Shouppe still looking for more from Rattlers despite rough weekend series against Brown

Coach Jamey Shouppe said he is still looking for more from his FAMU baseball team. Photo courtesy FAMU athletics

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook staff writer

Going into the season, coach Jamey Shouppe said he’ll be looking for more for his FAMU baseball team.
But after a tough four-game series this past weekend against Brown University, he is wondering if what he wants is just a motto or if he players could actually deliver.

 
“It’s hard to evaluate when you get off to a bad start,” Shouppe said, following a 7-0 loss to the Bears. “Some of the routine plays that we aren’t making brings everybody down a little bit. That’s human nature.

 
“I wanted to push these guys a little bit harder, but I don’t know if they’ve learned to respond to that yet. But still the expectation is to have a better season; shoot for more. It’s not too late.”

 
Indeed, said pitcher Dallas Oliver, who pitched the first five innings against the Bears.

 
“The guys are starting to buy in,” he said. “Our everyday starters are the ones keeping people up in the dugout and they are the first ones out there.”

 
FAMU dropped the opening game 5-2, then battled back to take the second game 5-0. They ended the day with a 9-1 loss before suffering Sunday’s shutout loss.
The Rattlers kept the game close before the wheels fell off in the top of the seventh. They gave up three hits and committed three of their five errors to help the Bears put the game out of reach.

 
“The thing that bothered me was the attitude of the team that I thought was going to be a pretty good team,” Shouppe said. “We still think we can (do more). Sometimes humility can be good. We definitely got humbled.”

 
That won’t last long, though, said pitcher Dallas Oliver, who pitched the first five innings against the Bears. They have no choice except to put the three losses behind them and turn their attention to their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference open Saturday against Bethune –Cookman University.

 
With the Wildcats at 4-9 with a mid-week game against Florida Gulf Coast before coming to Tallahassee, Oliver said it wouldn’t matter what record they are when the Rattlers (6-9) face B-CU.

 
“It’s not going to be no walk through the park,” he said. “It’s going to be an all-out dog fight because it’s MEAC and it’s Bethune.”