PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Prairie View A&M Panthers finally experienced the comforts of home Sunday and took full advantage as they defeated Southern 7-1.
 
Edgar Sanchez tossed a complete-game gem, striking out nine batters and allowing only four hits and single unearned run to pick up his second win of the season. PVAMU designated hitter Shannon Washington went 3-for-3 with a home run and five RBIs.
 
The Panthers (5-8) improved to 3-2 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. Southern (3-10) saw its record in the SWAC West Division fall to 2-3.
 
Sunday's game was the first for the Panthers at their home ballpark, Tankersley Field on the Prairie View A&M campus. The game scheduled for Friday was postponed, and Saturday's contest was moved to the Premier Baseball of Texas complex in Tomball. PVAMU also had a non-conference game with Incarnate Word rained out last month.
 
Seven of the nine players in the Panthers' starting lineup knocked base hits in the game, with Angel Avalos and Kevin Macias collecting two base hits and one RBI apiece.
 
Southern's starting pitcher Harold Myles absorbed the loss for the Jaguars after giving up five earned runs over two and one-thirds innings. The Panthers hit him early, with Kevin Gurka leading off the bottom of the first inning with a single, moving to second on a wild pitch and then immediately scoring on Macias' single.
 
After getting Darrien Williams to pop out to foul territory, Myles hit Cody Den Beste with a pitch, moving Macias to second. Another wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, before both Macias and Den Beste scored on Washington's two-RBI single.
 
Washington's third RBI in the third inning scored Williams, who reached base with a double. The next batter Avalos stretched PVAMU's lead to 5-0 with an RBI single to right-centerfield to score Den Beste, who had also singled to that particular spot.
 
Meanwhile, Sanchez gave Jaguars hitters all sorts of trouble while the Panthers kept pulling away. Sanchez retired the Jaguars in order in six of the nine innings he pitched, and needed to throw only 110 pitches en route to his complete game.
 
Sanchez retired the first eight batters he faced before speedy centerfielder Javeayan Williams reached base with an infield single. Williams was the only Southern player to give Sanchez much trouble, as he went 2-for-3 on Sunday.
 
Sunday's game marked the second consecutive start in which Sanchez has struck out nine batters; he also struck out nine over six and two-thirds innings in a win at Texas Southern last weekend.
 
Washington pushed PVAMU's lead to 7-0 with a two-run home run over the right-centerfield fence for his first homer in a PVAMU uniform.
 
The Panthers play five games on the road this week, starting with a doubleheader Tuesday in San Antonio against Incarnate Word. What was supposed to be a single game turned into two when rains washed out the first meeting between the two teams in Waller County.
 
PVAMU will travel to Arkansas over the weekend for a three-game series at Arkansas–Pine Bluff starting Friday.