Rattler baseball prepares for FAU after tough loss to Gators

FAMU pitcher Ricky Page

FAMU (23-24) only managed three hits against the No. 3 University of Florida (45-16) pitching in a 19-0 loss in front of 3,833 fans at McKethan Stadium on Friday night. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Regional opening round loss snapped a six-game winning streak by the Rattlers.

FAMU will face Florida Atlantic (40-18) on Saturday at 1:00 PM in an elimination game of the Gainesville Regional. The game will be televised on ESPN3.

The Rattlers only had five base runners on three hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch on the night, with three of them making it to second base.

FAMU’s Ricky Page tied a career-high with five strikeouts despite the loss. Rattler pitching hit seven batters on the night, the most hit batters for Florida this season. 13 of the Gators’ runs came over the final four innings.

Page (2-1) suffered the loss after working 2 1/3 innings and tying a season-high with five strikeouts. Page allowed six runs (three earned) on five hits with three walks and threw 51 pitches.

AJ Elkins, Marlon Gibbs and Ryan Kennedy accounted for FAMU’s three hits.