Bethune-Cookman Opens Savannah State Series with a 30-hit, Two-Win Doubleheader
SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (22-26, 14-9 MEAC) showed determination on the opening day of a crucial Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) series at Savannah State (18-28, 9-13 MEAC) on Saturday at Tiger Baseball Field, racking up 30 hits in wins of 8-2 and 7-2 over the Tigers.
With the an outstanding start for pitcher Keith Zuniga, the Wildcats’ offense had some cushion to build up a lead, but didn’t waste any time getting to work. While the junior right-hander pitched seven scoreless innings, the hitters got the scoring underway in the first frame.
Right fielder Josh Johnson reached base as a hit batter on the first pitch of the game and went on to score on a fielding error by SSU second baseman Mike McHugh on first baseman Eric Sams’ first hit of the day. Sams would score from second on third baseman Jordan Robinson’s RBI single to center field, pushing the Wildcats ahead 2-0.
In the third, three consecutive singles sent Sams to the plate once again on Robinson’s RBI to center field, forcing the Tigers to pull starter Austin Denney after 81 pitches through three frames.
SSU reliever Zach McCormack held the Wildcats for two innings, but couldn’t keep B-CU silent for long. Catcher Zach Olszewski led off the sixth with a single to center field and came in on designated hitter Austin Garcia’s RBI single to left field to give B-CU the 4-0 advantage.
The Wildcats followed up in the seventh with their biggest inning, sparked by a leadoff double by second baseman Matt Noble to left field. Noble went on to cross the plate on a Julian Santos sacrifice fly; the Wildcats’ first out. Olszewski was on the other end of the exchange in this frame, sending Robinson home with an RBI single to left field and Bryant Munoz capped the scoring with an RBI single to bring Shaun McCarty home for the 7-0 lead.
B-CU wrapped its scoring with an 8-0 advantage in the eighth as Robinson capitalized on Sams’ leadoff single with an RBI single to the shortstop.
As Zuniga’s outing extended into the eighth, carrying a one-hit shutout, the Tigers finally got something going as SSU used three consecutive hits to score two runs in the frame. Christopher Waltermire took over for Zuniga and collected a strikeout to close the frame, recording three consecutive outs in the ninth to end the 8-2 series-opening victory.
Zuniga (6-3) earned the victory, pitching seven and a third innings with three strikeouts, one walk and two earned runs. Denney (5-3) took the loss for SSU, pitching three innings.
Pitching strength and big offense remained consistent in the second game of the doubleheader, as starter Montana Durapau kept the Tigers off the board for five innings, and again B-CU took an early advantage.
The Wildcats made a big statement early, as Noble capped off three consecutive hits in the first with a two-run double deep into left center. Noble again made his presence felt in the third, firing a two-run homer beyond the left center wall for the 4-0 lead.
Center fielder Jake Welch crossed the plate for the Wildcats in the sixth on a Munoz single to right field, pushing B-CU ahead 5-0.
The Tigers finally got on the board in the sixth, snapping a 14-inning scoreless streak for Durapau and a one-hit outing. Capitalizing on a leadoff walk, SSU top hitter Tre Sikes logged a two-run double deep into left field.
However, the Wildcats were quick to respond, opening the seventh against reliever Ryan McCranie with three consecutive hits, including Robinson’s two-run single to center field, bringing Sams and Noble in for the 7-2 B-CU lead.
Passing the pitch count century mark, Durapau (9-0) headed back out for the seventh, downing the Tigers in order for his third complete game victory of the season. The senior fanned a career-high 11 hitters in seven innings, walking two and allowing two earned runs on three hits. For the Tigers, starter Brandon Whitmore (4-5) took the loss, throwing six innings with five strikeouts and five earned runs.
The Wildcats batted .400 at the plate in the strongest offensive doubleheader of the season. Leading the way, Sams went 7-for-8 with six runs scored, tying a career high with a 4-for-5 performance in the opener. Noble put in a solid performance as well, batting 5-for-8 with three doubles a home run and four RBI. In addition, Robinson went 4-for-9 with five RBI.
The Wildcats and Tigers return for the finale on Sunday (May 4) at 1 p.m. to not only conclude the series, but possibly determine the top seed in the Southern division in the MEAC tournament. A win for the Wildcats would give them the outright divisional title.
For complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com or www.ssuathletics.com
Lafayette bests NCCU in doubleheader sweep
EASTON, Pa. – In the first meeting between these two programs on the diamond, North Carolina Central University found itself down early in game one in the 10-3 defeat, while the Leopards hung on for the 8-7 game two victory to sweep the doubleheader on Saturday, May 3 at Kamine Stadium in Easton, Pa.
Through the first three innings of the day’s first game, the host Leopards scored two in the first, four in the second, and three in the third to take hold to a 9-0 advantage, while the Eagle bats were silenced.
NCCU finally got on the board in the fifth inning off-the-bat of redshirt junior Eric Kimber drilled a two-run home run to left field, the first of his career, as he helped trim the margin to 9-2.
The final run for the maroon and gray in game one was the second homer by the Eagles in the game as freshman Carlos Ortiz hit his sixth round-tripper of the year to make it 10-3 to end the game.
The Eagles were held to four hits in the loss, while Lafayette racked up a season-high 14 in the contest.
Game two saw the maroon and gray fight back to start the game with two runs in the top of the first, but the Leopards answered by scored the contest’s next eight runs including a six run second frame to take an 8-2 lead after three.
NCCU continued to scratch and claw by plating one run in the third off of Carter Williamson’s double to right center field to score senior Tyson Simpson and cut the deficit to 8-3.
In the top of the fifth inning, the maroon and gray coined a four run frame off of four hits to make it 8-7 that included a two RBI single by sophomore Christian Triplett, but the Eagles left the bases stranded in the inning. That was as close as the Eagles would get in dropping game two 8-7.
Junior transfer Grant Cain came on in-relief and did exactly what he needed to do to keep NCCU’s hopes alive. Cain went 5.0 innings allowed only one hit and struck out four batters in his appearance.
Williamson ended game two going 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI, and a run scored, while Simpson went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
NCCU (17-28-1, 12-10 MEAC) will battle Lafayette in the series finale on Sunday, May 4 at 1:00 p.m. from Kamine Stadium.
For complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com
Rattlers Tie a School Record With 12th MEAC Win In Doubleheader Split
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On the day the rest of the FAMU campus was celebrating graduation, sixth-year senior, David Duncan pitched a complete game shutout in the game two win of Saturday’s doubleheader. Florida A&M (20-24, 12-10 MEAC) split the two games with North Carolina A&T (16-31, 9-14 MEAC) 3-7 and 1-0 as game one went twelve innings at Moore-Kittles Field. The 12 MEAC wins ties the school record (2003) for the most MEAC wins in the regular season.
Duncan (4-4) pitched seven strong scoreless innings in the game two win with seven strikeouts and no walks, while the Aggies scattered five hits. William Carrasco (3-5) took the loss in game one after allowing four runs, one earned, with two walks and two strikeouts. Carrasco had a season-long relief outing with five innings of work.
Bennie Robinson went 3-for-5 with one RBI in game one to lead the FAMU offense.
The Rattlers scored first in game one with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Ryan Hutson reached on a fielder’s choice and Logan Seymour was hit-by-pitch to put runners on first and second with two outs. Jared Walker, who hadn’t had an at bat in 13 games due to a hand injury, roped a two-run double to left and Robinson followed with an RBI single to account for the early FAMU 3-0 lead.
A&T tied the game with three runs of their own in the top of the sixth inning. The Aggies recorded four straight hits to start the sixth inning, including an RBI single from Cameron Jergens and an RBI double from Brandon Wilkerson to cut the FAMU lead to 3-2. With runners on the corners and one out, FAMU starter Chase Jarrell hit Stefan Jordan with a pitch to load the bases. Brandon Fleming would then come in to relieve Jarrell with one out. Wilkerson scored the tying run as Ryan Hill beat out the throw to first, on a would-be double play. Fleming would then strike out Brandon Mitchell to end the inning.
FAMU worked the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth but failed to plate a run, as the score remained 3-3. Jeremy Barlow singled and advanced to second as the throw to second wasn’t in time on a sac bunt attempt. Hutson followed with another sac bunt attempt to move Barlow to third, but an errant throw to third allowed Barlow to reach safely and load the bases. After Seymour lined out to third, Walker grounded into the rare 6-2-5 double play to end the Rattler scoring threat.
North Carolian A&T also loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, but was unable to score.
