Wildcats Hold Off #16 Arizona State to Close Series
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (1-2) came away with a big victory to close the series at Packard Stadium versus No. 16 Arizona State (2-1), outlasting the Sun Devils after capitalizing on early ASU miscues en route to a 7-6 upset victory, their first win of the campaign and highest-ranked victory in four seasons.
The Sun Devils lent B-CU a hand, as the Wildcats were patient in their early at-bats, with ASU starter Darin Gillies walking the first five batters of the second inning and throwing a pair of wild pitches before giving way to reliever Alex Blackford, granting B-CU a 5-0 lead before the Wildcats tacked their first hit on the board.
Matt Noble, Chris Biocic, Shaun McCarty, PJ Biocic and Brandon Turner all crossed the plate in that crucial frame.
Much like the first two games of the series, ASU responded offensively in the bottom half, but the damage was well-contained by the Wildcats' defense, limited to a single run scored on Drew Stankiewicz' RBI double to left center.
The Wildcats pushed the lead back out to five in the top of the third, as C. Biocic sets the stage by capping a line drive triple down the right foul line, beating the tag at third after being knocked from his feet during a collision with the shortstop. He went on to score on McCarty's sacrifice fly to center.
A left field fly ball lost in the sun allowed an RBI double for James McDonald in the bottom of the third, bringing the score to 6-2.
The Sun Devils went on to hold the Wildcats scoreless over the next two frames, while narrowing the gap with a two-run Michael Benjamin single fired back at B-CU starter Scott Garner.
The Wildcats countered in the sixth as P. Biocic reached base on balls, advancing to third after a wild pitch and a groundout. Using an RBI single through the left side, freshman C. Biocic sent his older brother home to claim the 7-4 lead with B-CU's final run.
In the bottom of the seventh, a deep Max Rossiter double took a high hop off the turf for the ground rule, granting two more runs for ASU, while narrowing the B-CU advantage to just one run.
Facing a jam, Coach Beverlin turned to senior closer Jordan Dailey, who collected the key final strikeout in the seventh to stop the Sun Devils' surge. Dailey held strong for the Wildcats through the next two frames, allowing just two hits and securing B-CU's first victory of the season, aided by strong play from the Wildcats' infield.
In a tense final play, Nick Causey made contact to put the ball deep in the first base pocket. P. Biocic scooped it up and made the choice to hit the relay at shortstop with McCarty, who put the ball on target for Noble's tag at third on pinch runner Kyle Bilbrey.
Garner (1-0) earned his first win of the season, striking out six Sun Devils batters, walking one, while allowing five earned runs. Dailey earned his first save of the year.
Getting into the offensive attack, Anthony Stokes batted 2-of-3, while Eros Modena and C. Biocic each logged one hit. Modena tallied a pair of RBI, with one each for McCarty and P. Biocic.
With the win, B-CU moves to 1-2 on the season, and a matching record in the series. This is the first win over a top-25 team since 2011 (Auburn, No. 25) and the highest-ranked opponent defeated since winning the Miami (No. 15) series, 2-1, in 2009.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com
Hawks Head Home Victorious With 7-4 Win Over Winthrop
ROCK HILL, S.C. -UMES came away late with a 7-4 victory against Winthrop on Sunday evening. UMES improves to 1-1, splitting the series with Winthrop, which is also 1-1.
The start of the game was delayed four hours due to field cleanup after the Winthrop Ballpark got hit by snow and rain the day before.
On the hill, Zachary Saca pitched very well in the first four innings, not allowing a run. However in the fifth, Winthrop got seven straight batters to reach base to total four runs, including a two-run double by Nate Bateman and an RBI double by Cody Dolan, to tie the game at 4-4.
Both starters were gone by the sixth inning with no decisions. Saca pitched well despite the rough fifth inning, going 4.1 innings with four runs, just three earned, and two strikeouts, while Klitsch went 4.2 frames, giving up four runs and striking out seven.
With one out in the top of the seventh, Stephen Bull singled on a line drive to center. Next batter, Tre-von Johnson grounded a double down the third base line off Joey Strain (0-1) to score Bull and put UMES back in the lead 5-4.
In the next half-inning, Bernard Parker (1-0) went through the order one-two-three to keep UMES ahead.
UMES added some insurance in the eighth. Mike Escanilla got hit by a pitch with two out, stealing second with Thomas Gray batting. Gray followed up with a ground-ball single to right, scoring Escanilla and giving the Hawks a 6-4 advantage.
The Hawks added one more in the ninth, beginning the inning with back-to-back singles by Bull and Johnson. Two batters later, Jeffrey Fleetwood grounded a single to right, scoring Bull from second and making it 7-4.
The Eagles got the bases loaded with two outs, but Devin Repine induced a foul out from Stephen Wallace to seal the game and give UMES the 7-4 victory.
Parker earned the win, going 3.2 scoreless innings in relief with a pair of strikeouts. For the second consecutive season he earned the first UMES victory of the year. Repine received his first save of his UMES career after pitching a scoreless ninth.
Strain got the loss in relief, giving up a run in 1.2 innings with two strikeouts.
For UMES, Gray went 2-for-4 with three RBI, bringing in nearly half of UMES's runs. Johnson got three hits in five at bats with an RBI, while Bull and Escanilla each earned two hits and a pair of runs.
