Alcorn advances to SWAC title game with comeback win

Alcorn State Braves will play Grambling State Tigers at 2 p.m. today for the 2010 SWAC Championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

SHREVEPORT, LA — The Alcorn State Braves are making a habit of late-inning victories at the SWAC baseball tournament. And that perseverance has put the Braves on the cusp of their first ever SWAC tournament championship. One day after scoring a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Alcorn scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to post an 8-7 victory over Southern that puts them in the tournament championship game against Grambling State on Sunday.

“We’ve had a lot of fight and a lot of heart,” Alcorn State coach Barret Rey said. “That’s what has gotten us to where we are right now.” Southern helped Alcorn’s cause by committing six errors — three in the decisive seventh inning. Trailing 6-4 entering the top of the seventh, two Alcorn batters reached on errors by Southern infielders. With two outs, Kilby Perdomo singled to load the bases.

Rodney Warren tied the game with a two-run single up the middle off Kyle Wahl, who relieved starter Chase Richard after the first error of the inning. Alcorn took its first lead of the game when David Reed reached and Perdomo scored on the second error of the inning by SWAC Player of the Year and Southern third baseman Frazier Hall.

SWAC baseball: GSU vs. Valley

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Bethune-Cookman Wins Fifth Straight MEAC Championship; Beat Aggies 7-4 For Title

Bethune Cookman University head coach Mervyl Melendez was suspended for today's championship game due to ejection from yesterday's game, but Wildcats wins 10th MEAC Title in 11 seasons under Coach Melendez.

Daytona Beach, FL -- Bethune-Cookman won its fifth straight MEAC baseball championship with a 7-4 victory Sunday afternoon over North Carolina A&T. Jeremy Davis was 4-4 with two doubles, a triple, four runs scored and Alejandro Sanchez continued his hot hitting with a home run and two hits to pace the Wildcat offense. B-CU starter Roman Lancaro (4-2) pitched six innings for the win and Juan Perez pitched the ninth inning for his tenth save.

"What can you say about Jeremy Davis," said Head Coach Mervyl Melendez. "He has been a good player for us all season and saved his best game for the championship and the big game today. Roman Lancara gaves us a good pitching performance as the starter and we did what it takes to win."

"The comebacks by this team (12 this year) and play of this team all year was special. We talked last year and all this year about winning games and coming from behind. And like Florida's team last year (20 comeback victories), this team has the never quit attitude and we have a lot of baseball to play and to prepare for the regionals. I am very proud of these guys. They are a real team."

DJ Leonard Named Tournament Outstanding Player; NCAA Selection Day May 31

B-CU rallies to make title game

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- In a game that had a little bit of everything, the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats provided plenty of drama on the way to a 7-3 come-from-behind victory Saturday over North Carolina A&T at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. A six-run rally in the seventh inning pushed the Wildcats to their 12th come-from-behind win of the season and earned them a spot in today's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament championship game.

B-CU (34-20), seeking its fifth straight MEAC crown and 10th in 11 seasons, plays the Aggies again for the title at 2 p.m. today. A North Carolina A&T victory would set up the "if necessary" game at 6 p.m. for the title. Bethune-Cookman trailed 3-1 heading into the seventh, but Jeremy Davis' RBI single provided the go-ahead run and D.J. Leonard's 10th home run of the season -- a three-run shot to left -- capped the comeback.

It was an emotional victory for the Wildcats, who saw head coach Mervyl Melendez get ejected in the top of the fifth inning moments after starting pitcher Ali Simpson was thrown out for pushing A&T's Alex Grubb. Simpson had reacted to a bump from Grubb as the B-CU pitcher covered first base on a groundout. "We've gotta stick up for our players and I thought it was my job to stick up for Ali," Melendez said. "The bottom line is our guys had the intensity to fight the adversity, and we were able to come back, which is a trademark of this team."

TV: Tape delayed at 5 p.m. Monday on ESPNU

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Southern coach Cador staying in background

Southern University Coach Roger Cador is taking it easy and will allow assistant coach Fernando Puebla to run the team during the SWAC Tournament.

