Rattlers capture its first SWAC baseball championship

The FAMU Rattler baseball team, yesterday, claimed their first SWAC baseball crown in only their second year in the conference.  The Rattlers did it by defeating in-state rival Bethune-Cookman 9-6 in the championship. 

Both the FAMU and BCU officially joined the SWAC during the 2021-22 school year. 
 
The win was the Rattlers 23rd conference title, ninth since joining NCAA Division I in 1978. FAMU baseball head coach Jamey Shouppe has coached FAMU to three conference titles ― MEAC (2015 and 2019) and SWAC (2023). The victory gives the Rattlers their third automatic berth in the NCAA Regionals in the program’s history. 
 
"The SWAC competition is really good. I am so happy for our guys. To do it the way we did – coming out of the loser's bracket – it shows the heart these young men have. "We're excited about representing the SWAC in the NCAA Regional," said Shouppe. 
 
The Rattlers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. FAMU extended the lead to 4-1 in the top of the third, before B-CU scored two runs to make it a 4-3 ball game.  
 
FAMU scored again in the top of the fourth to make it 5-3 
 
In the seventh inning, the Rattlers added a pair runs on a Sebastian Greico homerun. The Rattlers added runs in the eighth and ninth innings.