TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Tuesday night was a night that Florida A&M (11-5) will want to forget, as they dropped a midweek game to Jacksonville (10-9) by a score of 12-5 at Moore-Kittles Field. The Rattlers couldn’t get out of their own way, as they committed a season high five errors in the loss.
Jacksonville never trailed in the game, scoring three unearned runs in the top of the first inning due to a costly two-out error by Florida A&M.
With two outs and a man on first the Rattlers’ infield committed an error, extending the inning. After a wild pitch plated the first run, Seth Dewitt doubled down the left field line, scoring Sam Armstrong from second. The next hitter, Chris Gau, singled through the right side, scoring Dewitt from second for an early three run advantage.
The Dolphins would go on to score in each of the next four innings.
JU extended their lead to six after adding three more runs in the top of the second inning. Nathan Koslowski scored the first run on a first and third steal. Russell Rauh gunned down Alex Seifert trying to steal second, but Koslowski advanced home on the throw. Later in the inning, Chris Gau singled to left field with the bases loaded, bringing in two more runs for JU, making the score 6-0.
Florida A&M answered back, scoring their first two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Willis McDaniel got things started with a one out single to left field. Dallas Oliver and Garrett Wilkinson then worked back to back walks to load the bases. With two outs, Kaycee Reese singled to center on a check-swing, scoring McDaniel and Oliver, cutting the lead to 6-2.
The Dolphins scored for the third consecutive inning in the top of the third, off freshman reliever Dylan Carlson. With two outs and runners on first and third, Mike Cassala singled up the middle, scoring Connor Stephens from third, making the score 7-2.
The Rattlers scored a single run in the bottom of the third inning, cutting the deficit to four. Brian Davis worked a walk to lead off the inning, then Aubrey McCarty doubled to right center, placing runners on second and third with one out. Willis McDaniel then walked to load the bases, and Garrett Wilkinson walked with two outs, scoring Davis from third.
Jacksonville scored for the fourth inning in a row on a sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of Chris Lehane. Seth Dewitt led off with a walk, then Chris Gau collected his third hit in as many at bats, placing runners on first and third for Lehane, who brought in the eighth run of the afternoon for the Dolphins with his sacrifice fly, making the score 8-3.
Florida A&M scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to trim the lead to three. Kaycee Reese, John Capra, and Brian Davis got things started with three consecutive singles. Ben Ellzey then worked a bases loaded walk to score Reese from third, and McCarty added a sacrifice fly to center field to score Capra, making the score 8-5.
That would be as close as FAMU would get, as JU got both runs right back in the top of the fifth inning, capitalizing on two FAMU errors, pushing the lead to 10-5.
The Dolphins extended the lead by two in the top of the eighth inning on a two-out 2-RBI double by Koslowski, for a final score of 12-5.
The Rattlers had their chances to get back in the game but failed to do so, leaving a total of 11 men on base. FAMU left the bases loaded in both the third and the eighth innings.
Florida A&M freshman starter, Josh Wilson (0-1), suffered the loss after allowing three unearned runs in the first inning on three hits.
Jacksonville reliever Logan Wonn (1-0) earned the win after pitching 2.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks with one strikeout.
Brian Davis (2-for-3, 2B, R, BB), Aubrey McCarty (1-for-3, 2B, RBI), Willis McDaniel (1-for-3, R, BB), Kaycee Reese (2-for-2, 2 RBI, R), and Garrett Wilkinson (3BB, RBI) each had a productive day at the plate.
Chris Gau paced the JU offense going 3-for-4 with three RBI.
Florida A&M will look to rebound this weekend as they return to MEAC play against conference rival Savannah State. The Rattlers will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1:00 PM and the final game on Sunday at 1:00 PM.
As always, fans can follow Rattler Baseball on Twitter @BaseballFAMU and on Facebook.
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