HOUSTON – The Tigers of Texas Southern University snapped a three-game losing streak Friday with a 3-0 win over in-state rival Prairie View A&M.
TSU's Seth Oliver struck out 11 Prairie View batters and allowed only four hits en route to his second complete-game victory and first shutout of the season.
The win improved Texas Southern (11-23) to 9-6 in Southwestern Athletic Conference divisional play. Prairie View A&M (13-24) fell to 6-7 in the SWAC's West Division.
Oliver outlasted his mound opponent Andreus Faltesek, who took the hard-luck loss for the Panthers. Faltesek struck out eight batters over seven and one-third innings while not allowing an earned run. However, TSU took advantage of defensive miscues to beat the Panthers for the third time in four games this season.
The game remained scoreless through six and a half innings as both pitchers retired hitters with ease. After allowing to leadoff hits to Prairie View to open the game, Oliver retired the next 12 Panther batters, and 18 of the next 19 he faced.
Faltesek was just as effective for the Panthers, allowing only two hits through six innings. He retired the first two Tiger hitters of the seventh inning and then struck out Jose Camacho for what should have been the third out. The ball got away from catcher Tyler Gordon, who retrieved it in time to throw down to first. Gordon's throw however, was low, and Camacho reached first base safely on the error.
Camacho was replaced by pinch runner Andre Moore, who promptly stole second base – the first successful steal for the Tigers in three tries during the game. On the next pitch, Gerrek Jimenez connected with a single to centerfield that turned out to be the game-winning run.
The Tigers added a couple of insurance runs in the eighth inning, which were also the result of passed balls and throwing errors from behind the plate. With Olajide Oloruntimilehin on second as a result of a single and a sacrifice from Horace LeBlanc, the Panthers opted to give an intentional walk to Charles Guillory, whose batting average was .178 at the time of the at-bat.
With two runners on, the Tigers executed a successful double-steal, with Oloruntimilehin then scoring on a Gordon's error. With two outs, Guillory was almost caught straying too far from third, but another throwing error allowed him to come home for TSU's third unearned run of the game.
The Tigers and Panthers resume their series Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics
TSU's Seth Oliver struck out 11 Prairie View batters and allowed only four hits en route to his second complete-game victory and first shutout of the season.
The win improved Texas Southern (11-23) to 9-6 in Southwestern Athletic Conference divisional play. Prairie View A&M (13-24) fell to 6-7 in the SWAC's West Division.
Oliver outlasted his mound opponent Andreus Faltesek, who took the hard-luck loss for the Panthers. Faltesek struck out eight batters over seven and one-third innings while not allowing an earned run. However, TSU took advantage of defensive miscues to beat the Panthers for the third time in four games this season.
The game remained scoreless through six and a half innings as both pitchers retired hitters with ease. After allowing to leadoff hits to Prairie View to open the game, Oliver retired the next 12 Panther batters, and 18 of the next 19 he faced.
Faltesek was just as effective for the Panthers, allowing only two hits through six innings. He retired the first two Tiger hitters of the seventh inning and then struck out Jose Camacho for what should have been the third out. The ball got away from catcher Tyler Gordon, who retrieved it in time to throw down to first. Gordon's throw however, was low, and Camacho reached first base safely on the error.
Camacho was replaced by pinch runner Andre Moore, who promptly stole second base – the first successful steal for the Tigers in three tries during the game. On the next pitch, Gerrek Jimenez connected with a single to centerfield that turned out to be the game-winning run.
The Tigers added a couple of insurance runs in the eighth inning, which were also the result of passed balls and throwing errors from behind the plate. With Olajide Oloruntimilehin on second as a result of a single and a sacrifice from Horace LeBlanc, the Panthers opted to give an intentional walk to Charles Guillory, whose batting average was .178 at the time of the at-bat.
With two runners on, the Tigers executed a successful double-steal, with Oloruntimilehin then scoring on a Gordon's error. With two outs, Guillory was almost caught straying too far from third, but another throwing error allowed him to come home for TSU's third unearned run of the game.
The Tigers and Panthers resume their series Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics