Jacksonville, Fla. | Florida A&M struggled defensively, committing six errors in a 16-6 loss to the University of North Florida on Wednesday afternoon at Dusty Rhodes Field at Harmon Stadium.
Â
Octavien Moyer led the Rattlers at the plate, accounting for two of FAMU's eight hits. Moyer went 2-for-4 with a double and one run scored.
Â
FAMU opened with a bang as Moyer sent a ball to deep left field for a leadoff double. After Ethan Mangum laid a sacrifice bunt down to move Moyer over to third base,
LJ Bryant brought him home on a groundout to second.
Â
The Rattlers a shaky second inning, defensively. FAMU committed three errors which resulted in three unearned runs for the Ospreys, giving them a 3-1 lead.
Â
LJ Bryant and
Jared Weber gave the Rattlers a spark in the fourth inning, leading off with back-to-back singles.
Seyjuan Lawrence dropped down the Rattlers' second sacrifice bunt to move both runners to second and third.
Grant Rowell followed that up with a sharply hit ball to centerfield, scoring both runners to toe the game at 3-3.
Â
With the Rattlers trailing 11-3 in the top of the seventh inning, freshman
Miles Watson smashed his first collegiate homerun with a three-run shot over the left field to pull the Rattlers within five runs.
Â
However, UNF tacked on five more runs in their final at-bat to wrap up the victory in seven innings. The Ospreys picked up 13 hits on the day.
Â
Josh Wilson got the start for the Rattlers, working 1.2 innings, allowing three runs on two hits while striking out one batter.
Zach Morea (3-1) was saddled with his first loss of the season after surrendering three runs on three hits in 1.1 innings of work in relief.
Â
On Deck
Â
FAMU travels to Norfolk, Va. for a weekend series with Norfolk State in a battle of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's (MEAC) division leaders, April 30-May 2. Friday's series opener will be broadcast on ESPNU with first pitch set for 4 p.m.
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â