Courtesy of BCU Sports Information

Wildcats Third after Opening Day of Baker Matches

DeLAND, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman Bowling wrapped up the first day of the Fifth Annual Wildcat Invitational on Friday afternoon at Sunshine Bowling Center in nearby DeLand, Florida. The annual three-day event includes five teams in this year’s field with host Bethune-Cookman, Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Florida A&M and Sacred Heart.

Bethune-Cookman took part in four head-to-head Baker matches in Friday’s opening day action, as well as a blind match for pin count. Total pins determines Sunday’s bracket portion of the Invitational, as total wins and losses count only for NCAA purposes.

The Maroon and Gold began Baker play with an 870-611 victory over Alabama A&M. The Wildcats followed with a 914-853 defeat at the hands of Sacred Heart.

B-CU picked up its highest pin count of the day in the open game, scoring a 941, respectfully.

The Cats concluded the day’s head-to-head action with a 919-805 setback against fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponent Florida A&M. But then closed with a hard-fought 874-855 win over perennial Southwestern Athletic Conference power Alabama State.

After the opening day, B-CU sits third overall with 4,343 pins and a record of 2-2 overall. Alabama State leads the field with 4,436 pins and a 3-1 record. Florida A&M is second (4,433 pins), while Sacred Heart (4,336 pins) and Alabama A&M (3,229 pins) round out the leaderboard.

Action continues Saturday as the five-team field squares off at 10 a.m., with five Traditional games.

In the five-person team game, starting members of the competing teams will successively and, in regular order, bowl one frame on one lane. Once completed, the team members shall move to the alternate lane of the competition pair. This pattern of play continues until all 10 frames of a game are complete. The same substitution rules as Baker will apply.

The invitational concludes Sunday with a tournament beginning at 9:30 a.m. The tournament, consisting of Best 4-of-7 Baker matches, will determine the champion. The five teams will be seeded based on the performance on Friday and Saturday.