On a hot, muggy afternoon Saturday, acting head coach Fernando Puebla had the Southern University baseball team running. The position players were doing 24 sprints in the outfield at Lee-Hines Field, the pitchers six laps around the warning track. “It’s going to be hot in Shreveport too,” said Puebla, looking forward to the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament, which starts Wednesday at Fairgrounds Field. “We need to be in condition.” What was missing was the dragging of heels and the bickering of a bunch of young men having to toil in the heat of a day where one might break a sweat just standing in the shade.

Instead, players smiled and cracked jokes. Things were loose, almost relaxed — or at least as relaxed as things can be while running 24 sprints in the outfield — as the players put in the work in preparation for the postseason. A relaxed demeanor is part of the reason the Jaguars (23-20) won five of their final six regular-season games, all after Puebla took over for Roger Cador, who sat out the late part of the season for health reasons. And although Cador said he has been cleared to return to “do whatever I want to,” he said, the veteran coach knows a good thing when he sees it. Watching from the sideline, Cador has seen his team play well.

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Harry Williams pays his dues at Coppin State

The comments came from all over at any given time. He'd walk across campus and some-one thanked him. He'd walk into an office and someone thanked him. Sometimes Harry Williams (Potomac H.S.'06, Dumfries, VA) knew the well-wishers and other times he did not, but in either case what mattered most to him was they appreciated his dedication to the Coppin State baseball program. For four years, Williams has been face of an Eagle team that has gone through three coaches and two winless seasons. He's been the top hitter and played his share of different positions to help out wherever he could.

All-MEAC "Mr. Everything" Harry Williams, Jr. is batting .373 in leading the deserving Coppin State University Eagles to the 2010 MEAC Tournament. You gotta love the underdog--Eagles.

Still, it wasn't exactly the college baseball experience Williams hoped for when he signed with Coppin State, but he stuck with it, believing each new season brought a chance for improve-ment even if the end result was just the opposite at times. "All I can do is thank the people for noticing," Williams said. "It makes me feel good inside to see that they see all the hard work I've put in and what's going on." You take what you can take and Williams is pleased that this season was a breakout one for the Eagles.

For the first time since 2006, Coppin State is playing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tour-nament. The Eagles (13-31 overall, 7-11 in the MEAC) are seeded fifth and open up today against second-seeded North Carolina A&T at 10 a.m. Williams is the main reason the Eagles are at least competitive again. He earned second-team all-conference honors after finishing sixth in the league in hitting .373 while contributing two homers and 30 RBIs.

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Florida A&M fires baseball coach Lucas‎

The former Atlanta Braves scout, Robert Lucus ends three stints with FAMU baseball with a 154-171-2 career record. The FAMU baseball program was provided below par support by the school's administration and less than six scholarships. The Rattlers are still operating without a permanent athletic director, since William "Bill" Hayes resigned from the post on October 2, 2009, that became effective on December 31, 2009. Hayes is now the A.D. at Winston Salem State University.

Florida A&M has fired Robert Lucas as head baseball coach, following the worst finish in the history of the program that left the Rattlers out of this week’s MEAC tournament. Lucas confirmed Sunday that he was put on administrative leave until August and said he was told his year-to-year contract won’t be renewed. Interim athletic director Mike Smith was in a meeting Monday and wasn’t immediately available to comment. Lucas, however, said that he was told his assistant Brett Richardson would stay on to handle the day-to-day operation of the program until a replacement is hired.

FAMU finished the season with a 10-31 record and 3-15 in conference play. One more conference win would have put the Rattlers into the tournament, but a 1-2 record against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore kept them out in favor of the Hawks, which also had a 3-15 conference mark. Lucas said he was on a recruiting trip when he was called by Smith, who later handed him his termination letter.

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Southern Jaguars push on without Cador

Southern University Jaguars head baseball coach Roger Cador.

When Southern pitcher Sherrard Brooks left his hotel room Sunday morning and boarded the team bus, Roger Cador wasn’t waiting. That was the first clue. Something wasn’t right. Maybe the Jaguars’ legendary coach was out recruiting somewhere in Houston — even on a Sunday morning, just hours before their series finale against Texas Southern. That seemed strange, but Brooks figured he couldn’t put it past Cador. Worse yet, maybe Cador had been disgusted by Southern’s play the day before. In losing twice Saturday, the Jaguars suffered a double-header sweep to a Southwestern Athletic Conference foe for only the second time in six years.

