LONGVIEW, Texas —In non-conference play the Prairie View A&M University softball team faced Jarvis Christian at Lear Park, and in a fight to the finish they defeated the Lady Bulldogs 9-7.
Following a quick first inning, the Lady Panthers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second frame after
Laurisa Hernandez registered the first hit for PVAMU and
Alyssa Garcia's RBI double down to right field scoring Hernandez.
Prairie View A&M tacked on three more runs in the top of the third inning when
Kellady Johnson hit an infield single.
Shelby Williams reached base on a bunt advancing Johnson to second. On a passed ball and wild pitch Johnson scored. After taking a free base,
Destinee Williams advanced to second on a stolen base as well. S. Williams stole another base to come across the plate. With a runner on first and second
Kelsey Coronado singled to left field scoring D. Williams giving the Lady Panthers a 4-0 lead.
Jarvis Christian kept the game close, scoring four runs in their half of the third inning to knot the score at 4-4.
The Lady Panthers would take the lead again in the fourth inning, getting ahead 7-4. Johnson (2-for-3) reached base on a single up the middle to start the hitting off for the Lady Panthers.
Briana Knowles bunted reaching base and Johnson advanced to second. D. Williams hit a double down the right field line scoring Johnson, while Knowles moved to third. On a missed catch by the right fielder
Kylar Ward-Flowers reached base and both Knowles and D. Williams came across the plate to advance the lead to three (7-4).
In the seventh, Ward-Flowers doubled to right-center.
Tianna Thomas ran for Ward-Flowers before Hernandez double to left advancing Thomas, who only got to third.
Brooke Dibler pinched ran for Hernandez, before
Kelsey Coronado hit a sac fly to left to score Thomas. A. Garcia singled to left scoring Dibler to take a 9-6 lead.
The Lady Bulldogs would threaten in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on base.
Ashley Higgins came on the mound in place of
Taylor Drury, (who came in mid of the third for VanessaDelgadillo) to close out the inning. Jarvis Christian scored for a final time and PVAMU escaped with its sixth consecutive win.
Drury (6-9) picked up the win and Higgins got the save for PV. In Drury's 3.1 inning pitched she struck out three and only walked one.
Hitter of the Week A. Garcia was 2-for-4 on the day with 2 RBIs. Hernandez and Coronado both ended the evening 2-for-3.
The Lady Panthers return to action this weekend when they take on SWAC opponent Grambling State for a three-game series at Grambling. The two teams will play the first game on Friday at 3 p.m. before doubleheader action on Saturday with a noon first pitch. Fans can listen to the game live on pvpanthers.com
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