FAMU baseball invited to inaugural HBCU Baseball Classic

ATLANTA – Just days before kicking off the start of this season last weekend, the FAMU baseball team was invited to play in the inaugural Ralph Garr-Bill Lucas HBCU Baseball Classic.

The event is presented by Truist and hosted by the Atlanta Braves. 

The best-of-three series honors Braves Hall of Famers Ralph Garr and Bill Lucas and will see their alma maters — FAMU and Grambling State — face off at Coolray Field on March 12-14. 

Lucas is a 1976 FAMU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee.

The former Rattler infielder spent over 20 years with the Braves organization and became the first African American to oversee a player personnel department in baseball. He helped draft key players such as Dale Murphy and Bob Horner and hired eventual Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox. 

Lucas was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2006 for his immeasurable impact on the Braves organization and the game. 

First pitch at Coolray Field, home of the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers, is slated for 7 p.m. on March 12. The teams will play single games on with game two on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 1 p.m. each day.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at https://www.ticketmaster.com/coolray-field-tickets-lawrenceville/venue/115610 or at the Gwinnett Stripers Ticket Office the day of each game starting at 5 p.m. and at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Tickets are limited and will be socially distant.

For more information on the Ralph Garr-Bill Lucas HBCU Baseball Classic, visit www.braves.com/hbcuclassic. 

The Rattlers opened the season last Saturday against Stetson in Deland, where they played three games.