Ryan Hunter didn’t need to chase a 2-0 pitch.
But when the Southern leadoff hitter saw a fastball, he hammered it to right‑center for a home run. The Florida International transfer couldn’t have asked for a better first at‑bat. His team needed a win to force an if‑necessary game against Florida A&M in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament.
Despite the riveting start, the Jaguars couldn’t make enough plays to keep their season alive.
No. 2-seeded Southern (29-23) fell 5-1 to No. 3-seeded FAMU (30-22) on Saturday at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. FAMU is heading to the SWAC title game, where it hopes to bring the conference trophy back to Tallahassee, Florida, for the first time since 2023.
The Jaguars won their most games in a season since 2019, when they went 32-24. The last time they won the conference tournament was in 2021, which was coach Chris Crenshaw’s first season leading the program.
Saturday's game was a rematch from Thursday, when the Jaugars lost 15-6 to the Rattlers. Similar to that defeat, Southern struggled to get players on base consistently.
In the second inning, FAMU starting pitcher Jesus Campa retired the side in order. The right-handed graduate student controlled the game through six innings. He allowed one earned run on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
Southern started freshman Alexavier Lebron, who allowed three hits, two earned runs and a walk over two innings. Freshman Rupert Blackwood took over in the third but struggled with his command, walking four and giving up one hit and two earned runs in an inning of work. Crenshaw pulled him after he issued back‑to‑back walks in the fourth.
Jayden Lawrence was next out of the bullpen. The freshman right‑hander helped Southern escape the inning, allowing only a sacrifice fly to right by FAMU sophomore Jay Campbell that brought home redshirt senior William Brown.
Lawrence followed with scoreless fourth and fifth innings to keep the Rattlers in check. He couldn’t maintain that sharpness in the sixth when he walked three. The third walk came with the bases loaded, pushing across another run as Southern fell behind 5‑1 entering the seventh. Lawrence finished with two strikeouts, three walks and one run allowed in three innings.
Senior right‑hander Quincy Thornton took the mound in the seventh and kept the Rattlers off the board the rest of the way. In the ninth, he allowed a pair of singles and hit a batter with one out but escaped the jam with back‑to‑back strikeouts.
Thornton struck out three and allowed two hits and three walks.
Southern needed four runs to send the game to extra innings, but FAMU retired the side in order to end the Jaguars' season. The offense was cold as it was limited to one run for the first time since March 15, when it lost 15-1 to South Florida on the road.
The Jaguars finished with five hits to FAMU’s six.