It took nearly two complete games for a winner to be determined between Florida A&M baseball and Texas Southern on Saturday, May 16.
And it was the Rattlers who prevailed to cap off the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season finale series.
FAMU (27-22, 22-8 in SWAC) beat Texas Southern (20-22, 15-9 in SWAC) 9-8 in 16 innings.
Josue Figueroa sealed the deal by scoring on a wild pitch by Texas Southern’s Demarques Thompson as the Rattlers faced two outs.
“Two plays before, I could have really gone to third. But I didn’t want to get too aggressive. Got to play it a little safe,” Figureoa told the Tallahassee Democrat. “I was kind of scared with two outs. I was like, ‘Aw man, got to end it here.’ Then that ball passed, and I just saw the opportunity and busted myself over to home.”
Figueroa’s score completed the game in 5 hours and 15 minutes for FAMU’s Senior Day at Moore-Kittles Field. The longest recorded college baseball game is a 2009 matchup between Texas and Boston College, where the Longhorns won 3-2 in 25 innings, taking over seven hours.
“Let’s go home. It’s been a long day at the ballpark,” said FAMU head coach Jamey Shouppe. “But proud of our guys. There were a lot of lessons from that game.”
The Rattlers forced extra innings entering the ninth inning down 8-5, and racking up three runs. The tying run was a sacrifice fly by Figueroa, which scored Justin Lopez.
FAMU outhit the Tigers 18-13. Figueroa, Jackson McKenzie, and Ethan Miller led the Rattlers with three apiece.
The Rattlers also pitched eight, with JD Gardner earning the win.
Saturday completed a sweep over Texas Southern with a 4-2 win on Thursday, May 14, and a 13-2 eight-inning run-rule victory on Friday, May 15.
What’s next for FAMU baseball? The SWAC Tournament
The postseason is here.
FAMU will likely enter the SWAC Tournament as a second ― or third-seed at the very least.
The Rattlers enter the eight-team bracket on a six-game winning streak.
The SWAC Tournament is set to start on Wednesday, May 20, at Rickwood Field in Birmingham. The championship game is on Sunday, May 24.
Since joining the SWAC, FAMU has at least advanced to the semifinal round and won the whole thing in 2023. FAMU reached the 2025 championship game, but faltered to Bethune-Cookman.
Gerald Thomas, III, is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU baseball walks off Texas Southern in 16-inning SWAC marathon
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
