TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Florida A&M baseball and Bethune-Cookman kicked off their all-important weekend conference series on Friday night with a tight 4-3 win for the visiting Wildcats.
The teams entered the game tied atop the SWAC standings.
The Rattlers took a 3-0 lead in the first inning and behind the pitching of Caleb Granger and good defense, the team continued to lead 3-2 entering the seventh inning. But Bethune-Cookman took its first lead on a two-out bases loaded error by shortstop Matthew Perez.
Florida A&M wasn’t able to score again.
“We need to do a better job of putting quality at bats together,” said head coach Jamey Shouppe. “The middle of the game got away from us a little bit. They chipped away and then they hit the ball up the middle and we couldn’t make the play and that wass the difference in the ballgame. But we can’t let it get to that. You’re gonna win by pitching and defense, especially against good baseball teams that also pitch and play good defense. So we need to make sure we make at least the routine plays, that’s key.”
Game two is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
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