FAMU baseball building on opening weekend success, enduring challenging non-conference slate
Florida A&M baseball was on the winning side more often than not during its opening weekend series versus Eastern Illinois.
The Rattlers (2-1) won the non-conference series 2-1 over the Panthers at Moore-Kittles Field.
“Eastern Illinois is a good ball club,” FAMU head coach Jamey Shouppe said following the series. “They’ll get better, and I think we will too.”
Originally scheduled as a four-game series from Friday to Sunday, rain altered the weekend series between the Rattlers and the Panthers.
FAMU and EIU played Friday, where the Rattlers won 6-5. FAMU and EIU didn’t play on Saturday due to inclement weather. The teams opted to play a doubleheader in Sunday’s nippy weather.
In Sunday’s first game, the Rattlers beat the Panthers 4-0 in a seven-inning contest. FAMU starting pitcher Tre Simmons, a lefty, allowed only one hit and earned the win.
“Over the summer, I trained a lot and showed Shouppe during the fall and spring that I can be in that starting role,” Simmons reflected on his preseason approach.
“I was nervous going into this game. But once I touched that mound, I gained a new confidence.”
Additionally, FAMU outhit EIU 6-3, where six different Rattlers secured the hits, and four players scored the runs.
In Sunday’s second contest, FAMU lost to EIU 9-8 in extra innings.
The Rattlers fell behind 5-2 in the third inning after allowing three consecutive homeruns at the expense of Rattlers pitcher Trevor Hanselman. The early deficit caused FAMU to play catchup before the Rattlers forced an extra inning with two runs by Janmikell Bastardo and Jalen Niles in the ninth inning.
FAMU lost on an unearned run by EIU’s Robby Taul.
Non-conference games are essential for FAMU to prepare for March’s Southwestern Athletic Conference schedule.
Next for the Rattlers is hosting the Troy Trojans (3-1) of the Sun Belt Conference for a midweek game on Tuesday. It’ll be the fourth of 17 non-conference meetings for FAMU baseball.
“Our out-of-conference competition is what I call our first season,” Shouppe said. “I’m excited to see us play Tuesday against another good team, Troy.”
FAMU-Troy’s first pitch will be thrown at 4 p.m. on Moore-Kittles Field.
FAMU softball falls to Indiana in Troy Tournament finale
TROY, ALABAMA ― Junior Brianna Copeland and freshman Alex Cooper combined to throw a shutout on Sunday as the Indiana Hoosiers won 12-0.
Junior Samantha Smith (0-5) started and took the loss in the circle for FAMU (0-10).
At the plate, the Rattlers were paced by senior Nyomi Jones, who went 1-for-2 on the day.
Rattlers softball report provided by FAMU Athletics.
Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU Baseball: Rattlers get first assessment in openers, Troy next
