge for the Lady Bears combining for five hits, all of which were doubles.

“I’ve been in a slump so today I knew that I had to make some adjustments just to get a hit,” said Buckley who led the team with four RBIs.

Just like the beginning of Game 1, Southwest was the first team to strike offensively in Game 2. Myers singled in Robertson before both she and Jenkins touched home during the ensuing at bat when Buckley doubled to left.

Already leading 3-0, the Lady Bears broke the game open in the second. RBI singles from Kayci Beth Wallace and Lewis were complemented by RBI doubles from Buckley, Eirls and Sarah Stockstill. Southwest also got additional runs from a Jenkins bases-loaded walk, Robertson reaching on an error and a Myers sacrifice fly. When the dust settled, the Lady Bears enjoyed a 12-0 advantage.

With the big lead, Smith went back to work continuing to shut down the Lady Tigers.

The 13^th run for Southwest came in the third when Buckley reached on an error, allowing Eirls to score.

Coahoma rallied late with a run before Emme Wallace shut the door on the game with a strikeout.

The Lady Bears continue their road trip on Wednesday making the short drive north to Wesson to face No. 4 Co-Lin.