TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida A&M (14-7, 5-1 MEAC) was held scoreless over the final five innings and Florida Gulf Coast (12-11, 0-0 A-SUN) used a six-run third inning to defeat FAMU 8-6 at Moore-Kittles Field on Thursday. Five different Rattlers had multi-hit performances, while Ben Ellzey and Jacky Miles, Jr hit their first home runs of the year in the loss. Brian Davis added a three run home run in the first inning as Florida A&M posted its’ 13th game of the season with 10 or more hits.
FAMU reliever Tyler Reker (0-1) took the loss after allowing two runs on two hits with a walk in 1.1 innings of work. Kendal Weeks pitched the final 3.2 innings of scoreless relief with three strikeouts and one walk.
Florida A&M scored first on a three-run home run from Davis in the home half of the first inning for an early 3-0 lead. Marlon Gibbs and Alec Wong led off with back-to-back singles and Davis followed with his fourth home run of the year, a three-run shot to left center, to give the Rattlers the quick lead.
The Eagles later grabbed the lead with six runs in the third inning on four hits, but Rattler starter Danny Rodriguez hit three Gulf Coast batters in the inning and was unable to work himself out of the jam. Stefano Belmonte and Matt Roberts each had two-run singles in the inning, while Zach Spivey added an RBI single.
FAMU answered to cut the lead to 6-5 with back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the third inning. After Dylan Dillard, grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, Ellzey and Miles, Jr. hit back-to-back home runs to cut the FGCU lead to 6-5. Both home runs were their first of the season for Ellzey and Miles, Jr.
The Rattlers kept battling and tied the game at 6-6 on Gibbs’ RBI double in the fourth inning. AJ Elkins led off with a single to center field and advanced to second courtesy of a sac bunt from Peter Jackson. After a passed ball moved Elkins to third, Gibbs doubled down the left line to score Elkins.
Florida Gulf Coast regained the lead for good at 8-6 with two runs in the sixth inning. Roberts was walked to start the inning and moved to second on a sac bunt from Gage Morey. Matt Reardon then doubled home Roberts with a deep ball to left. Tyler Selesky followed with a single to right as runners were now on the corners before Jake Noll drove home Reardon with an RBI single to center.
FGCU starter Brady Anderson (3-3) pitched eight innings in the win and allowed six runs on 12 hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Christian Townsend picked up his third save of the season after closing out the ninth inning.
Florida A&M and Florida Gulf Coast continue their three-game series on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 3:00 PM. As always, fans can follow Rattler Baseball on Twitter @BaseballFAMU and on Facebook.
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