PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Giovanni Angel and James Rodriguez combined for six hits and eight RBIs as the Prairie View A&M Panthers run-ruled Texas Southern 15-4 in seven innings on Sunday afternoon in Prairie View.
TSU (10-19, 3-12 SWAC) crossed home the game’s first run in the first inning before PV (14-13, 8-7 SWAC) answered back in the bottom frame as Rodriguez recorded an RBI double followed by Rafael Perez’s RBI for an early 2-1 advantage. The Panthers took the lead for good in the third after a two-out rally which featured two RBIs from senior Kyle Bible.
Prairie View’s lead shrunk to 4-3 in the fourth as TSU’s Terrell Jones doubled up the middle for two runs. However, the Panthers answered in the bottom half as sophomore Andre Oliver logged an RBI triple along with RBI’s from Rodriguez and Perez once again for a 7-3 margin. The Panthers broke the game open from that point as they tallied eight runs in the fifth and sixth frames which triggered the 10-run rule in the seventh.
Sunday’s win marks the first series win over Texas Southern since 2008 and first-ever for third-year head coach Waskyla Cullivan. Ben Blackburn went the distance as he struck out three to improve to 2-3 on the season. Colby Hines, Rodriguez and Perez finished with three hits each while Angel and Rodriguez finished with four RBIs apiece.
The Panthers return to action on Tuesday as they’ll host Jarvis Christian College at 1 p.m. in Prairie View.
