BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Florida A&M is headed to the SWAC Baseball Championship game after shutting down Southern 5-1 Saturday afternoon at Rickwood Field.
FAMU improved to 30-22 on the season and continued their impressive postseason run behind strong pitching, timely situational hitting and another clutch performance from their bullpen. Southern finishes the year at 29-23.
Florida A&M answers early Southern punch
Southern struck first in the opening inning when Ryan Hunter launched a solo home run to right-center field to give the Jaguars a quick 1-0 lead.
FAMU wasted little time responding.
Jay McKenzie tied the game in the second inning with a solo homer to right field before the Rattlers added another run later in the frame on a sacrifice fly from Miguel Perez to take a 2-1 advantage.
The Rattlers continued to manufacture runs throughout the night.
In the third inning, Jay Campbell lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score William Brown and extend the lead to 3-1.
The Rattlers added another run in the fourth inning when William Brown delivered a sacrifice fly that plated Miguel Perez.
An unearned run crossed in the sixth inning after a Southern wild pitch allowed Perez to score and push the margin to 5-1.
Jesus Campa delivers dominant outing
Florida A&M starter Jesus Campa gave the Rattlers exactly what they needed in a high-stakes winner’s bracket matchup.
Campa worked six innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits while striking out three. He consistently limited Southern’s opportunities after the first inning and kept the Jaguars off balance throughout the evening.
The bullpen took over from there.
Ryan Young was dominant in relief, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing no hits and striking out three to earn the save.
Southern managed just five hits total and failed to score after Hunter’s first-inning homer.
Southern now faces elimination
FAMU advances directly to the SWAC Championship game and now sits one win away from a tournament title.
The Rattlers have leaned on balanced offense and strong pitching throughout the tournament, including wins over Texas Southern and Southern in consecutive days at historic Rickwood Field.
Southern will now play in the elimination bracket and must win to force another meeting with Florida A&M.
Key performers
Florida A&M
- Jay McKenzie: 1-for-3, HR, RBI
- Miguel Perez: 1 RBI
- Jay Campbell: sacrifice fly, RBI
- William Brown: sacrifice fly, RBI
- Jesus Campa: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 SO
- Ryan Young: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 SO
Southern
- Ryan Hunter: solo home run
- Alexavier Lebron: loss (2.0 IP, 2 ER)
- Jaguars held to five hits overall
Updated SWAC Tournament outlook
Florida A&M becomes the first team to secure a spot in the SWAC Baseball Championship game after surviving the winner’s bracket unbeaten.
Southern was eliminated after losing its second game of the week, both to the Rattlers.
Source: HBCU Gameday