Florida A&M squandered another scoring opportunity in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded again. Robinson was walked on four pitches to start the FAMU seventh and Gibbs laid down an attempted sac bunt, but another throwing error allowed the runners to advance to second and third. Michael Birdsong was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out to set up the double play. Barlow then did exactly what A&T had hoped for as he grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
The Aggies grabbed the lead for good, at 7-3, with four runs, only one earned, on three hits and a Rattler error in the 12th inning. With the bases loaded and what would have been a sac fly to right for Lester Salcedo, turned into an error by right fielder Seymour that allowed McMillan and Tendler to score what proved to be the game winning runs.
In game two, FAMU and A&T took a scoreless game into the sixth inning but the Rattlers scored all they needed with one run in the bottom of the inning. Hutson and Weeks drew consecutive walks to put runners on first and second with one out. Hutson tagged up to go to third as Ferdinand Rondon flew out to right. Peter Jackson’s, two-out, game winning RBI single just past the glove of Aggie second baseman Kyle Clary was enough to score Hutson for the only run of the game and the final score of 1-0.
A&T reliever Luke McCreesh (2-0) earned the win in game one while Aggie starter Tyler Boone (2-7) suffered the loss in game two.
Game two Aggie starter Tyler Boone allowed one run, but walked six batters in six innings of work for the no decision.
The Rattlers and Aggies close out their MEAC regular season conference schedule on Sunday at 1:00 pm at Moore-Kittles Field.
For complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com or www.ncataggies.com
Spartans Clinch 2nd in MEAC North With DH Sweep
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Stephen Butt and Matt Outman pitched a pair of seven-inning complete games and the Spartan offense registered 25 hits to lead the Spartans to a 12-2, 7-1 doubleheader sweep of Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday afternoon at Hawks Stadium.
Saturday’s sweep, coupled with Delaware State’s sweep of Coppin State on Saturday, clinched second place in the MEAC Northern Division for NSU (17-24, 13-10 MEAC). The Hawks dropped to 13-28 overall, 8-13 in MEAC play.
Cameron Day and Cody Ellis both went 5-for-7 over the course of the doubleheader for NSU. Chase Kyriacou was 4-for-7 with a pair of his in each game, including a three-run homer in the nightcap. Day and Kyriacou both knocked in four runs on the afternoon, while Andre’ Moore scored four runs, two in each game.
Butt (3-2) tossed a six-hitter in game 1, which was shortened to seven innings due to the 10-run rule. He allowed just two runs and struck out three.
Jeff Fleetwood’s double gave UMES a 2-1 lead after three innings in the opener, but the Spartans erupted for 11 runs in the next two frames to blow the game open. Day walked to lead off the fourth and then went to third on a double by Zach Markel. Ellis and Justin Burrell followed with consecutive RBI singles to give NSU the lead at 3-2.
Moore had the biggest hit in the inning, a two-run triple to right-center. It was his team-leading fourth triple of the year. Kyriacou added a bunt single on a squeeze play, and Day capped the frame with another RBI single to make it 7-2. The Spartans had seven hits in the fourth and sent 11 batters to the plate.
It was more of the same in the fifth. Ellis opened the inning with a double and scored on a double by Omar Hotusing. UMES opted to bring Bernard Parker in to relieve starter Jesse Stinnett at that point, but Spartan shortstop Justin Lee greeted Parker with an RBI single. Day added a two-run single and Ross Cardwell plated another run with an RBI groundout to stretch the lead to 12-2.
Butt finished off the Hawks from there. He didn’t allow a run after the third in pitching his first complete game of the season.
Stinnett allowed nine runs on 12 hits in 4.1 innings to take the loss for the Hawks.
Day and Ellis were both 3-for-3 in game 1. Day drove in three runs. Burrell and Kyriacou had two hits each. All nine Spartans in the lineup had at least one hit and eight scored at least one run.
Outman (6-2) pitched his third complete game in the last month to pick up his team-leading sixth win of the year in game 2. He scattered seven hits, walked two and fanned four.
The Spartans struck quickly in the nightcap, taking a 3-0 lead after two innings. Moore reached on an error to lead off the game and scored when the Hawks committed an error on Kyriacou’s single to the outfield. Day drove in Kyriacou with a single of his own to make it 2-0.
In the second, Moore’s two-out double scored Burrell, who reached earlier in the inning on a fielder’s choice, to make it 3-0.
The Spartans all but wrapped up game 2 in the top of the fourth. Lee reached on an error and Moore reached on a fielder’s choice to start the inning before Kyriacou launched a three-run homer to left, his second of the season, to make it 6-0.
