SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Savannah State University softball team (8-20, 3-6 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) fell to Florida A&M University (19-23, 11-1 MEAC) 7-3 in eight innings in game one and 10-2 in six innings in game two at Lady Tiger Softball Field.
 
The Lady Tigers went up in the first game 1-0 after the first, but FAMU responded by scoring three runs in the next half inning to take a 3-1 lead.  SSU battled back by scoring a run in the third and fifth to tie the game at three, but FAMU scored four runs in extra innings to take the first game of the doubleheader.
 
In the second game, FAMU scored first to take a 1-0 lead, but SSU scored a run in the second inning to tie the game at one.  FAMU went up again by scoring a run in the third inning to take a 2-1 lead, but the Lady Tigers scored a run in the fourth inning to tie the game at two.  The Rattlers scored four runs in the fifth and in the sixth innings to run ruled the Lady Tigers.
 
Sophomore left fielder Shayna Byers led the team with a .600 (3-for-5) batting average with a double and an RBI in both games, while senior right fielder Shelby Eccles batted .500 (2-for-4) with three runs scored and senior shortstop Brianna Harris recorded a .429 (3-for-7) batting average with an RBI.
 
Florida A&M 7, Savannah State 3 (8) (Game One)
Eccles went 2-for-2 with three runs scored, while Byers went 2-for-3 and junior third baseman Cortni Jones went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, while on the mound, freshman pitcher Tanisha Williams (2-3) picked up the loss pitching a complete game giving up five earned runs on 13 hits. 
 
Savannah State got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead after Jones groundout to second base to drive home Eccles, but FAMU scored three runs in the top of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead after an RBI single, an error that allowed two Rattlers to score with two outs.
 
The Lady Tigers pulled with a run after scoring a run in the bottom of the third inning after Jones hit an infield single to drive home Eccles to cut the lead to 3-2 and tied the game at three after Harris singled up the middle to drive home Eccles in the fifth inning.
 
Both teams left two runners on base in the seventh inning to head into extra innings for the second consecutive games.
 
In the extras, FAMU scored four runs in the eighth inning after a sacrifice fly, a two-run double and an RBI single to give the Rattlers the win.
 
The Rattlers were led by Tyra Bowers going 4-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Alexis Day went 3-for-5 with an RBI.  On the mound, Veronica Burse (6-14) picked up the win pitching a complete game giving up two earned runs on nine hits.
 
Florida A&M 10, Savannah State 2 (6) (Game Two)
Senior shortstop Drea Lesure, Jones, Byers and junior second baseman Allye Sneed all collected a hit, while Jones hit a home run and Byers recorded an RBI and junior first baseman Elizabeth Humes scored a run.
 
Florida A&M scored a run in the top of the first inning after a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead, but the Lady Tigers tie the game at one after Byers hit an RBI double to center field to drive home Humes in the second inning.
 
The Rattlers took the lead again in the third inning after a leadoff home run to take a 2-1 lead, but Jones' home run to center field in the fourth inning tied the game at two runs.
 
Florida A&M scored four runs in the fifth inning to take a 6-2 lead after an RBI single and a three-run home run and scored four more runs in the sixth inning for the eight run win after an RBI single, a two-run double and after a throw scored a Rattler.
 
The Rattlers were led by Yuri Hampton going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while Bowers, Jamesia Stoudemire, Toni Anderson and Day each recorded two hits.  On the mound, Kyaira Brown (13-9) picked up the win in a complete game giving up two runs on four hits.
 
The Lady Tigers finish the eight game homestand with a three-game series next weekend against North Carolina A&T State University with a doubleheader Saturday, April 21 starting at 1 p.m. and a single-game Sunday, April 22 starting at noon for Senior Day.
 
Florida A&M 7, Savannah State 3 (Apr 14, 2018 at Savannah, Ga.) (Game 1)
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Florida A&M......... 030 000 04 -  7 13  2      (18-23, 10-1 MEAC)
Savannah State...... 101 010 00 -  3  9  2      (8-19, 3-5 MEAC)
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Pitchers: Florida A&M - BURSE,Veroni and WOODARD,Mack; BLASINGANE,A. Savannah State -
WILLIAMS, Tanisha and CYRUS, Kelsey.
Win-BURSE,Veroni(6-14)  Loss-WILLIAMS, Tanisha(2-3)  T-2:31  A-74
Weather: 81, sunny, wind: S@13 mph
 
Florida A&M 10, Savannah State 2 (Apr 14, 2018 at Savannah, Ga.) (Game 2)
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Florida A&M......... 101 044  - 10 14  0      (19-23, 11-1 MEAC)
Savannah State...... 010 100  -  2  4  1      (8-20, 3-6 MEAC)
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Pitchers: Florida A&M - BROWN,Kyaira and BLASINGANE,A. Savannah State - DICKERSON, Faith;
DECKLE, Hannah(6) and CYRUS, Kelsey.
Win-BROWN,Kyaira(13-9)  Loss-DICKERSON, Faith(0-8)  T-1:48  A-73
HR FAMUS - STOUDEMIRE,J (3); VARMAH,Hera (3).
HR SSUSB - JONES, Cortni (7).
Weather: 80, partly cloudy, wind:s@14
 
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