Florida A&M baseball is one win away from hoisting its second Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship trophy.
On Saturday, May 23, the three-seed Rattlers (30-22) beat the two-seed Southern Jaguars (29-23) in the SWAC Tournament semifinals 5-1 at Birmingham, Alabama’s Rickwood Field to advance to the championship game.
FAMU will play against the No. 4 Alabama State Hornets (33-21) on Sunday, May 24, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The Hornets eliminated No. 8 Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions 8-5 in the semifinals.
The Rattlers narrowly outhit the Jaguars 6-5, with a player apiece getting one hit apiece. Fresh after hitting for the cycle two days before in a quarterfinal triumph over Southern, Jackson McKenzie homered for FAMU in the second inning on Saturday.
Jesus Campa pitched six innings for the Rattlers, striking out three, allowing five hits, and Southern’s lone run. Ryan Young also pitched for three innings and was credited with the save.
FAMU baseball will play its second consecutive SWAC Tournament championship game, a year removed from losing to Bethune-Cookman. The top-seeded defending SWAC champions, the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, were eliminated by Pine Bluff on Saturday, 13-8.
So that means a new SWAC champion will be crowned for the 2026 season.
If FAMU wins the SWAC title, it would add to its 2023 tournament win. FAMU’s Jamey Shouppe could have the rare distinction of being a head coach to win multiple conference titles in two different conferences, adding to the Rattlers’ Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament wins in 2015 and 2019.
The SWAC title winner will earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which starts on Friday, May 29.
FAMU and Alabama State met four times during the regular season. The Rattlers won them all.
The SWAC Championship game will be on SWAC TV.
Florida A&M vs Alabama State ― SWAC Baseball Tournament Championship
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 beats Southern again; headed to SWAC Tournament title
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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