NSU tacked on one final run on Cardwell’s RBI triple in the sixth.
Outman entered the seventh looking for a shutout, but the Hawks were able to plate one run in their final at-bat. Greg Turlik doubled off Outman, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by Chris Adams.
But that would be all the Hawks could manage off Outman, who is 2-0 and allowed three earned runs in 19 innings spanning three starts this year against UMES.
Kyriacou, Ellis and Day were all 2-for-4 in the nightcap for the Spartans, who had 10 hits for the contest.
The teams complete their series at noon on Sunday.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.umeshawks.com
Hornets clinch MEAC North title with doubleheader sweep of Eagles
DOVER, Del. --- The Delaware State University baseball team clinched its third straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Northern Division championship with a doubleheader sweep of Coppin State at Soldier Field today.
The Hornets won the opener 8-7 in 10 innings; and completed the sweep with a 6-0 victory in the seven-inning nightcap. Freshman Harry Thomas tossed his first career shutout on a two-hitter and Aarron Nardone smacked his third career grand slam to lead DSU to the game two win.
Delaware State has won eight of its last nine games to improve to 26-14 overall. The Hornets are 15-6 in the MEAC North with three league games remaining. Second place Norfolk State entered the weekend with an 11-10 mark in the division.
The North title gives the Hornets one-of-two No. 1 seeds in the MEAC Tournament May 14-18 in Norfolk, Va.
Thomas did not allow a hit until Coppin State’s John Walls reached base on a bloop single to right field in the fifth inning. The only other hit off Thomas was a single by Bryant Miranda with two outs in the seventh inning. The Hornet freshman struck out a career-high seven batters and did not allow a walk to improve to 4-2 this season.
Thomas also lowered his earned run average to 1.56 with the performance.
Game two was scoreless until the fifth inning when DSU scored all of its runs.
The Hornets scored the game’s first run when Coppin State starter Shane Davies (1-5) walked Cameron Cecil with the bases loaded to score Chris Gonzalez, who walked to lead off the inning.
The next batter, Aarron Nardone, cleared the bases with his third career grand slam, a liner over the fence in right field to give the Hornets a 5-0 lead. The homer was Nardone’s team-leading eighth of the season. He also tops the Hornets with 40 runs batted in.
Eddie Sorondo drove in the final run of the inning on a sacrifice fly.
The shutout victory was DSU’s third of the season. The Hornets posted a 1-0 win over Bucknell on Feb. 22 and blanked Akron 4-0 on Mar. 1.
In the opener, Delaware State scored the winning run on a Coppin State error in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Mike Alexander and pinch hitter Rich Rodriguez drew walks to lead off the 10th. The next batter, Hassan Evans, bunted the ball down the first base line. Coppin State first baseman Chris Godfrey fielded the ball, but his throw to third was wide, allowing Alexander to score the winning run.
The Hornets led 7-2 before the Eagles scored five unanswered runs to tie the game. Coppin State trailed 7-5 when catcher William Brown tied the game on a two-run single in the top of the ninth inning.
Delaware State opened the game one scoring with two runs in the top of the first inning. Alexander drove in the first run on an infield single and the second run crossed the plate on a Coppin State error.
After the Eagles tied the game with two runs off DSU starter Matt McClain in the second inning, the Hornets regained the lead with four runs in the fourth.
Justin Allen singled to lead off the DSU fourth and scored the first run of the inning on an infield hit by Nardone. After Charles Dailey scored on a wild pitch, Ron Farley singled in two runs to give the Hornets a 6-2 lead.
Delaware State stretched its lead to 7-2 when Allen drew a walk, stole second and scored when Dailey followed with a single to right field in the fifth inning.
Coppin State scored a run in the sixth; and two in the eighth and ninth innings to even the score.
Cecil, Farley and Allen had two hits each for the Hornets. Allen is six for his last seven, and has seven hits in 17 at bats this season (.412).
Brown was two-for-four with three RBI in the opener for Coppin State. Dalton Cozart (3-for-3) and Walls (3-for-5) had three hits each for the Eagles.
Eric Sharff (6-3) pitched two innings in relief of McClain to earn the win.
Delaware State is 6-2 against Coppin State this season. The Hornets and Eagles will wrap up their season series with a single game on Sunday. Game time is 1 p.m. at Soldier Field.
For complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com or www.coppinstatesports.com