Panthers Valiant Fight Comes Up Short

The Philander Smith Panthers baseball team overcame several obstacles and distractions and surged at the end of the 2025-26 season to qualify for the HBCUAC Conference Championship double-elimination tournament.  The Panthers won 10 games more than the previous two years combined to qualify for postseason play.  They entered the tournament as the third seed and were tasked with taking on the second-seeded Stillman College (23-16). 

Davion Wilkins hit a walk-off single to right-center field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 6-5 Tigers win to advance in the winner's bracket.  In the game, Kyler Richie opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning.  The Tigers tied the game at 1-1 on a bases-loaded walk in the second frame.  Senior Aaditya Sur was the starting Pitcher for the Panthers and was throwing an effective game for three innings before injuring himself in warmups to start the fourth, and was pulled from the contest.  The Panthers broke the tie in the top of the fifth inning, scoring four runs.  Derriel "DJ" Cole hit his first-ever two-run homer over left-center to break the tie, plating Bradley Brown in the process for a 3-1 lead.  Richie stole home for a 4-1 lead.  Then Nathaniel Lebron smacked a double to left-center, scoring Tyron Brickhill for a 5-1 advantage.  However, the lead would be short-lived.  The Tigers scored four runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to tie it at 5-5.  The Panthers' pitching and defense stymied the Tigers through the next three and two-thirds innings before Wilkins single to the warning tracks sealed the win.

Philander went on to play the Voorhees Bulldogs in the Loser's bracket just more than four hours later.  The Panthers' bats remained virtually silent in game two, as the Voorhees ran off with a 12-1 win in seven innings.  In that game, Panthers' Pitcher Owen Branch struck out 10 batters before being relieved after three innings.  The Panthers ended their season 13-24.