TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (May 13, 2016) – For the third time in four games, Florida A&M had a big offensive game against the North Carolina A&T baseball team. On Friday afternoon, the Rattlers produced 24 hits to down the Aggies 20-4 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action at Moore-Kittles Field.
Three different Aggies did have two hits apiece as sophomore Milton Rivera added two RBI to his two-hit performance. Sophomore Adan Ordonez scored a run along with his two hits and senior Ryan Jantsch went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. The Aggies dropped to 13-39 overall and 6-16 in the MEAC.
The Rattlers (28-19, 17-5 MEAC) surprisingly got off to a fast start against N.C. A&T ace Robert Peck (RHP). In Peck's last outing against the Rattlers he went six innings and gave up only five hits on three runs against the FAMU's efficient offense. In fact, Peck had gone at least six innings in his last three starts. But on Friday, the Rattlers scored 10 runs and had 12 hits in 1.1 innings. It helped FAMU grab a 13-0 lead over the first two innings of the game.
The Aggies got on the board in the third as Jantsch singled and took advantage of a FAMU throwing error on a Forest Kimbrell sacrifice bunt attempt. The errant throw allowed Jantsch to score. N.C. A&T closed out their scoring in the fifth inning. Rivera ripped a two-run RBI double down the right field line to score freshman James Rorie who reached on a third-strike wild pitch and Jantsch who reached on a single.
Rivera's double was his 19th of the year which ranks him 23rd in the nation and No. 1 in the MEAC. Ordonez followed with his 14th double of the season as Rivera scored to bring the Aggies to within 15-4. The Rattlers closed out the game with five runs as the game ended in the seventh due to the MEAC run rule after seven.
The teams close out the series Saturday with a doubleheader.
