Florida A&M closed Bracket A with a second win over Southern, Alabama State survived another weather-delayed battle with Arkansas-Pine Bluff to win Bracket B, and UAPB’s resilient tournament run ended after the Golden Lions were forced to start three games in a 32-hour window.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — While the weather gods have not shown favor to the Southwestern Athletic Conference during the 2026 baseball tournament, the baseball gods came through.
For the first time since expansion, there were no “if necessary” games needed to determine the championship matchup. Florida A&M claimed Bracket A with a 5-1 win over Southern, while Alabama State finished Bracket B with an 8-5 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a game that included another significant weather delay and did not end until just before midnight.
The day opened with Arkansas-Pine Bluff eliminating No. 1 Bethune-Cookman, 13-8, before the Golden Lions were forced to turn around and face Alabama State later that same afternoon. Due to weather and schedule compression, UAPB was forced to start play in three games within a 32-hour window, and two of those three games were delayed by weather. The Golden Lions played Alabama State on Friday in a game that was suspended after the third inning and resumed more than five hours later, then returned Saturday morning to face Bethune-Cookman before closing the day against Alabama State again in a game suspended by rain at 5:17 p.m. and resumed at 8:46 p.m.
Weather has been one of the defining storylines of the tournament at Rickwood Field. Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s opening-night upset of Bethune-Cookman was delayed in the ninth inning and finished after midnight. Florida A&M’s first win over Southern included a 1-hour, 59-minute rain delay. Alabama State’s first meeting with UAPB was postponed from Thursday to Friday, then suspended after the third inning before resuming hours later. On Saturday, Alabama State and UAPB were again suspended due to rain, resumed more than three hours later, and finished at 11:53 p.m.
Still, the bracket produced a clean final. No. 3 Florida A&M and No. 4 Alabama State both enter Sunday’s championship game unbeaten in the tournament at 3-0, setting up a winner-take-all SWAC title game at 1 p.m. CT. All tournament games are broadcast on SWAC TV.
Game 10: Arkansas-Pine Bluff 13, Bethune-Cookman 8
Arkansas-Pine Bluff eliminated No. 1 Bethune-Cookman for the second time in the tournament, using a seven-run eighth inning to turn an 8-6 deficit into a 13-8 win.
UAPB scored first in the opening inning when Nick Hockemeyer drew a bases-loaded walk. The Golden Lions added two runs in the fourth on a Zyon Hamilton RBI double and a Konner Giddley sacrifice bunt to move ahead 3-0. Bethune-Cookman cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom half, then erupted for six runs in the sixth. Jeter Polledo tied the game with an RBI double, Christopher Watson followed with a two-run single, Andrey Martinez added a two-run single, and Michael Rodriguez capped the inning with an RBI single to give the Wildcats an 8-3 lead.
But UAPB did not go away. The Golden Lions scored three in the seventh, then took control in the eighth. Jose Vasquez doubled in two runs to tie the game, Weston Gingerich singled in the go-ahead run, Hamilton added a two-run single, and Vinny Saumell followed with a two-run single to complete the seven-run inning.
Hamilton finished 2-for-5 with a double, three RBI and two runs scored. Saumell went 3-for-5 with two RBI, Aaron Grant went 3-for-6 with an RBI, Vasquez drove in two, and Gingerich, Zach Wieder and Grant each collected multiple hits. For Bethune-Cookman, Martinez went 2-for-5 with two RBI, Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with an RBI, Fernandez had two hits, and Polledo drove in two.
Pitch counts:
Arkansas-Pine Bluff: Ryland Morin 59; Emerson Lott 21; Nate Lee 5; Brendan Hamlin 55.
Result: Arkansas-Pine Bluff advanced to face Alabama State. Bethune-Cookman was eliminated.
Game 11: Florida A&M 5, Southern 1
Florida A&M punched its ticket to the championship game with a controlled 5-1 win over Southern, using early offense, situational hitting and strong pitching from Jesus Campa and Ryan Young.
Southern jumped ahead immediately when Ryan Hunter led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run to right center, but FAMU answered in the second. Jackson McKenzie tied the game with a solo home run, Ethan Miller later scored on Matthew Perez’s sacrifice fly, and the Rattlers never trailed again.
FAMU added single runs in the third, fourth and sixth. Jay Campbell’s sacrifice fly scored William Brown in the third, Brown’s sacrifice fly brought home Perez in the fourth, and Perez scored again in the sixth on a wild pitch. The Rattlers managed only six hits but drew 11 walks, moved runners efficiently and turned limited contact into enough offense.
Campa earned the win after allowing one run on five hits over six innings. Young was excellent in relief, throwing three hitless innings with three strikeouts to earn the save. Southern had early chances behind Hunter and KJ White Jr., who each finished with two hits, but the Jaguars were held scoreless after the first inning.
McKenzie went 1-for-2 with a home run, two hit-by-pitches, a walk and an RBI. Brown reached three times, scored once and drove in a run. Campbell drove in a run, Perez scored twice and drove in one, and Jordan Brown reached twice. Hunter led Southern with a 2-for-4 day, including the home run and a double, while White Jr. went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.
Pitch counts:
Florida A&M: Jesus Campa 85; Ryan Young 37.
Result: Florida A&M won Bracket A and advanced to the championship game. Southern was eliminated.
Game 12: Alabama State 8, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 5
Alabama State survived a second straight weather-impacted battle with Arkansas-Pine Bluff, beating the Golden Lions 8-5 to win Bracket B and advance to the championship game.
The game started at 4:50 p.m., but play was suspended due to rain at 5:17 p.m. and did not resume until 8:46 p.m. Once play settled in, Alabama State used power and timely offense to create separation.
The Hornets scored first in the opening inning on Trey Callaway’s RBI single. UAPB tied the game in the second on Giddley’s RBI single, but Alabama State took control with a five-run fourth. Alex Espaillat doubled and scored on Fabian Santana’s RBI single. Breydon Divine singled, Miguel Oropeza launched a three-run homer, and Niguel Jenkins followed with a solo homer to make it 6-1.
UAPB chipped away with two runs in the sixth on Hockemeyer’s two-run single, but Alabama State answered in the seventh. Espaillat brought in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Santana followed with another RBI single to push the lead to 8-3. UAPB scored twice in the eighth on Wieder’s sacrifice fly and Grant’s RBI double, but James Peterson got the final three outs in the ninth to earn the save.
Oropeza again led the Hornets, going 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, two walks and two runs scored. Callaway and Jackson Williams each had two hits, Santana went 2-for-2 with two RBI, and Espaillat doubled and drove in a run. For UAPB, Grant went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, Zyon Hamilton went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, Hockemeyer drove in two, and Giddley added two hits and an RBI.
Pitch counts:
Alabama State: Trey Power 83; Caio Araujo 29; Camden Matthews 28; James Peterson 11.
Result: Alabama State won Bracket B and advanced to the championship game. Arkansas-Pine Bluff was eliminated.