GEORGETOWN, Texas -- A career-long outing from starter Dalton Pickett was not enough for the LeTourneau baseball team in a 2-0 loss at Southwestern in game one of a three-game series on Friday night at Rockwell Field.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for LeTourneau (5-8).

Pickett was outstanding for a second straight start. The right-hander went a career-long eight innings and allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out a career-high eight.

Pickett (1-1) threw 116 pitches, 78 of which were strikes. He's thrown 15 innings and allowed just three earned runs with 13 strikeouts in his last two starts.

He was matched, though, by Southwestern starter Carson Brown who went 7.1 innings and picked up seven strikeouts and scattered six hits and one walk. Brown (2-1) totaled 122 pitches.

LeTourneau had its chances to score early on. Zach Zarko led off the game with a single and stole second, but a double play and a lineout ended the YellowJacket threat.

In the second, Carter Amarantos singled to start the frame and later tried to score on Ethan Wood's single to right field but was thrown out to end the inning.

The YellowJackets had a runner in scoring position in both the sixth and eighth innings, but came up empty.

Zarko went 2-for-4 on the night and stole four bases.

Southwestern (6-5) scored twice in the sixth to break the scoreless game. James Vaquero had an RBI single and Maxwell Mims added a run-scoring single of his own to account for the game's only two runs.

LeTourneau out-hit the host Pirates, 7-5.

Greg Ferguson collected his second save of the year for the Pirates after getting the final five outs.

UP NEXT

The teams complete the series with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m.

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