BOX SCORE EDINBURG, Texas – A two-run eighth inning broke open a close game as Northwestern State edged Prairie View A&M 5-2 in the opener of the Al Ogletree Classic in Edinburg, Texas on Friday.
Northwestern State scored the game's first run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly but the Panthers regrouped in the fifth as Walter Wells drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored on a Josh Jefferson single. The Panthers moved ahead 2-1 on Robert Cossey's sacrifice RBI which scored Michael Pittman II, who reached on an error.
The Demons played small ball in the bottom of the fifth as they drew two walks and stole a pair of bases to move into scoring position. A PVAMU error allowed NSU to knot the contest at 2-all followed by a grounder in which another run was scored for the 3-2 margin.
Prairie View A&M had a prime opportunity to score in the sixth as Greg Salcido and Dominiq Harris opened the inning with back-to-back singles which forced a NSU pitching change. A Jeff Sealy sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position followed by a walk from Wells which loaded the bases. Unfortunately, the momentum stalled instantly as the inning came to a close with a double play.
The Panthers opened the bottom of the eighth with two quick outs but ran into trouble as a hit batter, error and single loaded the bases. NSU moved ahead 4-2 on a wild pitch and added its fifth run with a bases loaded walk. PVAMU's Trey Price reached base with two outs in the ninth but Prairie View A&M's hopes stalled on a game-ending strikeout.
Salcido led the way with a 2-for-4 at the plate performance while Jonathan Mata fell to 0-2 on the season despite allowing only three hits.
The tourney continues on Saturday as PVAMU will face Texas-Pan American at 3 p.m.
