GAME 1 BOX SCORE
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
The Prairie View A&M Panthers continued their dominance in Southwestern Athletic Conference play, picking up two home wins on Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Panthers started the day with a convincing 9-5 win in Game 1 and closed up the back end of the double-header with a 3-2 comeback win.
Prairie View took advantage of a solid performance by starting pitcher
Michael Listi in Game 1. He held his ground after three errors behind him led to a 4-0 deficit for the Panthers after just one inning. UAPB scored those four runs off of three hits and three errors.
However, Listi held his composure and threw five innings of one-hit baseball after the first. He didn't give up another run until the top of the seventh when Christian Weeber led off the inning with a solo homer. Listi finished the game, having surrendered just two earned runs in seven innings, picking up the win thanks to Dominiq Harris,
Brett Valley and the Panther offense, which provided nine runs off of 15 hits.
The Panthers erased UAPB's lead after a three-run second inning and a one-run fourth tied the game. Harris, who finished 4-for-4 with four runs scored, led off the fifth inning with a single.
Evan Richard used a sac bunt to advance Harris to second, followed by a
Sterling Smith single to put runners at the corners for Valley. Valley hit a two-RBI double to the right-center field wall. This was followed by a Stef Hernandez RBI single, which opened the floodgates to give the Panthers a pivotal 7-4 lead. Valley was clutch with runners in scoring position, finishing the game with two hits and five RBIs
In Game 2 the Panthers turned to
Derrick Mitchell and DeLeon Boyd to keep the score close while the Panthers tried to heat up at the plate again. Mitchell went seven innings, giving up five hits with two earned runs. He was relieved by Boyd in the eighth with the Golden Lions ahead 2-1. Boyd pitched two scoreless innings, and the Panthers put together a two-run rally in the eighth that would prove to be the determining factor.
With the bases loaded, Harris scored on a passed ball to tie the game, and
James Fontenot followed it up with an RBI single to score
Evan Richard for the go-ahead run.
Boyd picked up the win, and the Panthers improved to 13-8 with a 6-1 SWAC record, while Arkansas-Pine Bluff dropped to 3-20-1 (2-6 SWAC). Prairie View A&M and the Golden Lions will finish the three-game series Sunday at 1 p.m. in Prairie View.
