Juan Perez scored the go-ahead run, and D.J. Leonard hit a three-run line drive home run to lead Bethune-Cookman to a come-from-behind 7-3 win over North Carolina A&T Saturday afternoon in the MEAC Baseball Championship Tournament at Jackie Robinson Park.
Bethune-Cookman (34-20) advanced to the championship game where they will vie for their 10th title in 11 seasons. The Aggies will play an elimination game against Norfolk State at 6 p.m. The winner will advance and meet the Wildcats in tomorrow's championship game at 2 p.m.
Kelvin Freeman broke open a scoreless game in the fifth as he doubled down the right field line to score sophomores Xavier Macklin and Marquis Riley. Freeman advanced to third on the double thanks to an error. It would lead to a 3-0 Aggies advantage as Alex Grubb scored Freeman on an RBI groundout.
Aggies starter Nick Rogers carried a 3-1 lead going into the Wildcats half of the seventh. But he ran into trouble after Alejandro Sanchez hit a single followed by a Justin Hoyte double. Rogers, who threw 122 pitches, then walked Perez to load the bases.
The Aggies turned to sophomore closer Garrett Braun in an attempt to halt the rally. But Braun's wild pitch moved the Wildcats to within one as Sanchez scored. Jeremy Davis tied the game with an RBI infield single. Ryan Durrence gave the Wildcats a 4-3 lead with a sacrifice RBI to right field.
With two outs and two runners on, the Aggies intentionally walked MEAC Player of the Year Peter O'Brien. Leonard followed and made them pay by hitting Braun's 0-1 pitch just over the left field wall for his 10th homer of the season.
Bethune-Cookman's Jordan Dailey (4-0) picked up the win in relief. Joey Munoz, Dailey and Chris Anselmo pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief for the Bethune-Cookman. Sanchez was 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored.
Rogers (10-4) took the loss for North Carolina A&T with 10 strikeouts in over 6 1/3 innings. Freeman led the Aggies with a 2-for-4 performance that included a two-run double.
The championship finale is set for Sunday, May 23 at 2 p.m. and will air on ESPNU in a tape-delayed format on May 24 at 5 p.m. The broadcast will be the MEAC's first televised baseball championship on the network.
For more information on MEAC Baseball, visit www.MEACsports.com.