SAVANNAH, Ga.- Charles Sikes' two-run single in the bottom of the third was all Savannah State needed as the Tigers handed Florida A&M their first conference loss in a 2-1 win over the Rattlers in a game played at Tiger Field. The contest was a part of a double header where FAMU won the opener 7-2.
In the SSU victory, Ryan McCranie yielded four hits and struck out two. In the bottom of the third inning, the first two batters struck out. Jalen Atterbury drew a walk and Jonathan Moore hit a double down the right field line to put runners on second and third. Sikes then stepped to the plate and singled to left field which allowed Atterbury and Moore to cross home plate. The Rattlers (14-5, 4-1 MEAC) scored their only run in the top of the seventh.
Sikes had two of the Tigers six hits in the game.
Ryan Hutson had two hits for FAMU while Ricky Paige was tagged with the loss. Paige pitched six innings and struck out six.
In the first game, Savannah State scored their only runs in the bottom of the first.
Atterbury reached on an error, Moore singled to center field and Sikes walked to load the bases. Mendez Elder hit into a double play which allowed Atterbury to score and Moore scored on a wild pitch. SSU (6-14, 1-1 MEAC) made two errors in the sixth as Florida A&M scored one run to make the score 2-1. In the bottom of the inning the Tigers had the bases loaded but were unable to score.
The Rattlers added five more runs in the seventh to go ahead 6-2 and a sacrifice fly by Dylan Dillard brought home another run.
During the game, FAMU stranded 11 runners while Savannah State left six men on base.
SSU made three errors and the Rattlers made two.
Moore had two hits for the Tigers while Trevor McKenna took the loss. McKenna pitched 6.1 innings and gave up six hits and five runs while striking out six. Jackie Miles drove in three runs for FAMU. Danny Rodriguez pitched seven innings and struck out four while giving up three hits, two runs and two walks.
FAMU had nine hits in the game while the Tigers collected four.
