Great pitching dominated Monday’s softball doubleheader, but the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff couldn’t get the offense it needed.
Prairie View A&M won 1-0 and 4-0 to sweep the doubleheader and clinch both teams’ opening SWAC series.
Prairie View (7-13, 2-0) pitchers Cailin Massey and Breanna Reyna combined to shutout UAPB, allowing one walk and seven hits across two games.
UAPB (6-10, 0-2 SWAC) also delivered solid pitching. Freshman Kayla Adams struck out 11 hitters with no walks and three hits in game one, while sophomore Danika Bryant struck out seven hitters with one walk and seven hits in the second game.
UAPB coach Michael Bumpers said Adams and Bryant have pitched this well all season.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“They missed a couple of spots here and there, but for the most part, they’ve been pretty consistent on the mound for us,” Bumpers said. “They’re getting stronger each game. The only thing we ask is they continue to maintain, because we’re not hitting behind them right now. I think once we get those bats rolling, their confidence will be boosted a lot higher, and I think we’ll be a lot better off.”
Prairie View catcher Biviana Figueroa led off the second inning of the first game with a triple, then scored on a wild pitch. She was the only Lady Panther to reach second base or beyond in the game. Adams retired 17 of the last 19 hitters Prairie View sent to the plate.
An error to start the bottom of the third inning in the second game led to a 2-run inning for Prairie View after Destinee Smith hit an RBI sacrifice fly and Figueroa hit an RBI double. Jalyn Davis made it 4-0 with a 2-run home run in the sixth.
Adams and Bryant entered the day with the two lowest ERAs in the SWAC, 1.37 for Adams and 1.93 for Bryant. Adams said despite the loss, holding the preseason SWAC west division favorites to one run in her first career SWAC game is a great confidence-builder.
“Before I came here, I would watch Prairie View and UAPB play all the time,” Adams said. “Seeing the outcome of those games and being able to be on the field with these girls today, that means a lot. Confidence, that means a lot to us. Of course it was a loss, but it was a good loss for us.”
But as good as UAPB’s pitchers performed against the SWAC’s second-best hitting team, the Lady Lions couldn’t score after hitting a combined 7 of 54.
UAPB never got a runner to third base in game one, with Amari Broughton being the only Lady Lion to reach second. In game two, UAPB loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth but couldn’t bring home a run after grounding into back-to-back fielder’s choices.
UAPB has been shut out in three-straight games dating back to a midweek 8-0 loss to Saint Francis. Bumpers said the Lady Lions need to be more focused at the plate.
“You know if you got a runner on second and third, they’re not going to bring you something right down the middle of the plate,” Bumpers said. “You gotta be a little bit more selective with your pitch selection, and you’ve got to be able to make the adjustment and hit the ball the other way.”