PV rules the SWAC

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Promoted to head coach of the Prairie View baseball team four years ago, Waskyla Cullivan struggled early on.

During his first two years in charge, the Panthers missed the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament, finishing last in the Western Division after winning back-to-back titles in 2007 and ’08. Fans had to wonder how long Cullivan might last.

“There was a transitional period for me,” he said. Evan Richard, a catcher from Sugar Land, Texas, with a good bat and leadership skills, came to Prairie View with one goal in mind: to win the SWAC championship. After three seasons, he was ringless.

On a steamy, sweat-soaked Sunday afternoon at Lee-Hines Field, after the Panthers held off Mississippi Valley State for a 7-4 victory in the championship game of the conference tournament, Cullivan and Richard shared a congratulatory hug. Along with some very important hardware.

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