In a season opening weekend, the Panthers went out and proved to Texas College that they have their mind set on another championship. In a three game series, the Panthers swept their opponents, and sent them packing.
The first game was filled with energy and teamwork, and resulted in an 8-2 victory. Wrandal “Title Game” Taylor was the starting pitcher and made sure his opponents knew he meant business. Taylor pitched five firm innings, on his way to a perfect game through four, and a no hitter in the fifth. The defense stood tough as they produced a game without errors.
At the plate, the Panthers had a shuffling start, but once they kicked it into high gear, they didn’t stop. From seven hits, the Panthers produced eight runs, and even a few from the opponents’ five errors. Both catcher Brandon Whitby and shortstop John Villapando had two hits apiece, one of Villapando’s turning out to be the first Panther homerun of the season. Oscar Goldman and Myrio Richard rounded the bases, and gathered two stolen bases for the team. Taylor had five strikeouts, zero hits, and zero earned runs.
The second game brought more offense and more defense for the Panthers. Picking up their second win of the season, with a final score of 14-2, another errorless game provided tight defense for the Panthers. This time getting the start was pitcher Terry Salter. Salter also pitched a solid five innings with three strikeouts, six hits, and two earned runs.
Head Coach Robertson worked the bullpen this game, putting in three more pitchers after Salter to exercise their arms and see how they work. Overall, the pitching staff produced a total of seven strikeouts.
The Panthers were on a roll the entire game, scoring 10 runs in three innings. Brandon Kendricks followed Villapando, as he was the second to hit a home run for the Panthers. At the end of the game Kendricks had a team high four RBIs, as Greg Ford followed behind with three.
The last game during the home stand was anything but boring, as the Panthers racked up the 18-9 victory. Getting the start was Charlie Aceto, who also pitched five innings. Aceto kept the batters guessing as he collected three strikeouts, one hit, and zero earned runs.
During the first inning the Panthers scored six runs to their opponents’ one. As two scoreless innings for the Panthers passed by, they rebounded and had three straight four run innings, which sealed the victory.
The pitching staff was far from predictable as five pitchers were rotated throughout the game, throwing for a total of 10 strikeouts. Even though the Panthers recorded three errors, the defense buckled down enough to grab the win.
Richard credits the three wins to “hard work and dedication.”
Robertson said, “Pitching was the key factor in the three wins. We wanted to make sure we got each guy five innings with the conference season starting this weekend. They weren’t as sharp as they could be, but they were good enough. The top of our line-up did a good job of getting on base and scoring runs.”
The Panthers will have to stay on their toes this season as their schedule consists of a various mixture of non-conference and conference games. Their next games will be March 1 and March 2, both at 1 p.m. against Arkansas Pine-Bluff here in Prairie View. Then March 4, they will travel to Austin to play Huston-Tillotson, and will come back home March 5 to battle Sam Houston State at 5 p.m.