Rattlers show resilience in regional tournament appearance
Photo by FAMU athletics
By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer
Up until the last two innings in Gainesville, FAMU flirted with the possibility of getting its first victory in a NCAA regional baseball tournament.
UConn dashed whatever possibilities there might have been when the Huskies scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning and capped off a 9-6 victory with one more run in the ninth.
The loss ended what has been a remarkable post-season run by the Rattlers. They rallied for the losers’ bracket in the SWAC tournament to capture the title and an automatic berth to the Gainesville Regional.
“We were happy to be here, we thought we had a chance to make some more special memories even though this season has already given us a lot of them,” said coach Jamey Shouppe.
Some of those memories from Saturday include the team record that the Rattlers set when Jared Webber reached base on a bunt in the fifth inning. Two more hits by the Rattlers gave them 610 for the season. The team went into the tournament after having set records for runs scored, home runs, doubles and runs batted in.
The appearance in Gainesville was the third for the Rattlers under Shouppe’s leadership. He took the team to its first NCAA regional in 2015 and again four seasons later.
Following the loss to UConn, Shouppe sounded hopeful about making a quick return to post-season play when he mentioned that most of this team will return. Position players Hanchey and Webber will join pitchers Hunter Viets and Zach Morea as the ones who won’t return.
Shouppe seemingly would have liked to have sent those players off with a historic first tournament win.
“We still have to get over the barrier of coming to the Regional Tournament and winning a baseball game,” Shouppe said. “Both games we lost were three-run ballgames, we’re getting closer. I still think the program is ascending and there is plenty of time to worry about next season before we start in the fall.”
FAMU opened the tournament with a gutsy performance against the University of Florida before falling 3-0. The Rattlers were just as scrappy last Saturday afternoon against the Huskies at Condron Family Park.
UConn scored four runs in the last two innings to ensure the win, despite four home runs that the Rattlers got. They were solo shots by Janmikell Bastardo, Hanchey, Joseph Pierini, and Weber.
The Rattlers had the Huskies, 3-2 losers to Texas Tech in their first game, fighting for their tournament live early in the game. FAMU scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to force a 5-5 tie. It stayed that way through the top of the eighth when UConn scored three runs to take the lead for good.
“The future is bright and we are excited about that but it is going to be different without a guy who has been with me five years,” Shouppe said. “Disappointed, but this is the best place you can be disappointed at the end of your season.”
