HOUSTON, Texas --Senior Victor Mendoza registered five strikeouts in four innings of work in the Prairie View A&M Panthers 5-3 win over the Texas Southern Tigers on Saturday.

In addition to his five strikeouts, Mendoza went four shutout innings without giving up a hit and walking three for Prairie View A&M (2-0). Junior Matthew Krall (1-0) also made an impact on the mound for the Panthers, starting the ballgame and throwing five innings, giving up three runs, all earned, on two hits, with one walk and three strikeouts.

In the batter's box, the Panthers were paced by freshman Michael Smith, who went 2-for-4 on the day with two RBI. Junior Tyran Norris put together a standout day at the plate as well, going 2-for-3.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Trailing 3-0, the Panthers first put runs on the board in the fifth inning.

The score stayed at 3-3 until the very next inning, when the Panthers put runs on the scoreboard once again. Senior Marshal Jonas came across to score the lone run of the inning for Prairie View A&M, which brought the score to 4-3 in favor of the Panthers.

Prairie View A&M held Texas Southern without a run before expanding their lead to 5-3 the following inning. The Panthers scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Smith. The score remained 5-3 for the rest of the game, as Prairie View A&M held on for the win.

GAME NOTES
» Mendoza struck out five Tigers hitters.
» Prairie View A&M's highest-scoring inning was the fifth when it pushed three runs across.
» The Panthers out-hit the Tigers at an 8-2 clip.
» Prairie View A&M pitchers faced 33 Texas Southern hitters in the game, allowing five ground balls and 14 fly balls while striking out eight.
» Smith led the Panthers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
» Texas Southern was led offensively by senior Michael Goudeau, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI.
» Junior Isaac Garcia led the Tigers pitching staff, throwing two innings of one-run ball.