The Florida A&M Rattlers broke through after a 5-5 tie in the seventh inning to beat the Southern Jaguars 12-6 Friday in the Andre Dawson Classic opener.
Senior Zach Morea got the win out of the bullpen for Florida A&M (1-5). The right-hander went one inning, giving up four runs, all of them earned, on five hits, allowing no walks and striking out one.
Senior Hunter Viets started the ballgame and went six innings, surrendering one run on three hits, walking one and striking out eight.
Offensively, the Rattlers were paced by junior Sebastian Greico, who went 2-for-4 on the day with a home run, a walk and three RBI. Freshman Joseph Pierini put together a noteworthy performance at the dish as well, going 2-for-2 with a home run, a walk and an RBI. Freshman Jordan Brown also helped out for Florida A&M, putting together three hits in five trips to the plate while adding a double and two RBI.
The Rattlers put runs on the scoreboard first, starting the scoring in the third inning. Florida A&M scored twice on a two-run double off the bat of senior Ty Hanchey.
The Rattlers then lost some of their lead, expanding on their advantage in the seventh inning after the Jaguars cut it to 2-1. Florida A&M scored three runs in the frame, buoyed by a two-RBI double from Brown, which brought the score to 5-1 in favor of the Rattlers.
Southern came back to even the ballgame at five before Florida A&M reclaimed a 10-5 advantage in the eighth inning. The Rattlers bats heated up in the inning, scoring five runs, including a two-run home run off the bat of Greico and a two-run double from sophomore Will Brown.
Courtesy: Florida A&M Athletics
