Jackson State ends PVAMU's season at SWAC Tournament
PHOTO: Kevin Macias makes a diving play in the Prairie View A&M's second-round game Thursday against Jackson State. (Photo by John Posey)
NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Jackson State Tigers ended Prairie View A&M's baseball season Thursday as they defeated the Panthers 10-1 in an elimination game at the Southwestern Athletic Conference postseason tournament.
At Wesley Barrow Stadium at New Orleans' Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy, the Tigers (31-24) jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three innings. The early run support was more than enough for starting pitcher Jevon Jacobs, who struck out 13 batters en route to the complete-game victory.
Prairie View A&M finished its season with a record of 15-36. The Panthers found themselves in an elimination game after dropping a 5-4 nailbiter to SWAC East Division champion Alabama State on Wednesday.
The Panthers scored their only run in the bottom of the sixth on Angel Avalos' RBI groundout that scored Walter Wells and cut Jackson State's lead to 8-1. Wells, playing in his final collegiate contest, led off the inning with a double.
Senior pitcher Jordan Stewart absorbed the loss for the Panthers, pitching three innings while giving up five earned runs. Fellow senior Grant Dougherty allowed four earned runs over five innings of relief work. Jordan Foster tossed the final inning for Prairie View A&M.
Jordan Jeanlouis, Joseph Mack, and David Drake all knocked base hits for the Panthers, with Drake picking up his single in a pinch-hitting appearance in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jeanlouis led off the bottom of the third inning with a double, but was stranded on base.
PVAMU's Kevin Lahaie had solid day at the plate, going 2-for-2 after coming into the game in place of Mack in the top of the fifth inning. Lahaie entered Thursday's contest with a .143 batting average (6-of-42).
The Panthers will graduate four seniors from the 2015 squad – Dougherty, Stewart, Wells, and pitcher Pedro Maldonado. By reaching base in Wednesday's game, Dougherty concluded the season with a 25-game on-base streak. Wells concluded the season by reaching base in 16 consecutive contests.
