BOX SCORE

DALLAS - The Prairie View A&M Panthers were swept in the three-game series against Dallas Baptist after losing an 11-4 contest Saturday afternoon in Dallas at Patriot Field.
 
Prairie View A&M, which was held scoreless against the Patriots (21-9) in the first two games, adjusted to the speed of DBU pitching and finally got some runs up on the board against a team that Panthers coach Waskyla Cullivan referred to one of the best in the stacked state of Texas.
 
“The weekend was very challenging for us,” Cullivan said. “We came down to Dallas Baptist and they are better than a lot of people think. We got to see 90 mph pitching all weekend. We went up against a top-tier program and they outplayed us.  This is a team that was one game away from going to Omaha last year.”
 
Though the Panthers faced an 8-1 deficit after two innings they fought back to within four runs after scoring a run in the third and then two in the fourth off of DBU starter Andrew Elkins. Catcher Evan Richard got things going for the Panthers in the fourth with a double. Then Darryl Johnson swapped spots with him on the RBI double. Center fielder Colby Hines then singled, advancing Johnson to third. This forced Patriots coach Dan Heefner to make a pitching change. One passed ball and one walk later the bases were loaded for James Fontenot, who reached on a fielder's choice and drove in Johnson for the score.
 
The Panthers were held scoreless by the DBU bullpen from that point, but Cullivan said his team will learn from its experience.
 
“It let us know what we need to improve on this season and showed us the type of competition that we will face in a regional,” Cullivan said.
 
Fontenot went 1-for-5 but finished with three RBIs for the Panthers. Oliver hit 2-for-2 with a run scored and a base on ball while Johnson went 1-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored as the Panthers fell to 18-14 on the season.
 
Prairie View A&M looks to snap its four-game losing streak by picking up some more Southwestern Athletic Conference wins against Texas Southern at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the MLB Urban Academy in Houston at Sylvester Turner Park. The double-header will be played on Saturday, and the third game will start at 1 p.m. Sunday in MacGregor Park. The Panthers (9-2 SWAC) are 2-0 against TSU this season.
 
“This will be a big weekend for us,” Cullivan said. “It's always tough when you have to play your rival on the road. We're starting off the second half SWAC play. So we're going to act like we're 0-0. I told the kids not to look at their record, because we're going to get their best shot.”