Bateman scored a run and had a pair of RBI to add to his 2-for-5 day for the Eagles, while Leighton Daniels went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
NCCU BASEBALL SWEEPS HIGHLANDERS ON OPENING DAY
DURHAM, N.C. - For the first time in the modern era of North Carolina Central University baseball, the Eagles have opened the season with a pair of victories, beating New Jersey Institute of Technology 11-4 and 5-1 in the doubleheader sweep at the Durham Athletic Park on a cold Sunday afternoon.
In game one, NCCU broke open a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning by scoring seven runs on three hits and four Highlander errors.
Junior transfer pitcher Terry McNabb recorded the victory for the Eagles, allowing just one hit with seven strikeouts in 3.1 shutout innings.
NCCU's game one offense was paced by junior right fielder Ronald Thompson with a two-run blast over the right field wall for his team's first scoring of the season, while junior second baseman Dylan Drayton collected two hits and junior designated hitter Tyson Simpson drove in two runs.
In NCCU's 5-1 game-two victory, senior hurler Glenn Frye allowed just one run in seven innings on the mound, scattering five hits with 10 strikeouts to earn the win.
Junior third baseman Troy Marrow was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI to lead the Eagles's 10-hit offense. Senior first baseman Luis Diaz hit 2-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI, while junior catcher Carter Williamson recorded a double with two RBI.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com
Buffalo Tops Aggies, 10-6
GREENSBORO -- Buffalo scored four runs in the fifth and answered every challenge North Carolina A&T tried to offer to earn a 10-6 win over the Aggies at War Memorial Stadium on Sunday. The Bulls' win helped them prevent being swept after the Aggies won the first two games of the series on Friday. Tyler Mautner led the Bulls with a 3-for-5 performance with three runs scored.
The Bulls trailed going into the fifth, when Mautner hit a double to left-center field. After Ryan Tulloch was hit by pitch, both runners advanced into scoring position on a passed ball. River McWilliams took advantage with a two-run RBI double that gave the Bulls a 4-3 lead. Sanchez then turned to his bullpen as right-hander Kirby Whicker entered the game.
Whicker, a freshman right-hander out of Walkerton, N.C., walked the first two batters he faced and hit the third with a pitch to force in a run. The Aggies then turned to freshman right-hander Joshua Thompson. He walked Jon Mestas to force in another run to give the Bulls a 6-3 lead. Sophomore right-hander Shane Carter did end the inning as he struck out Thomas Richards, the same man who started the inning.
The Aggies (2-1) constantly battled back. But every time they scored a run, the Bulls (1-2) would answer with a run or two. The Aggies scored a run in the sixth on a Stefan Jordan RBI double down the left field line, but the Bulls came back in the home seventh with two more runs thanks to an RBI double by Jason Kanzler and an RBI sacrifice fly by Mestas to give the Bulls an 8-4 lead. The Aggies scored in their half of the seventh, but the Bulls scored in the eighth and the ninth to take a 10-5 lead going into the home ninth.
The Aggies did score a run in the ninth, but the game ended on a Mark Nales strikeout. Bulls starter Mike Burke (1-0) picked up the win, while Brent Moore (0-1) took the loss. Freeman went 3-for-5 with three RBI, while Tolentino had a 2-for-4 day with two runs scored.
For the complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com
Hamlett Hits Grand Slam in Loss to Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Sophomore David Hamlett hit an inside-the-park grand slam, but Johnny Field hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and Arizona went on to defeat Coppin State 13-9 on Sunday at Hi Corbett Field.
The Eagles had rallied to tie the game at 9-9, but Field lifted a sacrifice fly that scored Kevinss Newman and put Arizona ahead to stay at 10-9. The Wildcats added a run in the fifth inning and two more in the eighth inning to secure the victory.
After spotting Arizona a 5-0 lead in the first inning, the Eagles stormed back into the game.
Alex Brown led off the Coppin State second inning with a single and moved to second base when Jack Kraft followed with a walk. Chris Godfrey then ripped a double down the leftfield line scoring Brown and Kraft and cutting the Wildcat lead to 5-2.
Arizona answered with a run in the bottom of the second inning, but Coppin State would tally two more runs in the third inning.
Colin Dower was hit by a pitch to start the third inning and then stole second base. Chris Kashangaki then laced a double to right that scored Dower and cut the lead to 6-3. After Hamlett advanced Kashangaki to third with a sacrifice bunt, John Walls hit an RBI groundout that scored Kashangaki bringin the Eagles to within 6-4.
Arizona responded once again by scoring three times in the bottom of the third inning to push the lead to 9-4, but the Eagles would not go away.
Godfrey hit a one-out single to get things started, and Dalton Cozart drew a two-out walk to put runners on first and second. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch and Godfrey came in to score when Dower singled to short.
Kashangaki was hit by a pitch to load the bases and then Hamlett delivered his grand slam to center that tied the score at 9-9.
Godfrey had two hits and two RBI to lead the Eagles, while Brown had two hits and scored a run. Kashangaki, Hamlett and Dower each had one hit for the Eagles.
Jhar Devilme was once again sharp in relief for the Eagles as he pitched three innings of hitless relief.
Arizona improved to 3-0 on the season with the win, while Coppin State dropped to 0-3 on the year.
For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com