GULFPORT, Miss. - Prairie View A&M saw its SWAC Championship Tournament run end Wednesday morning when Jackson St. pulled away for an 8-2 victory in an elimination quarterfinal at the Gulfport Sportsplex.
The decisive stretch came after the Panthers trimmed a five-run deficit in the sixth inning. Prairie View broke through with two runs in the frame, getting a triple from Morgan Smith and RBI singles from Martiza Martinez and Isabela Rodriguez to cut the margin to 5-2. But Jackson St. answered immediately in the seventh, using a leadoff triple from Jace Jackson and run-scoring extra-base hits from Meah Almaraz and Brooklyn Morris to restore control and put the game away.
Prairie View finished with six hits and played error-free defense, but could not consistently solve Morris in the circle. Jackson St.'s right-hander went the distance, allowing two runs on six hits over seven innings while striking out four and walking three.Â
The Panthers' sixth-inning push briefly created momentum after Jackson St. had controlled the game through the opening five innings. Smith's triple helped set the tone in the inning, Martinez drove in a run with a single, and Rodriguez followed with another RBI knock. Prairie View also showed aggressiveness on the bases, matching Jackson St. with four stolen bases, but the Panthers were limited to one scoring inning and left six runners on base.
Wednesday's game drew an attendance of 280. for Prairie View, the loss closed the Panthers' tournament stay in Gulfport after a brief surge in the sixth before Jackson St.'s three-run seventh settled the outcome.
