Tallahassee, Fla. | Florida A&M starting pitcher Josh Hancock kept Florida Gulf Coast's bats silent as he helped propel FAMU to a 9-6 win over FGCU at Moore-Kittles Field on Friday afternoon.
 
Hancock (2-3), a senior from Altamonte Springs, Fla., baffled the Eagles lineup all afternoon, holding FGCU (10-6) to just two hits, while striking out four batters through 5.0 innings of work. His performance followed up a similarly dominant appearance last Saturday when he held Grambling scoreless for 5.1 innings. 
 
At the plate, the Rattlers (4-14) cranked out 11 hits in total. Senior catcher Tucker Rayburn, had a huge day, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. L J Bryant (2-for-4), Joseph Pierini (2-for-5) and Jared Weber (2-for-3) also had multi-hit outings for FAMU.
 
After a scoreless two and a half innings, FAMU cracked the scoring column in the bottom of the third. With Octavien Moyer and Seyjuan Lawrence on first and second, Pierini hit a ground ball deep in the gap behind second. FGCU's Richie Garcia attempted to make a play, but made a throwing error to second while attempting to throw Moyer out allowing Lawrence to score from third.
 
Weber and Rayburn followed up with a pair of RBI singles, giving the Rattlers a 3-0 lead heading into the fourth inning.
 
FGCU tied the game at three in the fifth inning, but FAMU answered back, plating a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead, 4-3.
 
The Rattlers built their biggest lead of the contest when Bryant gave the Rattlers a 9-4 advantage with an RBI single to left field to cap a three-run inning. 
 
Zach Morea worked 3.2 innings in relief, allowing three runs on five hits. He fanned three batters, walking one.
 
Chandler Benton earned his third save of the season, pitching 0.1 innings, striking out the only batter he faced to preserve victory.
 
On Deck  
 
FAMU continues its home series with FGCU on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.