PRAIRIE VIEW – The Prairie View A&M baseball team (10-16, 10-7 SWAC) dropped a 5-2 decision to Grambling State (15-20, 12-4 SWAC) Friday evening at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park.

How it Happened:
Though Grambling State jumped on the board quickly with a first-pitch home run and tacked on an unearned run in the third inning, the Panthers chipped away at the 2-0 deficit, breaking through in the middle innings.

In the sixth, Demarie' Smith reached via single and moved to second thanks to a passed ball. After advancing to third base on a foul-out, Smith scored on a Benjamin Ybarra sac fly to bring the Panthers within one. In the seventh, Brayden Johnson was struck by a pitch to open the inning. After Johnson moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, Andrew Garcia belted a RBI double to right field to tie the game.

However, the Tigers scratched three runs across in the bottom of the eighth and the Panthers were unable to rally in the ninth.

Key Stats:
Johnson and Garcia each had a pair of hits. Kyle Smith went 7.2 innings and allowed two earned runs while striking out four, but was charged with the loss.

Next Up:
The teams will conclude the series tomorrow in doubleheader action, a schedule change made in anticipation of inclement weather Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

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