FAMU baseball's NCAA Regional opener proves team is not interested in a participation trophy

Day one of the NCAA Tournament ended in defeat for Florida A&M baseball.

The Rattlers (29-29) fought, but faltered to the national No. 2 seed Florida Gators (45-14) 3-0 in the Gainesville Regional at Condron Family Ballpark before a crowd of 7,367 ― the largest attendance in the Gators' postseason history on Friday.

"Great effort on our part," FAMU head coach Jamey Shouppe said. "I was so fearful of this game because of the potent offense and great team that Florida has. But our guys fought their butts off and I was pleased with their effort.

"[Florida] is the number two team in the country for a reason."

The Rattlers gave up two-run homer to Florida's Josh Rivera at the bottom of the first inning. Then, FAMU allowed Wyatt Langford to score on a Luke Heyman RBI single at the bottom of the eighth inning.

FAMU attempted to make a comeback effort at the top of the ninth, but Joseph Pierini and Will Brown were tagged out at home plate for two of Florida's three final outs.

North Florida Christian alum Caleb Granger got the start for the Rattlers. The sophomore, who threw 96 pitches, allowed two earned runs on four hits in six innings.

The 2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament (SWAC) MVP Zach Morea threw 1.1 innings. Maclay and Tallahassee Community College alum Grant Harrison finished the game for FAMU.

The Rattlers had seven total hits led by two apiece by leadoff hitter Ty Jackson and Pierini.

FAMU will have another opportunity to play in the double-elimination regional tournament against UConn on Saturday at noon. The Huskies lost to Texas Tech 3-2 during Friday's noon game.

"It hurts right now, but I'm proud of them," Shouppe said. "We've been up and down all year long and this was certainly a down time for us. We're going to fight like heck again [Saturday] and hopefully settle in the environment."

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FAMU baseball falls in NCAA Tournament opener, but still looking at the big picture

The Rattlers are disappointed.

But the drive to not only challenge larger teams, but be the first FAMU squad in program history to win a NCAA Tournament game still lives.

"We're playing for the name on the front of the jersey," Jackson said. "We love one another and we're blessed to be here, but we're trying to compete and give our all everyday."

FAMU was within arms reach of possibly pulling off an upset on Florida. That came as no surprise to Granger, who has saw his team progress and develop throughout the season on the way to winning the program's first SWAC Championship.

That's going to keep the Rattlers morale high entering Saturday.

"We knew we were good coming in," Granger said. "We had a great year ― a historic year in most aspects. We knew we wanted to compete and show what we're made of. And I think we did a good bit of that today."

Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan watched from the dugout as the Rattlers made his team work for the tournament-opening victory.

"Jamey's done an incredible job," O'Sullivan said. "They play fundamental baseball and always make the right moves. I know they're disappointed they loss, but at the same time, they played a really good game and kept their composure in front of an outstanding crowd we had.

"Hats off to them. Their program has come lightyears since Jamey took over."

FAMU will head back to its hotel, regroup, and return to Condron Ballpark Saturday for the win-or-go home contest against UConn.

Camaraderie and resilience will be on the forefront.

"I don't worry about my guys because they're unified in what they do," Shouppe said. "They love each other and going to come out and play for each other. I wouldn't take another group to come into this regional with and see if we can win the first regional game in the history of FAMU baseball.

"Don't count my men out. They're that tough."

Here's the full bracket and schedule for the NCAA Division I Baseball Gainesville Regional Round.

Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU Baseball: Rattlers aiming to score program's first NCAA Regional win