TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Florida A&M baseball team lost to Eastern Illinois 4-3 Saturday afternoon at Moore-Kittles Field.
Eastern Illinois (2-0) led the majority of the game as the Panthers scored two runs in the first inning, a run in the seventh and a run in the eighth.
FAMU (0-2) responded. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, a two run home run by Janmikell Bastardo trimmed the deficit to 3-2.
Down 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the host Rattlers added a run on a Jared Weber home run to make it a 4-3 ballgame.
Weber went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, Ty Hanchey went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk.
Eastern Illinois’ Nicholas Rucker went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, while Lincoln Riley tallied a hit with an RBI in the win.
On the mound, Tyler Conklin went six innings, gave up two hits, two earned runs and registered three strikeouts to earn the win, while Ryan Ignoffo pitched three innings in relief to secure the save.
The Rattlers used five pitchers in the contest.
The final game of the three game series is Sunday with a noon start.
