TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida A&M (28-19, 17-5 MEAC) scored 13 runs in the first two innings and never let up on its way to a 20-4, seven inning, win over North Carolina A&T (13-39, 6-16 MEAC) at Moore-Kittles Field on Friday.
It was the third time this season FAMU defeated NC A&T by a mercy rule. The Rattlers recorded 14 of its 24 hits in the first two innings, which was the most hits in a game this season and is the 26th time A&M has had 10+ hits in a game in 2016. Every starter recorded at least one hit for the Rattlers, while Alec Wong and Ben Ellzey each went 4-for-4. Wong has extended his streak to 11 straight at bats with a base hit.
The win was the 77th win for head coach Jamey Shouppe, which ties him for second all-time with Joe Durant (2001-2003) for wins over any consecutive three-year period in FAMU Baseball history. Shouppe is three wins away from tying the school record for wins in any three-year span.
Ricky Page (5-3) set a career-high in strikeouts for the second consecutive outing as he finished with nine strikeouts in five innings of work for the win. Page allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and didn’t walk a batter.
Florida A&M used three pitchers in the win and didn’t walk a single batter, while totaling 12 strikeouts, including Cameron Sims strikeout to end the game.
Marlon Gibbs (2-for-2), Brian Davis (2-for-3), Jacky Miles, Jr. (3-for-5), Willis McDaniel (2-for-4) and Peter Jackson (3-for-5) all had multi-hit performances, while Davis (four RBI), Miles, Jr. (three RBI), Ellzey (five RBI), McDaniel (two RBI) and Jackson (four RBI) had multi- RBI performances. The four RBI for Jackson was a career high as well as the five RBI for Ellzey.
Javon Byrd recorded his first-career hit in the sixth inning, a single to left field. FAMU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning as six of the first seven batters recorded a base hit in the inning. Gibbs led off with a single to center field, but a misplayed ball by Myles Sowell allowed Gibbs to advance to second. Wong followed with a single up the middle for his eighth straight hit, which moved Gibbs to third. Wong went to second on a passed ball before Gibbs came home on an RBI single through the left side from Dylan Dillard. Miles, Jr. followed with an RBI single to plate Wong for the second run of the inning as Dillard was able to advance to third. Ben Ellzey later drove in Dillard from third with the fifth hit of the inning. McDaniel then recorded the fourth consecutive hit for the Rattlers, an RBI single to left field, as Miles, Jr. came home to score from third.
The Rattlers tacked on nine more runs in the second inning to increase their lead to 13-0. It was the second time this season FAMU had scored at least nine runs in an inning. Davis had a two-run triple in the inning, while Ellzey and Jackson each had two RBI doubles. Miles, Jr., McDaniel and Wong also added an RBI in the inning.
NC A&T got on the board with an unearned run in the third inning as the score was now 13-1. Ryan Jantsch led off with a single to left field and came around to score from first, when Page threw the ball past Davis at first while fielding a sac bunt attempt from Forest Kimbrell.
After being held scoreless in the third inning, Florida A&M scored two more runs in the fourth inning to push its lead to 15-1. Jackson led off with a single up the middle and Gibbs was hit-by-pitch to place runners on first and second with no outs. After a NC A&T pitching change, Wong took the second pitch he saw to center field for a single that loaded the bases. Davis then drew a bases loaded walk to plate Jackson from third and with two outs and the bases still loaded, Ellzey was hit-by-pitch to score Gibbs for the second run of the inning.
The Aggies scored their final three runs in the fifth inning that cut the Rattler lead to 15-4. James Rorie led off with a strikeout, but reached first on a wild pitch and Jantsch followed with a single to left field. Milton Rivera then took a pitch the other way for a double down the right line that scored both Rorie and Jantsch. Adan Ordonez followed with another double that brought home Rivera with two outs.
FAMU answered in the home half of the fifth inning with four more runs that made the score 19-4. AJ Elkins led off with a triple off the wall in right center and came home on an RBI groundout from Jackson. Gibbs was then hit-by-pitch and Wong singled through the left side as runners were now on first and second with one out. Davis then took a 3-1 pitch into the right center gap for an RBI double as Gibbs scored from second. With two outs, Miles, Jr. dropped in an RBI single into right field to bring home Gibbs. Ellzey then recorded his fourth hit of the day to plate Dillard.
The Rattlers scored one last run in the sixth inning for the final score of 20-4. Sims came in to pitch a scoreless seventh inning and ended the game with a strikeout to Ordonez.
Robert Peck (2-5) was touched up for 10 runs on 12 hits in the first 1.1 innings for the loss. Peck didn’t record a strikeout and walked one batter.
Florida A&M and North Carolina A&T will close out their regular season schedule on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 PM. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as we will have a special ceremony to recognize our 2016 senior class.
As always, fans can follow Rattler Baseball on Twitter @BaseballFAMU and on Facebook. Live Stats are also available on the baseball schedule page of FAMUAthletics.com.
---www.FAMUAthletics.com---
