ONE NO-HITTER NOT ENOUGH; HIGGINS THROWS TWO IN NINE DAYS In softball and baseball, not allowing a hit for an entire game is difficult to say the least.
 
On a check swing, the ball can find its way into the outfield. A ground ball headed right for a defender can hit a pebble on the ground and carom in a total different direction away from the defense. On a windy day, a routine fly ball can become a home run.
 
Prairie View A&M sophomore pitcher Ashley Higgins has defied the softball odds not once, but twice this season. She threw her first career no-hitter on March 20 vs. Jarvis Christian, yielding two walks and striking out four with one hitter reaching base via error in the 8-0, five-inning win.
 
This past Tuesday, Higgins threw her second no-no, striking out three while walking one with one hit batter in the 8-0 win.
 
"I'm very excited," said the sophomore from Bellville (HS), Texas who also threw a one-hitter last Friday against Miss. Valley State. "Those were the first two no-hitters of my college career.  My parents are very excited, and so is my family. Honestly I don't remember if I ever threw a no hitter in high school. I was just a dominant pitcher, but I can't remember if I ever threw a no hitter."
 
Of course, the silent treatment in the dugout was real, which is typical in the sport as no teammate wants to talk about it for fear of jinxing it. However, none of it phased Higgins, who was locked in.
 
"Really, it was just a matter of staying focused," Higgins said. "My dad wasn't at the Huston-Tillotson game to remind me between every pitch, but I could hear him in mind saying "stay focused, stay focused." At the end of the game, I honestly didn't realize it was a no hitter until they (my teammates) told me in the circle."
 
Head softball coach Vernon Bland, a PVAMU Sports Hall of Fame pitcher, knows what it's like in the moment.
 
"With no hitters, it's kind of an unwritten rule that you don't say anything to the pitchers," said Bland, who was a star pitcher for the Panthers and owner of three no-hitters "The teammates let the pitcher sit alone by themselves so they don't jinx them. As a pitcher, you know when they don't have a hit."
 
Higgins and the Lady Panthers (11-19, 4-2), who are tied for first in the SWAC's Western Division, will host Southern (11-9, 3-2) this weekend in a key conference series.
 

TRACK BACK ON THE RUN AT TEXAS RELAYS, TEXAS STATE Coming off a successful and triumphant return of the PV Relays, the Panther track and field teams are back in action with athletes competing at both the Texas Relays in Austin and the Texas State Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos.
 
The men's 4x100 relay team of Keon Campbell, Samuel Omoera, William Polley, and Quinton Bell posted a time of 39.88 last week, among the fastest in the nation. The first rankings of the outdoor season will be released Monday.

WHITE NAMED SWAC BOWLING COACH OF THE YEAR PVAMU head bowling coach Glenn White was selected as the 2017 SWAC Bowling Coach of the Year last week during the league's championship event.
 
White led the Lady Panthers to the 2017 SWAC Regular Season Championship, the first in program's history. The program also achieved its highest national ranking in school history, ascending to 15^th in the national poll.
 
The 19^th ranked Lady Panthers posted a 20-4 mark in SWAC play this season with a pinfall of 13,256 to claim the regular season crown. The championship was highlighted by a perfect 300 game rolled by 2017 SWAC Freshman Of The Year Katelyn Dickerson on the final day of the second roundup.
 
PVAMU Bowling has won three SWAC titles and posted three runners-up finishes in the past eight years.

FOOTBALL SEASON TICKET RENEWALS END APRIL 7 Season Ticket renewals for Panther Football are available through Friday, April 7.
 
The 2017 home schedule features four home games at Panther Stadium, starting with the Sept. 10 home opener against Sam Houston St. Renewals can be made over the phone by calling 936-261-3951 or 936-261-3970. New season ticket purchases will begin on May 1.
 
Willie Simmons, who is the first Panthers head football coach to post winning seasons in his first two campaigns since 1966-67, and his staff will host junior day this Saturday on the PVAMU campus. Currently in the fourth week of spring drills, football will conclude spring practice with the Purple and Gold Game Saturday, April 8 at 2 p.m. at Panther Stadium.

TENNIS ON ROAD IN LOUISIANA The Panther tennis teams will play a pair of matches in Lafayette, La. this weekend.
 
The Lady Panthers will face Louisiana Lafayette Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. The men's team will play a pair of matches, as they'll play Southern Miss Saturday and Louisiana Lafayette Sunday morning.  
 
Both teams are gearing up for the SWAC Championships April 14-16 in New Orleans, La.

BASEBALL AT GRAMBLING The Prairie View A&M University baseball team will conclude the first half of SWAC Western Division play at Grambling State this weekend.
 
The teams will open the series Friday night. Due to expected rain on Sunday, the teams will play a doubleheader Saturday afternoon.
 
The Panthers (10-21, 4-5) have won three games in a row. After Sunday's win in the final game of the series against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, PVAMU swept a Tuesday doubleheader against Huston-Tillotson, highlight by a five-run seventh inning to win 12-11 in the nightcap.
 
OF Cody Den Beste has continued his torrid pace at the plate, hitting a career-high .380 (fourth in SWAC) with two home runs and 20 RBI (t-4^th/SWAC). He is third in the SWAC in slugging percentage (.593), tied-seventh in on-base percentage (.453), tied for seventh in runs scored (19), is second in hits (41), tied for first in both doubles (nine) and triples (four), and is first in both total bases (64) and times hit by pitch (11).
 
PVAMU and Grambling St. (8-16, 4-5) are tied for third in the SWAC's Western Division, one loss behind second-place UAPB (6-17, 5-4) and two losses behind first-place Texas Southern (8-17, 8-3).