GAME ONE BOX

GAME TWO BOX

BATON ROUGE, La. – Prairie View A&M split a baseball doubleheader with Southern on Saturday as the Panthers won the opener 10-6 and dropped the nightcap 8-1.

The Panthers (17-14, 9-8 SWAC) erupted for seven runs in the first inning and turned the contest over to their defense from that point as they won the opener 10-6.

Prairie View A&M took advantage of SU's (20-13, 12-5) pitching woes early on as the first four runners reached base via walks for a 1-0 lead. The Jaguars made a pitching change as a result but PV continued to create havoc at the plate as James Rodriguez recorded a two-RBI single followed by Kyle Bible's two-RBI double. Brandon Williams also logged an RBI as the Panthers raced out to a 7-0 margin.

The lead grew to 8-0 after Rodriguez's RBI in the fourth frame. SU answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth but Colby Hines upped the lead back to an eight-run margin with an RBI double in the fifth. Southern attempted to mount a mini-rally with a run in the sixth and four runs in the ninth but the damage was done as the Panthers closed out game one with an important divisional win.

Hines led PV with a 3-for-4 outing which included two RBIs. Williams finished 3-for-5 at the plate while Bible drove in two RBIs. Junior Michael Listi picked up the win as he improved to 4-3 on the season after striking out six in 8.1 innings of action.

In game two, Southern broke open a tight game with a five-run seventh en route to an 8-1 win.

James Fontenot singled home in what turned out to be PV's lone run of the contest with a RBI in the second inning. Southern answered with a run in the bottom frame and put up two additional runs in the fifth and sixth frames for a 3-1 lead. Up by two runs entering the seventh, SU pulled away with a five-hit, fine-run seventh for the final margin.

Hines had another strong game with a 3-for-5 performance while Derrick Mitchell fell to 3-1 after logging six strikeouts in 6.1 innings of action.

The rubber match takes place on Sunday as both teams hit the field at 1 p.m. in Baton Rouge, La.