The Southwest Cowboys varsity baseball team opened up state tournament play by defeating the visiting Hopewell Titans, 11-3. Kyle Blendinger got the win for the Cowboys, allowing only one hit in his six innings of work.  He struck out nine before giving way to Sean McIntosh for the seventh inning.

The Cowboys scored two runs in the fist inning on Isaiah Hairston’s double to right-center field, scoring Tom Grose and Garrison Thornton.  The second inning was a little sloppy for the Cowboys as they gave up 2 unearned runs on two walks and two errors.  The Cowboys settled down after that, scoring on Mason Chu’s RBI single in the third and Thornton’s 2-RBI double in the fourth.  The Cowboys scored two more runs in the fifth on Tommy Zente’s RBI double and a passed ball that allowed Zente to score.  The Cowboys biggest inning came in the sixth as they sent nine batters to the plate.  Highlights for the inning include a long sacrifice fly by Blendinger and hits from Grose and Jason Coble.  For the game, the Cowboys collected 10 hits, including two each from AJ Allen and Thornton.

With the win, the Cowboys advance to the second round where they will face the winner of the first round contest between Myers Park and conference rival Northwest Guilford.  The game will be played at the Ranch on Friday night at 7pm, weather permitting.