TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Interstat) — Caleb Granger delivered a dominant eight-inning start and the Florida A&M Rattlers capitalized on timely hitting and Villanova miscues to secure a 4-1 victory over the Wildcats on Friday evening at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium.

The game, which began in the afternoon and concluded under the lights, was controlled by Granger. The Rattlers’ right-hander scattered eight hits and allowed just one earned run while striking out eight, outdueling a combined effort from Villanova pitchers Bobby Finn and Jake Francis.

Florida A&M (4-9) struck first in the bottom of the opening inning. Caden Kresak singled and scored on Alex Monile’s groundout to tie the game after Villanova had taken an early lead. The Rattlers moved ahead for good in the second when Jackson McKenzie doubled and scored on Matthew Perez’s RBI double.

They extended their lead to 3-1 in the third on a sacrifice fly by Jay Campbell that plated Justen Crews, who had led off the inning with a bunt single.

The most important sequence of the game occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning, which broke open a tight contest. With two outs and runners on the corners, a passed ball allowed Jay Campbell to score from third. The wild pitch also allowed Ethan Miller to advance to second, and he moved to third on another wild pitch. The control issues prompted Villanova to relieve Francis with Finn, who escaped further damage but not before the Rattlers had pushed their lead to 4-1.

That extra run proved more than enough for Granger, who worked efficiently and benefitted from three double plays turned by his defense. Villanova’s lone run came in the fifth when Carter Richey doubled and scored on a two-out RBI double by catcher Mark Gialluisi. The Wildcats (3-7) threatened again in the sixth, putting a runner on third with one out, but Granger induced a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning.

Finn was brilliant in relief for Villanova, throwing 4 2/3 innings of no-hit ball with four strikeouts after replacing Francis, who was charged with three runs over 4 1/3 innings. The Wildcats collected eight hits but grounded into three double plays and left several runners stranded.

Cody Williams pitched a perfect ninth inning to secure the save for Florida A&M. The Rattlers out-hit the Wildcats 11-8, with Crews and Miller each collecting two hits.

The victory improved Florida A&M’s record to 4-9, while Villanova fell to 3-7. The teams are scheduled to continue their three-game series on Saturday.

Granger’s performance continued a strong rebound after a rough outing on Feb. 21. In his previous start on Feb. 28, he threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a win over Central Connecticut.

The result slightly outperformed the pregame projection from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 3-2 Florida A&M victory, with its ELO system giving the Rattlers a 52.4% probability to win.