AUSTIN, Texas – Prairie View A&M split a doubleheader against a pesky Huston-Tillotson baseball squad on Tuesday at Downs Field.  The Panthers fell 5-4 in the opener before capturing an 8-5 win in game two.

With an opportunity to force extra innings, a routine throw to first base by Prairie View A&M in the bottom of the seventh turned into a critical error as it led to a 5-4 win by Huston-Tillotson in the opener.

HTU led the second off with a double and scored the game's first run on a sacrifice fly.  The Panthers jumped ahead in the top of the third as Walter Wells drew a walk, stole second and tied the game at 1-all on Cody Den Beste's RBI to left center.  One batter later, the Panthers increased their lead to 2-1 on Dominiq Harris' RBI single followed by a HTU throwing error at first which led to a 3-1 margin.  Christian Krushall doubled home PVAMU's fourth and final run of the inning as his hit scored Harris.

The Rams chipped away at the lead with RBIs in the third and fourth before tying it up after a PVAMU wild pitch in the sixth.  With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Huston-Tillotson hit a chopper back to the pitcher's mound but a throwing error paved the way for the winning run.

Prairie View A&M used a combination of clutch pitching and hitting to pull away from the Rams by an 8-5 margin in game two.

Prairie View A&M jumped on HTU starter Chris Samuel to open the first inning as Harris, Salcido and Krushall hit RBIs for the 3-0 lead.  However, the lead was short-lived as the Rams scored four times in the bottom of the first for a 4-3 advantage.  The Panthers knotted the game at 4-all in the second as pinch runner Josh Jefferson scored from second after HTU overthrew second base in a failed pickoff attempt.

In the top of the third, the Panthers had a prime opportunity to claim the lead but failed to cross home any runs despite having the bases loaded with one out.  After several frustrating innings, the Panthers finally broke through in the fifth as Wells hit a bases-loaded two-RBI double en route to a 6-4 lead. Despite the insurance run, Huston-Tillotson refused to go away as they drew to within one run at 6-5 in the bottom half.

Second baseman Jeff Sealy was hit by a pitch to open the seventh and Colby Hines made HTU pay with an RBI triple to the center field wall for a 7-5 margin.  Catcher Trey Price followed up Hines' RBI with a sacrifice fly to center for the 8-5 lead.

The Panthers return to action this weekend as they'll host SWAC rival Texas Southern at 1 p.m.  Prior to the game, the Panthers will hold a ribbon cutting for their recently renovated facility named John Tankersley Field.

Krushall finished 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI while Sealy had a 2-for-2 performance at the plate with two runs scored.  Chuck Ater picked up the win as he improved to 3-0 while Sam Grant earned his first save of the year.