Florida A&M picked up a pair of MEAC wins as they swept Maryland Eastern Shore in a doubleheader 9-1 and 9-7 in baseball action Saturday afternoon at Moore-Kittles Field.
In game one, FAMU (12-18, 5-5 MEAC) pounded out 11 hits, while UMES (5-33, 4-6 MEAC) finished with three hits.
The Rattlers were paced by the T&T boys, Tim Jones and Tim Schalch as they both went three-of-five from the plate, with Jones driving in three runs, while Schalch batted in one.
The Hawks’ Phil Vaughn, Matt Witte and Russell Deutschman all finished with one hit each.
Miguel Parga (4-1) would get the win for the Rattlers, allowing three hits and striking out seven in eight innings of work, while Elliott Arringotn (1-4) took the loss, allowing six hits, four earned runs and striking out four.
FAMU jumped to the early lead in the bottom of the first inning as Jared Jeffries would score on a Jones RBI triple. Then a Chris Fullman two-run homer would give the Rattlers a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third inning, Fullman would score again on a UMES infielder’s error, increasing the Rattlers lead to 4-0.
FAMU picked up another run in the bottom of the fourth as Jared Jeffries scored from third on a Thaddous McBurrow sacrifice fly to right field, making the score 5-0.
The Rattlers plated three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 8-0.
UMES would score their only run of the game as Pat Hercinger scored on a Matt Witte RBI single, cutting FAMU’s lead to 8-1.
Schalch would score the Rattlers final run on a Jones RBI single for the 9-1 final.
In game two, FAMU finished with 11 hits, while UMES tallied eight hits.
The Rattlers were paced by Darryl Evans, who hit for the cycle, by going four-for-four from the plate, followed by Schalch with three hits and Fullman with two hits.
Eddie Thomas (1-1) picked up the win for FAMU , allowing two hits, two earned runs and striking out five in four and one-third innings, while Mike Roberts (2-4) got the loss for the Hawks, allowing nine hits, seven earned runs and striking out four in five innings.
UMES jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first as Vaughn scored on a Jorge Pichardo RBI single, followed by a Josh Dunham walk scoring Remo Orsini. Then both Dunham and Pichardo would score on a Deutschmann two-run single to left field. Then Deutschmann would score on a Vaughn walk, giving the Hawks a 5-0 lead.
FAMU would answer in the bottom of the first on an Evans grand slam, cutting the UMES lead to 5-4.
The Hawks added to their lead in the top of the fourth as Vaughn scored on a Pichardo RBI single, making the score 6-4.
FAMU would take the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning as Jared Grace homered to lead off the inning. Then Roland Chandler would score on a Schalch RBI single, then Schalch would score on a Fullman RBI single, giving the Rattlers a 7-6 lead.
The Rattlers plated one more run in the bottom of the fifth as Grace hit into a fielder’s choice scoring Evans from third, who tripled, making increasing FAMU’s lead to 8-6.
UMES picked up their final run in the top of the sixth as Hercinger hit into a double play scoring Mike Guy from third, cutting the Rattlers lead to 8-7.
FAMU scored their final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth as Schalch scored on a Fullman sacrifice fly to center field, for the 9-7 final,
The Rattlers will conclude their three-game series with UMES on Sunday in a single game at 1 p.m.