PRAIRIE VIEW – The Prairie View A&M baseball team (12-16, 12-7 SWAC) handled Grambling State (15-20, 12-6 SWAC) during both sides of Saturday doubleheader action, taking down the Tigers by scores of 15-4 and 12-1 at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park.

How it Happened:
GAME 1 (PVAMU won 15-4): Sebastian Coria and Demarie' Smith each had early RBIs as the teams battled to a 2-2 tie after two innings, but the Panthers broke open the contest in the top of the third as Avery Williams put the Panthers ahead with a RBI single to score Benjamin Ybarra. After a Zachary Trevino sacrifice fly brought home Brayden Johnson, Paul Castro slapped a two-run double to right field. Grambling scrapped a run across in the fourth, but the Panthers responded with a Smith RBI single in the fifth. The Tigers added another thanks to a Cameron Bufford – his second of the game – but the Panthers buried any hope of a Grambling comeback with another four-run spurt in the seventh inning, highlighted by a two-run single from Coria. Prairie View added a trio of runs late thanks to pitching gaffes, and Smith added a sac fly to score Trevino in the ninth.

Victor Mendoza got the win with 5.2 innings of work, allowing three earned runs on eight hits. Williams was 4-for-6 with three runs scored, and Trevino and Andrew Garcia also scored three runs each. Five other Panthers had multiple hits, with Coria going 3-for-6 while Smith, Ybarra, Castro and Johnson had two hits each.

GAME 2: (PVAMU won 12-1, F/8): The Panthers dominated Grambling starter Kimani Bailey from the start, pouncing on the Tigers for a 5-0 lead after 2.5 innings. In the second, Garcia posted a RBI single while Smith brought him home on a RBI groundout. Garcia struck again in the third inning, this time with a two-run single to right field. Alex Martinez later scored on an error during a Williams steal. The Tigers managed a RBI sac fly in the bottom of the third, but that was the lone hiccup for senior Tyler Laux, who hurled his best outing of the season to quiet the Tigers bats. From there, the Panthers' offense took care of the remaining business. In the top of the fifth, Garcia and Castro scored on wild pitches, and Trevino bashed a two-run homer to make it 9-1. The Panthers pushed three runs across over the seventh and eighth innings to take the run-rule win.

Garcia led with a 3-for-5 day at the plate, scoring two runs. Ybarra and Johnson each had two hits and two runs. Laux allowed five hits in 7.0 innings of work, striking out four on his way to the victory.

Next Up:
PVAMU heads to Nicholls State for a May 5 contest. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

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