Brooks decided that didn’t make any sense, either. Minutes before the first pitch of any game, in the team huddle, Cador always has a story to tell. He usually saves the most stirring of them for when the chips are down. “It would’ve been a good day to hear one of those stories,” Brooks said later. “He would have had a good one for us.” It wasn’t until the team arrived at MacGregor Park that assistant coach Fernando Puebla gave players the complete picture: Cador, who has worn a pacemaker for more than 20 years, was having health problems. The 58-year-old coach returned home Sunday to visit his cardiologist after experiencing an irregular heartbeat Saturday night and again Sunday morning in Houston.

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Jackson State Sweeps MVSU Delta Devils

The Jackson State baseball team completed a season sweep over in-state rival Mississippi Valley, by taking three games from the Delta Devils Sunday and Monday. With the wins Jackson State improves to 32-14 overall record and a 16-5 SWAC record. The Tigers also took over sole possession of first place in the SWAC Eastern Division.

Six weeks ago the Tigers swept the Delta Devils in a three game series at Robert “Bob” Braddy Field in Jackson. In Sunday’s action JSU beat Valley 6-4. Quintavious Drains picked up his 11th win. In nine innings of work he struck out seven batters, while giving up four runs on 10 hits. Willie Wesley led JSU with four hits, a run and an RBI. Lynn Lewis followed with three hits and two runs.

In Monday’s opener the Tigers won 5-3. Courtney Nelson picked up his ninth win of the season. He pitched 7.1 innings of work. He struck out four batters, while giving up three runs and nine hits. Terrance Washington picked up the save. Chad Hall and Malcolm Tate recorded two hits each. JSU beat Mississippi Valley State 10-6 in Monday’s nightcap. Jeremy Gray picked up his fourth win of the season. In 8.2 innings he allowed 12 hits and six runs, while striking out two batters. Malcolm Tate led JSU’s offense with three hits, two runs and two RBI.

The Tigers will host Alabama State May 14-15 in a three game series at Braddy Field. Admission is $5 per game.



Provided by: JSU Media Relations

B-CU finishes year unbeaten in MEAC‎

B-CU Coach Mervyl Melendez's Wildcats clinch #1 Seed for MEAC Tournament and earned 2010 Regular Season MEAC Baseball Title.

For the second time in school history, Bethune-Cookman's baseball team has gone undefeated in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. B-CU scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning in a 13-9 win over Delaware State (12-30, 8-10) on Sunday. It's the first-ever 18-0 MEAC regular season; B-CU was 15-0 in 2006. The Wildcats (32-19) will have the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament May 20-23 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach.

Delaware State Falls to MEAC Champs‎

Dover, DE -- Bethune-Cookman scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning in a 13-9 win over Delaware State in MEAC baseball at Soldier Field today. The Wildcats, who clinched the MEAC regular season title on Saturday, completed the conference schedule with an 18-0 record (32-19 overall). Delaware State is 8-10 in the MEAC and 12-30 overall. Delaware State broke an 8-8 tie on a two-out single by Scott Davis in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Bethune-Cookman tied the game at nine on a single by Emmanuel Castro in the top of the ninth inning. The Wildcats pulled ahead 10-9 when Matt Wright followed with a run-scoring in the inning. BCU padded its lead when the next batter, Alejando Sanchez, followed with a three-run homer. The Hornets trailed 6-1 before scoring seven runs in the third inning to take the lead. Mike Rizzuto doubled in the first two runs of the inning. Also in the inning, Matt Aleman had a run-scoring single and Abe Eubank was credited with a RBI on a bases loaded walk. Brandon Crist capped off the inning with a three-run homer to give DSU an 8-6 lead.

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Young — both of them — to play college baseball at A&T

North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University Aggies head baseball coach Keith Shumate signs a set of twins, a pitcher and a catcher from Statesville (N.C.) High School.

