TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Caleb Granger was locked in from the first pitch, and his offense made sure he had plenty to work with. William Brown and Matthew Perez each went deep in the third inning as Florida A&M pulled away from Alabama State 5-1 on Friday night.

Granger was magnificent, working 6.1 innings while allowing just one unearned run on four hits. He struck out six Hornets and did not allow an earned run, working efficiently through a lineup that could never solve him consistently. Jackson McKenzie took over in the seventh and was even sharper — retiring all eight batters he faced, striking out three and throwing just 24 pitches to close out the combined shutout of earned runs.

FAMU wasted no time setting the tone. William Brown led off the bottom of the first with a double to left, and when Justen Crews reached on a throwing error by the Alabama State shortstop, Brown came around to score — one of three unearned runs the Rattlers manufactured in the frame. Jay Campbell doubled to center, and Matthew Perez singled him to third before Ethan Miller grounded into a double play that plated Campbell. Just like that, the Rattlers had a 3-0 lead before Alabama State recorded a second-inning out.

Brown and Perez then put the game away in the third. With the Rattlers already up three, Brown stepped in and launched a solo shot to left field — his first home run of the season. Two batters later, Perez followed with another solo homer, also to left, to stretch the margin to 5-0. Back-to-back solo shots in the same inning from FAMU's middle of the order sent a message to a packed home crowd.

Granger made sure none of it went to waste. Alabama State's only run came in the sixth on a Cale Clark sacrifice fly that plated Fabian Santana — but even that was unearned, stemming from an error. From the first inning on, the Golden Hornets managed just four hits against Granger and could never generate any offensive momentum, stranding eight baserunners on the night.

Brown had another full night at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI to go with his homer. Perez was equally dangerous — 2-for-4 with a run scored, his RBI homer and a first-inning single that set up the big early frame. The two have become the most consistent offensive threats in the Rattler lineup over the past week of SWAC play.

McKenzie's relief was a clinic in efficiency. After Granger ran into a two-on jam in the seventh, McKenzie entered and struck out Alex Espaillat to end the threat. He then sat down the final six Golden Hornets in order — three strikeouts, zero baserunners — to earn his second save of the season.

Florida A&M improves to 10-14 on the season. The Rattlers have now won four of their last five games heading deeper into SWAC play. Batting
William Brown — 2-3, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB
Matthew Perez — 2-4, HR, RBI, R
Jay Campbell — 1-4, 2B, R
Justen Crews — 0-4, R (scored on error in 1st)
Pitching
Caleb Granger (W, 4-2) — 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Jackson McKenzie (S, 2) — 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K