Bethune-Cookman University won the 2011 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Baseball Championship title with a 9-3 victory over the Norfolk State Spartans at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Saturday afternoon.
The championship crown was the sixth consecutive and 15th overall for the Wildcats. Bethune-Cookman extended it win streak to 46 against conference opponents including tournament play.
John Rasberry got the Spartans on the board first with a solo home run in the top of the first.
Matt Wright and Alejandro Sanchez countered for the Wildcats to take the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the frame.
B-CU's Brashad Johnson stole home on a throwing error by Brandon Hairston in the bottom of the third and Peter O'Brien scored in the fourth to extend the score to 4-1 for the Wildcats.
After a scoreless fourth inning by both teams, Brandon Hairston's two run single closed the scoring gap for the Spartans to 4-3.
The Wildcats took control in the bottom of the sixth off a Sanchez single to left field for a Brandon Turner score. O'Brien singled to left field to score Sanchez and then crossed the plate himself off a DJ Leonard RBI to push the score to 7-3.
Turner tripled in the bottom of the seventh to score Johnson and then scored the winning run off a Wright hit to left field for the 9-3 final.
Patrick Goelz (8-3) pitched six innings allowing six hits, three runs and striking out five.
Jordan Egan (3-3) allowed six hits, six runs and struck out six in 5.1 innings of action.
Bethune-Cookman's O'Brien earned Outstanding Performer honors, while Wildcats head coach Mervyl Melendez was named Outstanding Coach for the 11th time in his career.
"We have had a great year, I just went in and swung the bat and tried to help my team," said O'Brien "We just wanted to go out there and play hard and get the win."
With the victory, Bethune-Cookman earned the conference's automatic qualification to the NCAA Baseball Championship. The pairings will be announced on Monday, May 30 at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.
2011 MEAC Baseball All-Tournament Team
Tobi Adeyemi, Florida A&M
John Rasberry, Norfolk State
Luis Mena, Maryland Eastern Shore
Peter O'Brien, Bethune-Cookman
Tre-Von Johnson, Maryland Eastern Shore
Nick Oelker, North Carolina A&T
Ryan Durrence, Bethune-Cookman
James Taylor, Norfolk State
Ryan Shook, Norfolk State
Brandon Hairston, Norfolk State
Scott Davis, Delaware State
Outstanding Performer: Peter O'Brien, Bethune-Cookman
Outstanding Coach: Mervyl Melendez, Bethune-Cookman