North Carolina A&T might have the most interesting battery in the state over the next few years. Statesville seniors Brett and Sean Young, twin brothers, have both accepted scholarship offers from the Aggies. Brett Young was recruited as a pitcher and Sean Young will play catcher. "We didn't really set it up where we both were (intending) to go to the same school," Brett Young said. "That's just how it turned out. It fits both of us the best."

The Youngs are going to a program that has won a lot of conference games lately. The Aggies (22-23, 12-3) are the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament. The MEAC is a conference comprised of Division I schools. "It was a nice Division I offer," Brett Young said. "It's small Division I, but we play against top-notch competition like (N.C.) State and Carolina." Brett Young said the coaching staff intends to pack 30 pounds onto his frame. He expects to likely start out as a relief pitcher and progress from there.

Meanwhile, Sean Young has a shot to contribute right away. He plays his position well and can really swing the bat. Sean Young finished the North Piedmont 3A season with better than a .460 batting average, along with three home runs, against some really good pitchers.

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JSU Tigers make some history, deal more misery to Mississippi State Bulldogs‎

PEARL, MS — Quintavious Drains pumped his fist, walked toward the Jackson State dugout and then met the mob of players pouring out in ecstatic celebration. There were chest bumps, bear hugs, high-fives and even a bit of dancing. Yep, David had beaten Golliath. Jackson State beat Mississippi State 3-1 Tuesday night at Trustmark Park, knocking off the tradition-rich program for the first time in 18 years. The Tigers (29-14), in position to win their first SWAC title in a decade, won their 10th straight game and won for just the eighth time in 58 meetings with Mississippi Sate (20-24).

"We were ready. We were ready," said Drains, a sophomore pitcher who got the save. Said JSU coach Omar Johnson: "It means a lot to the people at the university." Meanwhile, the Bulldogs dropped their seventh straight and lost to JSU for the first time since an 8-4 defeat in Jackson in 1992. State, which was swept in the past two SEC weekend series, beat Jackson State 18-2 on April 6 in Starkville to make it 23 in a row over the Tigers. This time around the Bulldogs failed to handle Drains and JSU starter Cortney Nelson. They had a season-low three hits and hit into three double plays. Their only run came in the sixth on Connor Powers' homer.

PHOTO GALLERIES: JSU - MSU

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Life threw him a curve, but it couldn't keep him down

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NORFOLK, VA - Mark Young II was coming off what he thought was a breakthrough baseball season in 2006. A Norfolk State junior, Young established himself as one of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's top pitchers after compiling a 3.21 ERA - second-best in the league - and tossing a two-hit shutout against defending league champion North Carolina A&T. "I felt great about myself," he said recently. "I couldn't wait until the next season."

It never came.

These days, Young is the varsity coach at Booker T. Washington High - a few blocks from where he flourished on the mound for Norfolk State, but a long way from his playing days and his dream of pro baseball. At Granby High, Young was a hard-throwing right-hander whose fastball was consistently clocked near 90 mph. Young, a first-team All-Eastern District pick as a senior, then spent a season at Louisburg (N.C.) College. Young transferred to Norfolk State and in the spring of 2006, helped the Spartans finish 11-7 in the MEAC, the program's best regular-season finish.

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Hairston's hit in 10th sends NSU to victory

Armstrong two-run HR caps Southern U. rally over FAMU

James Armstrong freely acknowledged he’d been in a slump, and he needed to hit his way out of it. Thursday afternoon, in the bottom of the ninth inning, he did it in a big way. Pinch-hitting for fellow senior Greg Whitfield, Armstrong smashed a game-winning two-run homer over the right-field wall, capping a six-run inning that gave Southern an 11-10 victory over Florida A&M at Lee-Hines Field, completing a two-game sweep.

It was also the third pinch-hit homer in the last two years for Armstrong. “He seems like he does that better than anything else,” SU coach Roger Cador said. “I’d been saving him all game for the right situation. Finally, we get it.” It was the first homer of the year for Armstrong, who lost his starting job in left field to Kyle Smith, thanks his recent struggles at the plate and in the field.

