FAMU Lady Rattlers Celebrate Senior Day With Two Wins

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  The Florida A&M Softball team rode the emotions of Senior Day Saturday to a crushing doubleheader sweep of South Carolina State, 8-0 and 11-2 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play at Lady Rattler Field.

FAMU (18-25, 6-4 in MEAC) won back-to-back games for just the fourth time this season, and their bats came alive in both ends of Saturday’s twinbill, as the Lady Rattlers totaled 21 hits in 10 innings.

Senior Brielle Gordon led the charge for FAMU, with four hits and eight runs driven in on the day, going 2-for-3, with a double, a triple and six RBI in the opener, followed by another 2-for-3 effort with two RBI in Game Two.

Denise Anderson and Kieffi Myrick each drove in a pair of runs in the second game, while Amber Fullwood picked up a pair of RBIs, one in each game.

Gordon’s 2014 classmate, pitcher Ashleigh Minter (9-10) tossed a no-hitter in the opening game, pitching five innings, with one strike out and four walks, while freshman Kenya Pererira (5-7) picked up the Game Two win, allowing two runs on four hits, with a pair of strikeouts and one walk in four innings. Amber Fullwood came on to pitch a scoreless fifth, striking out one the close out SCSU.



GAME ONE- FAMU 8, SCSU 0
In the opener, FAMU quickly built a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a RBI single by Fullwood, followed four batters later by Gordon, whose bases loaded, two-out double drove in three runs.

In the fifth, FAMU ended the game on Gordon’s three-run triple for a 7-0 lead, before another of her senior mates, first baseman Genesis Lopez, drove Gordon in from third with a single to center for the game-winning tally.

GAME TWO – FAMU 11, SCSU 2
The second game saw FAMU draw first blood again in the first inning, scoring five runs on four hits, aided by two SCSU error. Gordon’s one-out single up the middle drove in two runs, while a steal of home by Kieffi Myrick, and two SCSU throwing errors allowed runs to score.

SCSU (10-24, 3-8 in MEAC) scored its’ first run of the day in the second inning on Tiffany Harris towering solo homer to left for a 5-1 count, but FAMU scored two runs on three hits in the bottom of the inning to extend their lead to 7-1.

The Lady Bulldogs scored their final run in the third on Cianna Burt’s RBI single, which plated Jasmine Greer, who reached on a leadoff walk for a 7-2 count.

FAMU sealed the game in the bottom of the fourth with four runs on four hits, and one SCSU error, extending their lead to 11-2.

GAME NOTE: In a touch of class, the FAMU coaches presented flowers to the three SCSU seniors, Kelsey Grochow, Tiffany Harris and Vianney Gomez, prior to honoring the five FAMU players: Bianca Torres, Genesis Lopez, Brielle Gordon, Christina Robbs and Ashleigh Minter.

WHAT’S NEXT: FAMU will host SCSU Sunday at 12 noon in the series finale… They will close the regular season next weekend at home against Bethune-Cookman in a three-game series.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION