SWAC Baseball Tournament Day 2: Eliminations and Rain Delays
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -Day 2 of the 2026 SWAC Baseball Tournament stretched deep into the night at historic Rickwood Field, delivering explosive offense, dramatic comebacks and elimination heartbreak.
Florida A&M turned a tight game into a rout with a late offensive avalanche against Southern, Texas Southern stunned Jackson State with a ninth-inning walk-off, and Bethune-Cookman survived elimination with a tense win over Grambling State.
With Thursday's action complete, Jackson State and Grambling State became the first two teams eliminated from the double-elimination tournament.
Florida A&M powers past Southern in statement win
Florida A&M saved its loudest performance of the season for one of the biggest stages.
The Rattlers exploded for 15 runs and 20 hits in a 15-6 victory over Southern in a rain delay marathon game that ended just after midnight Eastern time Friday morning at Rickwood Field.
FAMU offense erupts late
Florida A&M steadily built its lead before completely blowing the game open over the final three innings.
The Rattlers led 3-0 early behind RBI hits from Miguel Perez and a sacrifice fly from Jose Figueroa. Southern answered with a two-run homer from J. Lucky in the fourth inning, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
FAMU immediately responded.
Jose Figueroa and Jordan Brown each delivered RBI singles in the fifth inning before William Brown added a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 6-2.
The Rattlers never slowed down.
In the sixth inning, Elijah Miller singled home a run before Miguel Perez added a two-run single to center field. Florida A&M scored three more runs in the seventh inning and piled on four additional runs in the eighth to finish off Southern.
Jay Campbell starred for the Rattlers, driving in runs with a triple and a double while also scoring multiple times. J. McKenzie added a two-run homer in the eighth inning as FAMU buried Southern late.
Rattlers advance in winner's bracket
Florida A&M improved to 29-22 overall and advanced in the winner's bracket of the SWAC Tournament.
Southern dropped to 28-22 and moved into the elimination bracket, where the Jaguars will now have to fight to keep their season alive.
Texas Southern rallies past Jackson State in dramatic walk-off win
Texas Southern pulled off the comeback of the tournament so far, scoring seven runs over the final four innings to defeat Jackson State 8-7 in walk-off fashion Thursday morning at Rickwood Field.
The Tigers trailed 7-1 entering the sixth inning before exploding offensively against the Jackson State bullpen.
Jackson State builds early cushion
Jackson State appeared firmly in control early behind timely hitting from Tyree Reed and Shemar Harris.
The Tigers scored in each of the first three innings and added two more in the fifth to build a commanding six-run lead.
Reed finished 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI and two walks, while Harris went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Pierre Cabral added two RBI for Jackson State.
By the fifth inning, Jackson State led 7-1 and looked poised to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament.
Texas Southern erupts late
Texas Southern flipped the game in the sixth inning.
Shaun Williams delivered the biggest swing of the afternoon, ripping a bases-clearing triple down the left-field line to cut the deficit to 7-4. Christopher Chavez later added an RBI groundout to make it a two-run game.
The Tigers kept chipping away.
Anthony Ruiz blasted a solo home run in the eighth inning to pull Texas Southern within one run before the dramatic ninth inning unfolded.
Miguel Morales and Derek Gipson each reached base ahead of Williams, who tied the game with an RBI single to left field. Moments later, Chavez delivered the walk-off single to left-center field to eliminate Jackson State from the tournament.
Williams finished with four RBI while Chavez collected two hits and two RBI in the win.
Jackson State eliminated
Jackson State finished the season 26-27 after dropping back-to-back games in Birmingham.
Texas Southern improved to 22-23 overall and advanced in the elimination bracket, keeping its SWAC Tournament hopes alive.
Bethune-Cookman holds off Grambling State to stay alive
After suffering one of the biggest upsets of the opening round Wednesday night, Bethune-Cookman responded with enough offense Thursday afternoon to eliminate Grambling State with a 7-6 victory.
The Wildcats built a 7-1 lead before surviving a tense Grambling rally in the eighth inning.
Wildcats break game open in third inning
Bethune-Cookman took control with a five-run third inning fueled by Erick Almonte's grand slam.
Jose Fernandez opened the scoring for the Wildcats with a solo home run in the second inning before Bethune-Cookman erupted an inning later.
Maikol Lucena drove in a run with a single before Almonte launched a towering grand slam homer to right field to push the Wildcats ahead 6-1.
Almonte finished with four RBI while Fernandez went 2-for-3 with a homer and two runs scored.
Grambling nearly completes comeback
Grambling refused to go quietly.
The Tigers scored four runs in the eighth inning, taking advantage of walks, a wild pitch and clutch situational hitting to cut the deficit to 7-6.
Cameron Hill and Chris Marcellus each drove in runs during the rally before Martavius Thomas added a sacrifice fly to bring Grambling within one.
Bethune-Cookman turned to closer Pablo Torres, who shut the door over the final two innings to earn his fifth save of the season.
Bethune-Cookman survives, Grambling eliminated
Harbersting Abreu earned the win after allowing two runs over seven innings.
Grambling State's season ended at 21-32 after the Tigers dropped consecutive tournament games.
Bethune-Cookman improved to 38-19 and stayed alive in the elimination bracket after narrowly avoiding a second straight upset loss.
SWAC Tournament bracket taking shape
Florida A&M advanced in the winner's bracket and will remain one of the favorites entering Friday's action, while Texas Southern and Bethune-Cookman kept their seasons alive in elimination games.
The postponed Alabama State versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff winner's bracket game is now scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. EST (9 a.m. CST) at Rickwood Field in Birmingham.
The 2026 SWAC Baseball Tournament continues through Sunday's championship game.
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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 11:08 PM.