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Norfolk State Spartans 0, Norfolk Tides 6

Brandon Snyder collected four hits and seven Tides relievers held Norfolk State to two hits in a 6-0 win in front of 8,509 fans Tuesday night at Harbor Park. Snyder singled four times to pace Norfolk's 11-hit attack, while Josh Bell singled and added an RBI triple. Lou Montanez, Scott Moore and Miguel Abreu each added an RBI single for the Tides, while Joey Gathright added two stolen bases and a run scored. Seven Tides hurlers combined on the two-hit shutout, with Ross Wolf striking out the side in a perfect inning of work.

The contest was the first between the two teams and benefited the Norfolk State University baseball program. Brandon Hairston and James Taylor each singled for Norfolk State, who continue their MEAC schedule on Saturday with a doubleheader against Maryland Eastern Shore. The Tides open up their regular season on Thursday night against the defending International League Champion Durham Bulls, with first pitch slated for 7:15 pm.

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Southern Jaguars salvage split with Texas Southern Tigers

Late in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Lee-Hines Field, Southern first baseman Frazier Hall disappeared into foul territory, jogging toward a small cranny between Texas Southern’s dugout and bullpen. Unaware teammates soon found him near the wall, doubled over, writhing in apparent pain. It seemed that the 83-degree temperature, grouped with humid air, a sunny sky and no wind, made for bad conditions in Hall’s stomach. He overheated and lost his breakfast. Undeterred, however, Hall declined to leave the game.

Contrary to a theory that floated through the stands, Hall wasn’t nauseated by the Jaguars’ play — even though they were fairly sloppy in a split with the Tigers, losing the first game 6-4 and winning the second game 9-3. In two games, they committed nine errors, stranded 13 runners and hit .258 as a team, showing lack of discipline in many at-bats.

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SSU sweeps NC Central in baseball‎

The Savannah State University baseball team pounded out 28 hits Saturday en route to sweeping a home doubleheader from winless North Carolina Central (0-25), 11-1 in eight innings, and 11-6 in seven. The Tigers (13-13) had 15 hits in Game 1, as right fielder Dexter Kelley was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, three runs scored and one double. Third baseman-shortstop Joseph McCrary was 4-for-4 with one RBI, one run and one double. Michael Allegretti (7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K) earned the win.

In Game 2, Kelley was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and McCrary was 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Blake Lee was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs. Mark Sherrod (5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) was credited for the win.

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SU Cador hopes fish tale helps spark Jaguars‎

Late Tuesday night, sometime after the Southern baseball team outlasted Nicholls State and returned from Houma, longtime coach and part-time motivational speaker Roger Cador found himself transfixed on a television nature show. It detailed the life cycle of the salmon — how they start in Alaskan rivers, swim downstream into the Pacific, grow into adults, then swim upstream to lay eggs in the same Alaskan river ... only to die a few weeks later.

Somehow, in Cador’s ever-expansive mind, he saw how the story applied to his own team, which heads into the meaty part of its Southwestern Athletic Conference schedule this month. The salmon and the Jaguars. Who knew they had anything in common? Southern (8-9, 5-1 Western Division) kicks off a three-game series against second-place Texas Southern (13-14, 4-2) with a doubleheader that begins at noon today, and two days before the first pitch, the Jaguars gathered around their 26th-year coach for story time. Cador spoke of the salmon — about how they adapt from freshwater to saltwater, about how they swim against raging rapids and sometimes even leap waterfalls, just to return to the place where they mate.

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NSU Spartans, Suffolk native to play vs. Norfolk Tides‎

Head Coach Claudell Clark and the Norfolk State Spartans will play an exhibition game against the Norfolk Tides, the triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, on Tuesday, April 6 at 7:15 pm at Harbor Park. Tickets for the event are $5.00, ($3.00 for students) with all proceeds from the contest going towards the NSU Spartans baseball program.

When Norfolk State’s baseball team gets to play the Norfolk Tides in an exhibition game at Harbor Park Tuesday night, it’ll be just one more reason why Suffolk native John Rasberry’s happy he’s worked and played his way to Norfolk State and the Spartan baseball squad. Rasberry was a standout outfielder and pitcher at Lakeland until transferring to Greenbrier Christian in Chesapeake as a junior.

