SALISBURY, Md. – Florida A&M University won the 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Baseball Tournament championship on Saturday at the Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.
The Rattlers (23-23) clinched and posted an undefeated mark throughout the double-elimination tournament with an 8-2 championship victory over Bethune-Cookman (19-40).
The championship is the first for Florida A&M since 1994 and the seventh overall.
Second-year head coach Jamey Shouppe was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Coach, while Rattlers pitcher Brandon Fleming was selected the Most Outstanding Performer.
“We talked about winning the tournament all year long,” Shouppe said. “The last time the Florida A&M program won the MEAC, it was not an automatic qualifier, and had to play a play-in game and lost. Winning this season would give them their first trip to the post-season in program history and now we can celebrate that.”
Florida A&M struck first, scoring twice in the top of the first inning on a Marlon Gibbs RBI single to left field and a sacrifice fly by Ryan Kennedy. The Rattlers added to the lead in the fifth, sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring six times, to grab an 8-0 lead.
The Wildcats cut the deficit with one run in the sixth and seventh, but couldn’t get any closer as the Rattlers got solid relief from Alex Carrasco.
FAMU starter Chase Jarrell scattered seven hits and allowed two runs in 6.1 innings to earn the victory. Carrasco tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, as he allowed just one hit and fanned three.
Seven Rattlers collected hits in the contest, with Kennedy logging two RBI, on 1-for-3 hitting and Peter Jackson registering two RBI on 2-for-4 hitting.
Florida A&M, which earned the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Regionals, awaits its opponent that will be announced during the NCAA Baseball Selection Show Monday, May 25 at Noon on ESPNU.
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2015 MEAC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
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Game 1 – Delaware State 6, Bethune-Cookman 2
Game 2 – Savannah State 8, Maryland Eastern Shore 6
Game 3 – Delaware State 13, Norfolk State 11
Game 4 – Florida A&M 7, Savannah State 4
Game 5 – Norfolk State 7, Maryland Eastern Shore 6 (Maryland Eastern Shore eliminated)
Game 6 – Bethune-Cookman 3, Savannah State 2 (Savannah State eliminated)
Game 7 – Florida A&M 11, Delaware State 2
Game 8 – Bethune-Cookman 12, Norfolk State 1 (Norfolk State eliminated)
Game 9 – Bethune-Cookman 13, Delaware State 0 (Delaware State eliminated)
Game 10 – Florida A&M 8, Bethune-Cookman 2
(Florida A&M wins 2015 MEAC Baseball Championship)
2015 MEAC All-Tournament Team
Outstanding Player – Brandon Fleming, Florida A&M University
Outstanding Coach – Jamey Shouppe, Florida A&M University
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Nathan Bond
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Bethune-Cookman University
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Rakeem Quinn
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Bethune-Cookman University
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Alex Seibold
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Bethune-Cookman University
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Keith Zuniga
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Bethune-Cookman University
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Chris Gonzalez
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Delaware State University
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Brian Davis
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Florida A&M University
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Brandon Fleming
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Florida A&M University
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Chase Jarrell
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Florida A&M University
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Ricky Page
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Florida A&M University
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Angel Rosario
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Norfolk State University
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Mendez Elder
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Savannah State University
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