Update: FAMU baseball wins MEAC title

Update: 3:34 p.m. Saturday

For the first time in Florida A&M's baseball history, the Rattlers will travel to an NCAA Regional.

The Rattlers (23-23) brought down Bethune-Cookman 8-2 on Saturday to win the MEAC championship in Salisbury, Maryland. The win gives the Rattlers an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals and continues the turnaround head coach Jamey Shouppe started when he came to the team last season.

Last season, Shouppe led the Rattlers to their first MEAC tournament appearance in three years. The team finished the job this year, winning the crown for the first time since 1994.

ESPN will announce the field of 64 teams at noon on May 25 during a selection show aired on ESPNU. The Regionals will be comprised of 16 double-elimination tournaments, hosted at the schools of the 16 top-seeded teams.

The Regionals begin May 29.

Check back for more updates.

First report

Florida A&M's baseball team is one win away from making history.

The Rattlers thrashed Delaware State 11-2 on Thursday, earning a chance to rest before a shot at the MEAC championship on Saturday in Salisbury, Maryland. FAMU needs one win over whoever makes it out of the losers bracket to claim the title and advance to the program's first NCAA Regional.

Head coach Jamey Shouppe, in his second season with the Rattlers, said a regional berth is what every member of the team is thinking about.

"I'm as excited as I've ever been to put on a baseball uniform," Shouppe said. "When you have a chance to accomplish something that's never been accomplished at the school you're at. ... I've won a lot of baseball games. A lot of big baseball games. This isn't for me.

"This is for my assistant coach, Brett Richardson. He's coached 18 years and hasn't been to a regional. This is for my seniors who'll never put on a FAMU uniform again. I want to see the look in their eyes when they're playing in a regional and have a chance to make it to Omaha."

The Rattlers recorded 15 hits against Delaware State, and all 11 of the team's runs were scored over three innings. FAMU picked up five runs in both the sixth and eighth innings.

Junior left-hander Ricky Page pitched a season-high seven innings, giving up only three hits, and one unearned run for his second win of the season.

"The key was Ricky Page," Shouppe said.

"He just kept pitching us out of jams and he gave our offense a chance. The ball game could have been out of hand early because Delaware State is a good offensive team. I'm pleased with how well Ricky did. He gave the offense time to settle in and get going."

Shouppe said the team will have to chase history without junior second baseman Alec Wong, who suffered a knee injury and has been ruled out for Saturday's game.

"We hate that it happened, but our guys held their composure well," Shouppe said. "This win was just an exclamation point on what's turning into a great second half."

Bethune-Cookman and Norfolk State will play today, and the winner of that game will face Delaware State. Whoever wins that game will play FAMU at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The Rattlers would have to lose twice to lose the championship.

"We want to be the first team in FAMU history to make the NCAA Regional," Shouppe said.

"We talk about it every day. That's not something we shy away from. We talk every day about making history. We're kind of attacking it. That's our goal. There's nothing like reaching your goals. Anything less than that and our season is over."