FAMU baseball displays various avenues to victory in SWAC, Easter sweep over Jackson State

Three up, three down.

Florida A&M completed a three-game sweep for its home Southwestern Athletic Conference Easter Weekend series against Jackson State.

Following dropping their series at Bethune-Cookman and a midweek blowout at Troy, the Rattlers (12-16, 7-2 SWAC) showed signs of a cohesive team in their three games versus the Tigers.

On Thursday, FAMU ace pitcher and North Florida Christian alum Caleb Granger starred by striking out 10 JSU hitters in the Rattlers’ 10-1 series-opening victory. Friday saw all nine of FAMU’s starters reach base in an 8-3 win.

The FAMU-JSU series concluded on Saturday with the Rattlers outhitting the Tigers 14-7 on the way to a run-rule 11-1 win in seven innings. FAMU trio Janmikell Bastardo, True Fontenot, and Jakoby Stanley led the team with three hits.

Fontenot and Stanley both hit a homerun on Saturday.

“We’re going to keep swinging it,” Stanley said. “We got a good little lineup, and everybody on our team is ready and prepared to go out there and battle for us.

“If we stay committed, more success is coming our way.”

FAMU’s wins, JSU’s first SWAC losses, moved the Rattlers to No. 2 in the SWAC East behind Bethune-Cookman.

The array of possible ways the Rattlers can beat teams is the mark of a team gelling in the thick of its SWAC slate.

“Very happy,” FAMU head coach Jamey Shouppe said of his team’s sweep over JSU.

“We pitched great this weekend. You do that, and you’ll get a chance to sweep a series. The defense was good, and [FAMU shortstop Jalen Niles] made some great plays. The quality of at-bats was good, especially [Saturday] against their best two arms.”

The Rattlers stacked their three consecutive triumphs over JSU in their first games on Moore-Kittles Field since March 12.

“I had my family here,” said Fontenot, a Tallahassee native and Leon High School grad. “I missed my bed and the routine of being home.”

FAMU baseball traveling to Florida Gators for NCAA Tournament rematch

FAMU is hoping its latest fortunes travels from the Capital City to Hogtown.

On Tuesday, the Rattlers head to Gainesville to challenge the Florida Gators at Condron Family Ballpark.

“A big reason I wanted to come to D1 baseball was to get that exposure, go to bigger teams, bigger fields,” said Fontenot, who transferred to FAMU from Division II West Florida this season.

“Just that higher level. Yeah, I’m very pumped.”

The Rattlers and the Gators previously met in last season’s NCAA Gainesville Regional, where FAMU fell 3-0 in a hard-fought performance.

“I grew up playing at Florida State, so I don’t like them,” Shouppe joked about the Gators. “I got much respect for that program. It’ll be fun for our guys, and we’ll enjoy it.

“We’re also going to try to surprise some people. We shocked the world in 2014 against them. It’s baseball. Anything can happen.”

The Gators are amidst a three-game home Southeastern Conference series against Mississippi State. UF beat MSU 7-6 on Friday, but lost 12-2 on Saturday.

FAMU at UF’s first pitch is at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

FAMU softball wins Bethune-Cookman series, now the No. 1 seed in SWAC East

DAYTONA BEACH ― The FAMU Rattlers needed eight innings to get the job done, but secured the 7-2 extra-innings victory over the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats Saturday.

Freshman Zoryana Hughes (8-2) got the win for FAMU (14-15, 10-2). The right-hander went eight innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on 10 hits, allowing one walk and striking out three.

The Rattlers were trailing 2-0 in the seventh inning when they first put runs on the board. FAMU plated two runs off of Bethune-Cookman pitching, one of which was driven in on a run-scoring double off the bat of senior Amaya Gainer.

The score stayed at 2-2 until the very next inning, when the Rattlers put runs on the scoreboard once again. The FAMU offense exploded for five runs, highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of junior Kiauna Watson, which brought the Rattlers lead to 7-2. The score remained 7-2 for the rest of the game, as FAMU coasted to the win.

FAMU tennis sweeps Wildcats to improve SWAC record to 6-1

FAMU tennis keeps its win streak alive, defeating Bethune-Cookman 4-0.

The Rattlers started off hot early, winning the doubles point after teams of Rebekkah Gaines and Reagan Harris won 6-0, and Sara Rakim and Genesis Whitelock won 6-4.

In singles play, the Rattlers saw victories from Rakim (6-1, 6-0), Harris (6-0, 6-1), and freshman Larissa Silva (6-0, 6-0).

The Rattlers travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a makeup match versus Prairie View A&M on April 5 before returning to Tallahassee for their final match of the season on April 7 versus Alabama State.

Softball and tennis recaps provided 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 riding high entering NCAA Regional rematch