PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – A late rally by Texas Southern came up short as Prairie View A&M claimed the softball opener by a 7-6 margin on Friday.
Deana Zuniga hit a one out single in the first and moved over on Karisma Garcia's single. Angel Morales drew a bases loaded walk and Saniah Henderson drove in a run for the early 1-0 lead.
The lead was brief as Prairie View A&M led the first off with a walk and single. In one swing, the Panthers took a 3-1 lead on a three-run home run. PVAMU added two more runs for a 5-1 margin.
PVAMU added another run in the second while TSU scored in the third as Paris Johnson and Zuniga led the inning off with back-to-back singles. Angel Morales' sac fly would close the deficit to 6-2. The Panthers tacked on another run in the third to lead 7-2 as the game would remain scoreless until the seventh.
With one out, Jordan McClain stole second and eventually scored on Zuniga's two-out single. Karisma Garcia delivered a big shot after a three-run homer drew TSU to within 7-6 as Paris Johnson and Zuniga also scored. Morales would single and represent the tying run but the Panthers' right fielder ended the game with a diving catch to rob TSU of the potential tying run.
Zuniga went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs while Johnson and Garcia also added two hits apiece. Lailah Bell dropped to 1-3 on the year as she was tagged with the loss after two innings of work.
The series resumes at 2 p.m. tomorrow in Prairie View.
