Number two seeded Florida A&M rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning to score four runs, but Maryland E. Shore held on for an 8-6 win in the 2007 MEAC Baseball Tournament at Marty L. Miller Field in Norfolk, Va.

With the loss, the FAMU Rattlers were eliminated from the conference baseball tournament. The defeat marked the second straight year that a number two seed was eliminated in the first two games of the tournament.

UMES (10-43) banged out eight hits, paced by Justin Hoban with two hits, followed by Eric Gaines, James Walla, Joel Gonzalez, Tyler Lover and Derrick Baker, all with one hit each.

FAMU (16-36) belted out 10 hits, led by both Thaddous McBurrows and Stanley Gnat, who had three hits each, followed by Darryl Evans with two.

Dustin Longchamps (4-11) got the win for the Hawks, allowing six hits and striking out seven in eight innings of work, while Mike Roberts received the save.

Austin Dill (5-3) took the loss for the Rattlers, giving up five hits, five earned runs and striking out two in six innings of work.

Eric Gaines gave UMES an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, scoring on a double steal attempt, with James Walls being thrown out at second.

Jared Jeffries tied the game at 1-1 for FAMU in the bottom of the first on a McBurrows double to the left side.

UMES took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third on a Hoban single to left center scoring Gonzalez.

The Hawks picked a run in the top of the fourth with Kevin Hillenburg scoring on a passed ball, giving UMES a 3-1 lead.

The Rattlers cut the Hawks’ lead to 3-2 on a Hawks infielder’s error, which scored Adam Gordon.

Walls increased the Hawks’ lead to 4-2 in the top of the fifth, scoring on a Rattler infielder’s error.

UMES picked up three runs in the seventh, sparked by a Hoban single scoring Walls, followed by a Josh Dean sacrifice fly to centerfield. Hoban would then score on a Tyler Winch sacrifice fly to right field, giving the Hawks a 7-2 lead. Derrick Baker made the score 8-2 in favor of the Hawks scoring on a FAMU infielder’s error at the top of the eighth.

FAMU would score four runs in the bottom of the ninth on a Jared Grace single scoring Gnat, followed by a Jared Jeffries RBI grounder scoring Adam Gordon. Grace would then score on a David James sacrifice fly to left field. A McBurrows single scored Evans for the 8-6 final.

UMES advances to face the Delaware State, tomorrow at Marty L. Miller Field at 10 a.m. in a loser’s bracket game.