GULFPORT, Miss. – The Western Division Champions will enter the 2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Softball Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the west and will face No. 4 seeded Jackson State.  The teams will meet in Gulfport, Mississippi at the Gulfport Sportsplex for a 3 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday, May 9.
 
The Lady Panthers had five players honored on Monday night during the softball reception.  Junior Biviana Figueroa and Cailin Massey earned all-SWAC first-team honors, while sophomore Aerin Talley, freshman Mia Nunez, and junior Jerrica Rojas were named to the SWAC second team.  Talley took home the SWAC Newcomer of the Year Honors.  Head Coach Vernon Bland also received honors as the SWAC Coach of the Year.
 
The Lady Panthers (22-2 SWAC) enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed from the Western Division. Grambling State claimed the Western Division No. 2 seed (15-9 SWAC), while Texas Southern claimed the No. 3 seed (12-12 SWAC) followed by No. 4 seed Alcorn State (11-13 SWAC).
 
Alabama State (17-7 SWAC) enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed from the Eastern Division. Bethune-Cookman claimed the Eastern Division No. 2 seed (15-9 SWAC), while Florida A&M claimed the No. 3 seed (13-11 SWAC) followed by No. 4 seed Jackson State (13-11 SWAC).

The tournament will be played in a double-elimination format with action set to start at 9:00 a.m. CST on Tuesday, May 9^th with games slated to run through May 12^th.
 
If necessary, the final tournament championship game has been scheduled for Saturday, May 13^th.  All tournament games will be available live on the SWAC Digital Network.
 
The Natalia, Texas junior catcher Figueroa, leads the team in hitting a team-best .344.  She has started and played in all 42 contests and has scored 23 runs, with 44 hits, seven doubles, 20 RBI, and three home runs.
 
Massey a native of Fort Smith, Ark., doubles as a pitcher and a hitter in some cases.  Inside the circle, the Lady Panthers ace has a 10-5 record with a 3.71 ERA and 43 strikeouts.  She has a pitched 71.1 thus far this season.  At the plate, she is averaging .324 on 37 at-bats.  She has scored three runs for 12 hits, one double, two home runs, and nine RBI on the season.
 
Newcomer of the Year Talley is a product of Spencer, Okla.  The third baseman is fifth on the team at the plate with a .261 average.  She is third on the team scoring 19 runs, 18 hits, one triple, a season-high of six home runs, and 27 RBI.
 
Freshman Mia Nunez is second on the team in hitting a .328.  The outfielder has played and started in 40 games and leads the team in runs scored (36), and second on the team with 41 hits, ranks first with 11 doubles and seven home runs.
 
Rojas also doubles as a pitcher and hitter when called on.  Inside the circle, Rojas has an 8-2 overall record on 16 appearances on the mound.  She has a career-best 2.55 earned run average, and 43 strikeouts in 71.1 innings pitched.

In his 11^th season as the head coach of the Prairie View A&M softball team, Vernon Bland has guided PVAMU to a 22-2 overall conference record.  This is the Lady Panthers' best league record in the history of the program, earning Bland a Western division title and the Southwestern Athletics Conference Coach of the Year Award. 

Bland collected the 200^th victory of his career on March 8, 2023, against Arkansas Pine Bluff, after sweeping the series.  He is the winningest softball coach in Prairie View A&M history.  The Lady Panthers started their conference run with a 17-0 SWAC win record winning six SWAC series with a three-game win sweep. 

Prairie View A&M is two games away from tying the school record of 30 wins, which was currently done under Coach Bland's umbrella in 2019 when PVAMU fell short of winning a back-to-back SWAC Championship.  

The complete list of awardees can be found on swac.org

 Here is the complete tournament bracket. Please click here to purchase tickets for the event. 

Tuesday, May 9
Game 1 – (E2) Bethune-Cookman vs. (W3) Texas Southern, 9:00 a.m.
Game 2 – (W2) Grambling State vs. (E3) Florida A&M, 12:00 p.m.
Game 3 – (W1) Prairie View A&M vs. (E4) Jackson State, 3:00 p.m.
Game 4 – (E1) Alabama State vs. (W4) Alcorn State, 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, May 10
Game 5 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 9:00 a.m.
Game 6 – Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4, 12:00 p.m.
Game 7 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 3:00 p.m.
Game 8 – Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4, 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 11
Game 9 – Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 7
Game 10 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8
Game 12 – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10

Friday, May 12
Game 13 – Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 11
Game 14 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13

Saturday, May 13 (if necessary)
Game 15 – Championship Game 2
 
Keep up with all the latest news and information for PVAMU athletics by following pvpanthers.com as well as through Twitter via the PVAMU general sports account (@PVAMUPanthers). You can also follow along on Instagram.com/pvamupanther
 
How to Follow:
- The game can be heard via listen. Fans can watch it here or if you are in the area you can purchase tickets online here.