BIRMINGHAM (Interstat) — Alabama State defeated Florida A&M 8-6 on Sunday afternoon to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Championship at Regions Field.

The Hornets, the seed, improved to 34-21 and avenged a regular-season sweep by the Rattlers in March. Florida A&M, the seed, fell to 30-23.

Alabama State seized control early, scoring two runs in the first inning on an RBI single by Niguel Jenkins and a run via a fielder’s choice. The Hornets added three more in the fourth, keyed by an RBI single from Fabian Santana and a run-scoring single by Devin Chandler, to build a 5-1 lead. Florida A&M answered in the bottom of the fourth when Josue Figueroa doubled home Matthew Perez, cutting the deficit to 5-2.

The decisive moment came in the top of the sixth. After two batters reached base, catcher Trey Callaway launched a three-run homer to right-center field, extending Alabama State’s lead to 8-2. Callaway finished 1-for-5 with the home run and three RBIs.

Florida A&M mounted a comeback in the eighth. With two outs, Jordan Brown’s single to the pitcher was misplayed, allowing two unearned runs to score. Will Brown added a sacrifice fly, making it 8-6. The Rattlers brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth after consecutive singles by Jackson McKenzie and Ethan Miller, but Alabama State relief pitcher James Peterson retired the next two batters, stranding both runners.

Peterson earned the win with 4.2 innings of relief, allowing two earned runs on no hits while striking out two. Starter Jorhan LaBoy, named the game’s top star, pitched 4.1 innings, giving up two earned runs with two strikeouts. LaBoy entered the game with a strong recent stretch, having thrown five scoreless innings against Grambling on May 20 and three hitless innings at Alcorn State on May 15.

Alabama State collected 13 hits, with Miguel Oropeza going 2-for-3 and driving in a run. Florida A&M outhit the Hornets 14-8, led by three-hit performances from Jackson McKenzie, Jay Campbell and Will Brown. McKenzie and Campbell each drove in a run, and Brown added an RBI on his sacrifice fly. Caleb Granger took the loss, allowing five earned runs on 11 hits over five innings.

The championship was the first for Alabama State since 2023, and the win snapped a three-game losing streak to Florida A&M this season. The Rattlers had won the previous three meetings, including two by shutout in March.