Florida A&M Silences Grambling’s Bats, Advance To SWAC Championship
In the SWAC foes’ third meeting in the SWAC Baseball Tournament, Junior Justen Crews racked up four RBIs to help lead the Florida A&M Rattlers to a victory over the Grambling State Tigers 9-1 on Saturday. The Rattlers advance to face Bethune-Cookman for a 2 PM EST start on Sunday afternoon at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
Senior Cody Williams (5-3) got the win for Florida A&M (33-24). The right-hander went eight innings, giving up one run on eight hits, allowing three walks and striking out seven. Freshman Ryan Young also pitched well, going one shutout inning without allowing a hit.
Crews went 2-for-5 in addition to his four RBIs for the Rattlers. Freshman Jay Campbell compiled a standout effort as well, going 1-for-2 with a double, three walks and three RBIs. Junior William Brown also chipped in for Florida A&M, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate while adding a double.
Grambling took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning as Aries Gardner singled to left field driving in Chris Marcellus to score.
FAMU finally reaching the scoreboad on a Jay Campbell walk that advanced Josue Figuroa to score a an unearned run. Justen Crews would single to center field for two RBIs with Broedy Poppell and Justin Lopez reaching home plate. The Rattlers would take a 3-1 after three innings.
The Rattlers’ pitching and fielding kept the Tigers scoreless having a 9-1 lead going into the eighth inning where it remained until the final toss out.
GAME NOTES FROM FAMU
» Williams struck out seven Tigers hitters.
» Crews drove in four runs for Florida A&M.
» Florida A&M’s highest scoring inning was the eighth, when it pushed five runs across.
» Florida A&M took the lead at 3-1 in the bottom half of the third and never lost that advantage.
» Williams put together eight innings of one-run ball for the Rattlers.
» Four Rattlers had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Rattlers out-hit the Tigers at an 11-8 clip.
» Florida A&M went 3-for-10 (.300) with runners in scoring position.
» Florida A&M pitchers limited Grambling to just 1-for-7 (.143) with runners in scoring position.
» Florida A&M pitchers faced 37 Grambling hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and nine fly balls while striking out seven.
» The Rattlers drew seven walks from Grambling pitching.
» Campbell led the Rattlers at the plate, going 1 for 2 with a double and three RBIs.
» Grambling was led offensively by junior Trey Bridges, who went 3 for 4 with a double.
SWAC Baseball Tournament Championship
FAMU will match-up with rival Bethune-Cookman Sunday at 2 p.m. EST. The contest will be televised on ESPN +.
SWAC Baseball
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