Baton Rouge, La. – The Tigers of Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M Panthers will battle for the 2008 SWAC Baseball Tournament Championship on Monday, May 19 at Lee-Hines Stadium on the campus of Southern University.
The Tigers (15-32) have cruised through the tournament with three wins to advance to the championship game. Texas Southern defeated Jackson State 9-2 in the first game of the day. The game was tied at 0-0 until TSU scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kyle Smith posted a RBI single to score Deshaun Dilworth. Texas Southern would score four more runs in the inning and never relinquished their lead.
Jackson State scored in the eighth inning when outfielder Cortez Cole hit a single to drive in Braneric Holmes for the score. After second baseman Enrique Quintero singled, Cole reached home to cut the Texas Southern lead to 9-2. Texas Southern held strong on the defense to preserve the win.
This was the second time in the tournament that Texas Southern beat the Tigers, as they won 10-9 in the opening round. TSU also defeated Miss. Valley State 13-3 in the second round.
The 2007 SWAC defending champions Prairie View (25-25) are vying for their third consecutive title.
The Panthers’ road to the championship game was a struggle compared to Texas Southern. PVAMU defeated Alcorn State 15-5 in the opening round, but lost 14-8 to Southern on May 17. Prairie View wouldn’t lie down, however, as they defeated Alcorn State 12-1 for a second time in an elimination game.
Prairie View A&M served up some revenge to Southern University, as they defeated the Jaguars 5-4 and 15-14 to advance to tomorrow’s finals. In the 15-14 win, the Panther jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the fifth inning. SU battled back in the eighth inning to tie the game at 11-11 after scoring five runs in the inning. Prairie View scored one more run in the top of the ninth inning when Obie Davis blasted a double to right field and later scored on a Myrio Richard single.
The championship game is schedule for a 1 p.m. start and will be aired on ESPNU tape delay. It will air at 6:00 p.m. Monday.
