The Prairie View A&M baseball team (4-13, 4-5 SWAC) outlasted Texas Southern (8-20, 7-7 SWAC) 4-2 during Southwestern Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Tankersley Field.
“We competed today, and we had quality at-bats when we needed them as opposed to yesterday,” PVAMU Head Baseball Coach Auntwan Riggins said. “Yet, we still tried to give them the game and gifted them two runs. Fortunately, we were able to get a couple of big two-out hits, and you need things like that to win. Someone different has to step up every day, and that’s what happened. We want to win this series, and we had to win today to have the opportunity to do that.
How it Happened:
A pitcher’s duel early on, freshman Victor Mendoza kept the Tigers off balance early, allowing just one hit through six innings. However, it wasn’t until the bottom of the fifth where the Panthers broke through as Andrew Garcia tripled to right field to score Paul Castro, who led off with a double. Demarie’ Smith followed with a two-out RBI single to bring home Garcia, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
After PVAMU squandered a prime chance in the sixth where the Panthers were unable to capitalize on a bases loaded situation with no outs, Texas Southern struck back in the top of the seventh after Mendoza allowed a leadoff single to Oscar Ponce and walked Dean Salazar with one out. However, an errant throw to right field allowed both runners to move into scoring position, and Jordan Vidato followed with a two-run single with two outs to tie the game.
The Panthers put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth, as an Avery Williams double was followed by the go-ahead RBI single by Brayden Johnson. After pinch-runner Tre Turner easily swiped second, Christian Mendez belted a double to left that brought Turner home. That was all that Panthers reliever Derrick Curry would need, as he struck out the side in the top of the ninth for the win.
Mendoza struck out 11 in 7.0 innings of work, allowing just three hits. Curry got the win, fanning five in 2.0 innings of work.
“From Victor’s first outing of the season, we knew he’d be one of our weekend starters,” Riggins said. “When he comes to the mound, we know that he’ll give us a good chance to win. He competes and he throws strikes, and I’m glad to have him. Curry looked a lot like himself today, and it was a welcome sight.”
Johnson led PVAMU with two hits. The Panthers go for the series win tomorrow afternoon, with first pitch set for 1 p.m.