BRYANT - COLLEGE STATION --The Prairie View A&M Panthers took a 9-6 lead into the eighth inning, but could not hang on and fell 11-9 to the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies Wednesday.
Junior Leonardo Bravo (3-1) came out of the bullpen for Prairie View A&M (11-12) and took the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers got the scoring started early, putting three runs on the board in the top of the first inning. Prairie View A&M scored three times, all of them coming across on a three-run homer off the bat of junior Tyran Norris.
The Panthers then lost some of their lead, expanding on their advantage in the second inning after the Aggies cut it to 3-2. Senior Derrek Lathon came across to score the lone run of the inning for Prairie View A&M, which brought the Panthers lead to 4-2.
Prairie View A&M's lead had evaporated once the third inning came around and turned into a 5-4 Texas A&M advantage when the Panthers evened up the game at five. The Panthers scored once on an RBI single off the bat of freshman Garland Parker.
The game remained tied until the very next inning when Prairie View A&M got moving again on offense. The Panthers scored twice on freshman Michael Smith's two-run homer, bringing the Prairie View A&M advantage to 7-5.
Texas A&M got within 7-6 until the Panthers scored again in the seventh inning to stretch its lead to 9-6. Prairie View A&M managed to push across two runs in the inning. The Panthers were unable to hold the lead, as Texas A&M scored five times over the remaining two innings to grab the 11-9 win.
GAME NOTES
» Smith drove in four runs for the Panthers.
» Every Panthers starter reached base safely in the loss.
» Prairie View A&M's highest-scoring inning was the first when it pushed three runs across.
» Prairie View A&M went 4-for-13 (.308) with runners in scoring position.
» Prairie View A&M pitchers faced 47 Texas A&M hitters in the game, allowing two ground balls and 20 fly balls while striking out two.
» The Panthers drew nine walks from Texas A&M pitching.
» Smith led the Panthers at the plate, going 1-for-4 with a home run and four RBI.
» Texas A&M was led offensively by sophomore Jace LaViolette, who went 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI.
» Freshman Isaac Morton led the Aggies pitching staff, throwing 2.2 shutout innings.
