The FAMU Rattlers have built their season on a simple, unshakeable belief: they are never out of a fight. On Wednesday, in the steamy crucible of the SWAC Championship tournament, that appeared to be cruising to victory holding a 4-1 lead coming out of the 6th inning. Then all hell broke loose when with Texas Southern scoring 5 runs in the top of the 7th inning to take the lead. The Rattlers responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the 7th to retake the lead and hold on for 8-6 victory over Texas Southern.
The victory, a rollercoaster of momentum swings, improved FAMU to 28-22/20-8 SWAC and sets up a marquee showdown with Southern today at 4 p.m. EST on SWAC TV.
“We’ve been in every kind of game this year,” said FAMU head coach Jamey Shouppe. “That inning stung. But I looked at these guys, and there was no panic. Just resolve. They knew the job wasn’t done.”
The response was immediate, emphatic, and a masterclass in opportunistic, clutch baseball.
The challenge gets tougher today against Southern. But after Wednesday’s revival, one thing is certain: you can knock the Rattlers down, but you’d better be ready for what happens when they get back up.