With the Gators, Rasberry was a two-time all-Tidewater Conference and All-State (Virginia Independent Schools) player and on a state-championship Greenbrier club while hitting .475 in his senior season. Rasberry went to college and played ball for two years at Delaware Tech Community College before being recruited and coming to Norfolk State. Getting the chance to play Division I baseball was certainly one goal. Coming back close to home is a huge bonus.

“I’ve been away the past couple years. It’s great now playing in front of faces I know basically every home game. People who, for my whole life, have been cheering me on, are able to watch me play. It’s really fun,” Rasberry said. As the starting leftfielder and leadoff hitter for the Spartans, Rasberry’s hitting .371 (26-for-70) with 18 runs, three doubles, two homers, six stolen bases and 12 RBI.

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QUOTES:

"We are really excited to welcome Norfolk State to Harbor Park for this exhibition game" said Tides President Ken Young. "This is a great opportunity for fans to catch their first glimpse of the 2010 Tides in action, and hopefully this is the start of a long-term relationship with an institution that is very important in the Hampton Roads community."

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to compete against the Norfolk Tides," Norfolk State head baseball coach Claudell Clark said. "The game will give our baseball program greater exposure in the Tidewater area as well as serving as a key fundraiser for us. We look forward to making the event a success each year."

This game supplants the annual exhibition game the Tides had played against the Old Dominion University Monarchs.

No-quit Grambling streaks into Monroe‎

First year Coach James Cooper has the Grambling State Tigers on a early season win streak.

The Grambling State baseball team was the coldest team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference at the beginning of the season. Now the Tigers may very well be the hottest After starting the season 0-9 Grambling has won eight of its last 12 games. The hot streak began in early March with two-game sweeps of Jarvis Christian and Alabama State, and continued with 2-1 series victories over a pair of SWAC foes. Grambling took two out of three games against Texas Southern, and followed by taking two out of three against Prairie View A&M this past weekend.

Grambling (8-13 overall, 4-2 SWAC) visits ULM tonight for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch, and hosts Arkansas Pine-Bluff for a three-game conference series this weekend.

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Southern University's Cador likes new format for SWAC‎

After 25 seasons of coaching baseball within the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Roger Cador has learned, again and again, that road trips within the league sometimes come with unique obstacles. After all, some of the SWAC’s smaller hometowns don’t offer much in the way of fine restaurants, comfortable hotels or even video-rental stores, much less an open movie theatre. This weekend, in fact, the Southern baseball team will spent four more innings in Pine Bluff, Ark., than it has in previous years.

And Cador is actually happy about it. The up-and-down Jaguars (5-8, 3-0 Western Division) visit Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-10, 1-5) for three games, including a doubleheader that begins at noon today. Today will mark the second time the Jaguars play a two nine-inning games in a doubleheader — a new experience this season for SWAC teams. Before, conference series began with a pair of seven-inning games on Saturdays, then finished with one nine-inning game on Sunday. The SWAC changed its format during the offseason, opting for nine-inning doubleheaders on the first day.

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FAMU rallies past Jackson State, 11-10

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Tobi Adeyemi’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth scored Daniel Lee as the Florida A&M University Baseball team rallied past Jackson State 11-10, here Saturday afternoon at Moore-Kittles Field. FAMU (3-4-1) tallied a game high 17 hits, while JSU (2-6) finished with 10 hits. The Rattlers were paced by Adeyemi, who went five-for-six from the plate with five RBI’s, and scoring two runs, while the Tigers were led by Braneric Holmes, who went three-for-five from the plate with four RBI’s and scoring three runs.

FAMU head baseball coach Robert Lucus

Tobias Lee (1-0) picked up the win for FAMU, allowing two hits, one earned run and striking out two in three and one-third innings of relief. Cortney Nelson took the loss for JSU, allowing seven hits, five earned runs and striking out six in four and one-third innings of relief. The Rattlers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Darryl Evans scored on a Jimmie Terrell single. Holmes tied the game at 1-1 for the Tigers in the top of the second inning as he scored on a Louis Mila ground out to first base. In the bottom of the second inning, FAMU took a 3-1 lead as Scott Sheplak homered to left field and Jared Jeffries scored on an Adeyemi single up the middle.

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