TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Apr. 13) – The FAMU Baseball team scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game Two against archrival Bethune-Cookman to eventually earn a 6-4 victory, and a doubleheader split Saturday afternoon.
The Rattlers dropped Saturday’s opener, 8-2, as the visiting Wildcats took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, then after exchanging single runs in the fifth, B-CU extended their lead to 5-1 with a two-run rally.
The Wildcats got a pair of solo homers from Brandon Wilkes and Chase DeBonis for extend their lead to 7-1, before both clubs scored single runs in the ninth for the 8-2 final.
Brett Maxwell led FAMU with two hits, while Josten Heron paced the Wildcats with four hits, two runs and a pair of RBIs, followed by Wilkes with three hits and an RBI, and Joseph Fernando with two hits and an RBI. Nate Sterijevski also had two RBI for B-CU.
Josh Barr (1-4) took the loss for FAMU, giving up five runs on 12 hits in five and a third innings, while B-CU’s Brady Norris (1-0) struck out nine Rattlers in seven and two-thirds in getting the win.
@ In the second game, the Rattlers built a 4-0 by scoring two runs in the second and third innings, before the Wildcats got on the board with a single tally in the top of the seventh.
Trailing 4-1, the Wildcats completed their comeback with a three-run eighth to tie the score at 4-4.
But in the bottom of the eighth, FAMU regained the lead at 6-4, when Seyjuan Lawrence’s sac fly to center scored Tucker Rayburn, for a 5-4 lead, before Friday’s hero, Robert Robinson lashed an RBI single down the left field line to score Jared Weber.
In the top of the ninth, reliever Jeremiah McCollum allowed a lead off hit, before striking out the next two hitters. Catcher Brett Maxwell then picked off pinch runner Khalil Smith at first to end the game.
Robinson led FAMU with three hits and an RBI, while Kaycee Reese and Seyjuan Lawrence each had two RBIs.
Heron, DeBonis and Danny Rodriguez each had two hits to lead the Wildcats,
McCollum (3-2) got the win for FAMU, working the final one and two-thirds innings, while reliever Tyler Krull (0-5) took the loss.
THE MEAC SOUTH RIGHT NOW: Saturday’s split, coupled with FAMU’s 6-5 series opening win on Friday, left the Rattlers (15-23) and Wildcats (14-24), tied for third place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s Southern Division at 7-8.
The Sunshine State rivals trail first place North Carolina A&T (8-4) and second place North Carolina Central (6-6) in the Southern Division, with four weeks left in the regular season.
A&T and Central were slated to play this weekend, but rain cancelled their Friday game and no results were available on Saturday’s games.
WHAT’S ON DECK: The Rattlers next play on the road at Savannah State starting the series on Thursday.
