Tallahassee, Fl. (March 11th, 2018) –Florida A&M got off to a great start in conference play with two wins against conference rival Bethune-Cookman University. The Rattlers came into this Sunday game looking to complete a series sweep of the Wildcats.
FAMU picked up where they left off, getting on the board with one run in the bottom of the first inning. Jordan Curtis led off the inning with a walk before stealing second base. John Capra would then drive Curtis in with a two-out double down the left field line to give the Rattlers a 1-0 lead.
Bethune-Cookman tied up the game with a run of their own in the top of the second inning, thanks to a solo homerun by Nate Sterijevski.
The Rattlers jumped back on top in the bottom of the second inning. Cameron Johnson was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Johnson then scored on an infield hit by Jordan Curtis to give the Rattlers a 2-1 lead.
Florida A&M extended their lead to 4-1 in the third inning, thanks to a Dallas Oliver hit-by-pitch and a two-run homerun to right center field by Brian Davis.
Danny Rodriguez led off Bethune-Cookman’s half of the fourth with a single up the middle, and would then score on a double down the left field line by Giovany Lorenzo, shortening the Rattlers’ lead to make it a 4-2 game.
Bethune-Cookman took the lead in the fifth. Adonis Lao led off the inning with a double to left center and then advanced to third base on a single to the left side by Joseph Fernando. Kyle Corbin followed up by driving in Lao on an infield single. Fernando then scored on a fielders choice ground ball to third base by Jameel Edney. Danny Rodriguez would tack on one more run with a single to left field, driving in Kyle Corbin to make it a 6-4 game in favor of the Wildcats.
Bethune-Cookman held on to the two run lead to win the final game of the series. Starting pitcher Tyler Krull got the win for the Wildcats, allowing four earned runs through 7 innings of work. Joseph Calamita and Ivan Coutinho each tossed an inning of scoreless relief, with Coutinho getting the save.
Dallas Oliver suffered the loss for the Rattlers, bringing him to a 2-2 record on the year. Oliver threw four innings, giving up five earned runs. Ryan Anderson threw two innings of relief, allowing one unearned run, and Jamie Grant threw the final 3 frames, striking out four while allowing no runs.
Florida A&M will be on the road this Tuesday, March 13th, to take on Alabama State University in a single, non-conference matchup.
