It’s now for all the marbles.
Florida A&M softball couldn’t secure its first-ever Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship on Friday, May 8. The Rattlers (31-20) lost 8-0 in only five innings to the Southern Jaguars (37-14) at Gulfport Sportsplex on Saturday.
FAMU was outhit 12-1 and had five errors in the drubbing.
Therefore, FAMU and Southern will meet again on Saturday, May 9, for a winner-takes-all SWAC Tournament Championship game at noon.
If the Rattlers had won on Friday, they would have been SWAC champions.
But since the SWAC Softball Tournament is double-elimination, someone must lose twice for a champion to be determined.
FAMU gave Southern its loss on May 6, winning 5-4 in 11 innings. The Jaguars returned the favor on Friday, asserting dominance through multiple rain delays.
Saturday’s winner will represent the SWAC as an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
The Rattlers last won a league title and moved to the NCAA Tournament in 2017, when they were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
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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 softball to face Southern in do-or-die SWAC Tournament title game
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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