Tallahassee, Fl. (May 2nd, 2018) – The Rattlers looked to finish their non-conference schedule on a high note on Wednesday, hosting the Ospreys of North Florida for a single mid-week game.
Florida A&M struck first in this one as Brian Davis drove in Jordan Curtis with a double to left center. Willis McDaniel then grounded out to the shortstop to drive inDallas Oliver to give Florida A&M an early 2-0 lead after an inning of play.
They extended their lead by a run in the second, as John Capra advanced to third on a Jordan Curtis single and scored on a fielding error by the right fielder, giving the Rattlers a 3-0 lead after two innings.
The Ospreys cut into the lead with a run in the top of the fourth. Jay Prather drove in Tanner Murphy with a single through the right side to make it a 3-1 game after three and a half innings of play.
The Rattlers got the run back in the bottom of the fourth. Dallas Oliver drove inKaycee Reese with a base hit to left field to extend the lead to 4-1 heading to the fifth.
They would add to the lead in the fifth inning thanks in part to a single to right center by Kaycee Reese that scored Willis McDaniel. Reese’s single was followed by aJordan Curtis single to right that drove in Octavien Moyer to give FAMU a 6-1 lead after five.
UNF shortened their deficit in the top of the sixth. Blake Voyles drove in Chris Berry from third with a bases loaded fielders choice to the pitcher. Mac Wilson then drove in Tanner Murphy and Blake Voyles with a single to center field, making it a 6-4 game going to the bottom of the sixth.
They made it a 6-5 game in the seventh inning thanks to a Dalton Board double down the left field that scored Chris Berry.
The Rattlers held on to their one run lead to win by a final score of 6-5. Starting pitcher earned his third win of the season (3-1). Barr turned in a solid performance, allowing one earned run through 5 innings of work. Jamie Grant threw the next 1.2 innings before giving way to Chandellor Benton, who gave up no runs through 1.1 innings. Dylan Carlson tossed a scoreless ninth, earning his sixth save of the season.
Starting pitcher Adam Polansky took the loss for North Florida, allowing three runs (two earned) through 3 innings of work. Matt Vaka entered the game in the fourth, allowing three earned runs in 2 innings of relief. Justin Tworek tossed a scoreless sixth and Nick Marchese allowed no runs in the last two innings.
The win is the Rattlers’ second in as many games, bringing them to a record of 21-24 on the year. FAMU is back in conference play this weekend as they head to North Carolina to play the Eagles of NC Central in a three-game series. The first game will start at 1:00 PM on Saturday, May 5th.
