Daytona Beach, Fla., May 23, 2010- Bethune-Cookman won its fifth consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Baseball title with a 7-4 victory over the North Carolina A&T Aggies at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.
The championship game will air in a tape-delayed broadcast on ESPNU, Monday, May 24 at 5 p.m.
Bethune-Cookman junior DJ Leonard earned Outstanding Tournament Performer honors.
Head Coach Mervyl Melendez was named the Outstanding Tournament Coach for the tenth time in his career.
Bethune-Cookman (35-20) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Jeremy Davis doubled to score Justin Hoyte. Davis then scored on a DJ Leonard double to left field.
Alejandro Sanchez scored in the second on a Juan Perez single to increase the Wildcats lead to 3-0 lead.
North Carolina A&T (31-26) came back in the fourth and scored two runs to bring the Aggies to within one. Marquis Riley scored on a Mark Nales single and Kelvin Freeman scored when Dario Little was walked by B-CU pitcher Roman Lancara with the bases loaded.
In the bottom of the fifth, Bethune-Cookman attacked again with a Davis tripled to right field. Ryan Durrence followed with a fly out left field to score Davis. Sanchez hit a solo home run in the sixth to extend the Wildcat lead 5-2.
The Aggies attempted a comeback in the seventh when Nick Rogers scored off a Freeman single.
Bethune-Cookman added two runs in the seventh and North Carolina A&T responded with one more run in the eighth for the final score of 7-4.
Roman Lancara (4-2), who pitched for the first time this season against MEAC competition, earned the victory. He allowed seven hits, two runs and struck out four in six innings of work.
Nick Oelker (5-6) took the loss for the Aggies in 6.1 innings, allowing 11 hits, seven runs and six strikeouts.
With the win, Bethune-Cookman earned the conference's automatic qualification to the NCAA Baseball Championship. The pairings will be announced on Monday, May 31 at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.
2010 MEAC Baseball All-Tournament Team
Nick Rogers, North Carolina A&T
DJ Leonard, Bethune-Cookman
Kelvin Freeman, North Carolina A&T
Jeremy Davis, Bethune-Cookman
Alejandro Sanchez, Bethune-Cookman
Sammy Serefine, Norfolk State
Phil Vaughn, Maryland Eastern Shore
Esterlin Paulino, North Carolina A&T
George Hines, North Carolina A&T
Nick Oelker, North Carolina A&T
Dwight Robinson, Coppin State
Outstanding Performer: DJ Leonard, Bethune-Cookman
Outstanding Coach: Mervyl Melendez, Bethune-Cookman