TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida A&M saved its best for last.
Trailing by a run heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Rattlers strung together three consecutive extra-base hits and a walk-off single from
Caden Kresak to stun Mississippi Valley State, 6-5, on Friday afternoon at Moore-Kittles Field. The comeback victory pushed FAMU to 18-17 on the season in front of 368 fans.
William Brown and
Alex Monile supplied the early power with home runs in the second inning, but it was a gritty two-run ninth that sent the Rattlers home winners.
Ethan Miller opened the ninth with a double to center.
Josue Figueroa followed immediately with a double to left, putting runners at second and third with nobody out. Brown drew the Rattlers even with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Miller, and Kresak ended it with a single to right that plated Figueroa for the walk-off.
The decisive rally came against Mississippi Valley reliever Logan Darnell, who had been staked a lead entering the frame and fell to 2-4 on the season.
The second inning told much of the story for both clubs. Mississippi Valley jumped in front 3-0 behind a Ty Burns sacrifice fly and a Cody Leming two-run double, but FAMU answered in the bottom half with four runs of its own. A two-run homer by Monile to right — scoring the unearned
Matthew Perez, who had reached on a pair of throwing errors by Eric Williams — gave the Rattlers life, and Brown added a two-run blast to left that made it 4-3.
The Delta Devils refused to go quietly. Leming led off the fifth with a solo home run to left-center to tie it at four, then Burns went deep again in the sixth to give Valley a 5-4 edge — a lead that held until Miller stepped to the plate in the ninth.
Starter
Caleb Granger labored through seven innings, allowing five runs on nine hits, but kept FAMU in the game long enough for
Tanner Walker to close it out. Walker was dominant in relief, tossing two perfect innings with four strikeouts on 34 pitches and earning his third win of the season.
Leming had a strong day at the plate for Mississippi Valley, going 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI. Gabe Huelsing added a triple. Valley starter Luke Richard worked 6.2 innings and allowed just one earned run before departing, but the bullpen couldn't hold the lead.
Key Performers
William Brown (FAMU): 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, SF — drove in runs in three different ways
Ethan Miller (FAMU): 1-for-3, 2B, 2 R, BB — sparked the walk-off rally
Josue Figueroa (FAMU): 1-for-3, 2B, R, BB — key piece of the ninth-inning chain
Cody Leming (MSVU): 2-for-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI
Florida A&M is 18-17 overall. Mississippi Valley falls to 11-23.?????????
