March 1, 2008

Final Stats

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Brett Pointer's three-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth helped rally Savannah State to a 5-3 win over Florida A&M in the home-opening baseball game for the Rattlers at Moore-Kittles Field Saturday afternoon.

Pointer's shot erased a 3-1 FAMU lead, as he belted senior pitcher Cirilo Manego's two-strike offering over the left field wall.

The loss overshadowed a fine performance by Manego (0-2), who went the distance against the Tigers, allowing just three hits while fanning five batters in nine innings, plus all five SSU runs.

FAMU out-hit Savannah State, 7-3, with Darryl Evans and Corey McFadden getting two hits apiece. Both players had an extra base hit Saturday, with McFadden lashing a fourth-inning double that gave FAMU a 1-0 lead, when he scored while Jared Grace got into a rundown play between first and second with two outs, while Evans tripled in the eighth.

Savannah State tied the game, 1-1 in the fifth when Dexter Kelley singled, stole second, advanced to third on an errant throw by the Rattler catcher, racing home when FAMU infielders mishandled the ball.

Kelley finished the game with two hits for the Tigers and and RBI, while Pointer had the other SSU hit, with three RBI.

Evans was poised to be one of the heroes for FAMU, when his two-run triple broke the 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth, scoring Steve Cunningham and Tim Jones for a 3-1 lead.

But the Tigers (2-2) staged a two-out rally in the ninth, keyed by Pointer's three-run blast and Dexter Kelley's RBI single which scored pinch runner David Washington with an insurance run.

And insurance was what Savannah State needed, as they lifted starter Michael Allegretti (1-1) in the bottom of the ninth for two relief pitchers, who succeeded in allowing the Rattlers to load the bases.

But freshman reliever Anthony Blue came on with one out and the bases loaded to pick up a save, striking out both Jourdan Mott and Tim Jones to end the threat and the game.

Florida A&M (1-4) left 10 runners stranded, three times leaving runners in scoring position Saturday. They will host Savannah State in a single nine-inning game here Sunday starting at 1 p.m.