The FAMU Rattlers softball team authored a finish for the ages Wednesday night, in a 3 hr 59 marathon that that tested every ounce of their resilience. Trailing by a run in the bottom of the 11th, they rallied for two, capped by freshman Amya Ramos’ walk-off RBI single, to stun the Southern Jaguars 5-4 in a SWAC tournament.
The victory, a rollercoaster of momentum swings and white-knuckle tension, propels the Rattlers (30-19) to the tournament semifinals and within one win of the championship game.
“That’s Rattler softball,” said a sweat-and-dirt-streaked Samantha Smith, the FAMU senior who authored a Herculean complete-game effort. “We never think it’s over. We just keep fighting.”
After FAMU grabbed a 2-0 first-inning lead on RBIs from Amari Brown and Keeleigh Spooner, Southern (33-14) methodically chipped away. A run in the first, another in the second, one more in the third. Just like that, the Jaguars led 3-2, their potent lineup threatening to pull away.
But Smith, the veteran anchor, slammed the door. And her offense picked her up. Neriah Lee, the dynamic leadoff catalyst, scored on Brown’s second sacrifice fly of the night in the fifth to tie it at 3-3. Then, the grind began. Inning after inning, zero after zero. Smith danced out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. Southern’s ace, Aaliyah Zabala, matched her pitch for pitch.
Then after five innings the deadlock finally broke in the top of the 11th. A wild pitch and a sharp single by Southern’s Ariel Burton gave the Jaguars a 4-3 lead, silencing the FAMU faithful and pushing the Rattlers to the brink of elimination.
“Bottom of the order was up. We just needed a spark,” said FAMU head coach Brittany Beall.
The spark came from an unlikely source. Aniya Canty, pinch-hitting, reached on an error to lead off the fateful half-inning. Up stepped Lee. The junior, who had been a terror on the bases all night, saw a pitch she liked and unleashed a laser to the gap in left-center. As Canty raced home, the ball caromed off the wall. Lee, digging with every ounce of speed, slid into third with a thunderous triple, the tying run crossing the plate.
The Rattler faithful erupted. The dugout was a frenzy. After an intentional walk, Zabala recorded a crucial out. Then, to the plate stepped Ramos, the freshman who had entered as a pinch-hitter in the fifth.
“I was just trying to see the ball and put a good swing on it,” Ramos said. “For Neriah. For Sam. For all of them.”
On a 1-1 count, she did just that. A clean, sharp line drive sliced through the left side. Lee, off on contact, sprinted home, easily beating the throw. As she touched the plate, the Rattler bench emptied engulfing Ramos near first base in a scene of pure, unbridled joy.
Lee finished a spectacular 4-for-5 with a walk, a triple, an RBI, and three runs scored. Smith’s final line – 11 innings, 17 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), 7 strikeouts – only tells half the story of her gritty, season-saving performance.
“This team has heart you can’t measure,” Beall said, watching her players celebrate. “Now we’ve got to do it again tomorrow.”
The Rattlers’ quest continues Thursday at 4:30 p.m. EST against Texas Southern. One more win, and they’ll be playing for a title.