March 4, 2007

Final Stats

Jacksonville, Fla. - Bethune-Cookman University baseball broke its six-game losing streak on Sunday with an emphatic 9-3 statement victory over Western Michigan University at Harmon Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The game was the final of the 2007 Kennel Classic hosted by the University of North Florida.

B-CU starting pitcher Joseph Gautier was bumped around a bit to start as Western Michigan (2-1) plated three runs off the sophomore left-hander right off the bat, so to speak.

WMU right fielder Pedro Dager doubled to right center while Chris Lewis drove him in for the go-ahead score at 1-0 in favor of the Broncos. Dager doubled again in the third inning, this time to left center, while Lewis once again singled to bring in Dager for the score. Matt Abro brought around Lewis for the 3-0 advantage just one batter later with a double down the left field line.

B-CU (6-10) bounced back in the bottom-half of the third inning when second baseman José Almonte singled up the middle to get on base. That's when junior Luis Gonzalez blasted his first homerun as a Wildcat while the ball soared over the right field wall.

The `Cats trailed 3-2 after three complete innings.

B-CU head coach Mervyl Melendez elected to bring freshman hurler Felix Machado (Isabela, P.R.) out of the bullpen in relief of Gautier.

The moved worked perfectly as Machado scattered just two hits and allowed zero (0) runs in his six innings on the hill for the Wildcats.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, B-CU jumped on top for good as sophomore Chris Brown laced his second homerun of the season with a shot to right center that plated two scores as he also scored Alejandro Jimenez on the play. Jimenez reached bas safely as he drew a base-on-balls just one batter prior to the homerun from Brown.

With the Wildcats on top 5-3 in the fifth frame, Bethune-Cookman catcher Drew Clark hit a two-run scoring single to right center that brought in Brown and Jimenez. The runs were put on relief pitcher Joe Sheets who relieved starter Brian Schutzbach after the third inning. Schutzbach allowed five runs on five Wildcats hits with four runs being earned in his time on the mound.

B-CU put up two more runs in the sixth frame when Greg Marrone entered the game for the Broncos.

After Alejandro Jimenez plated Almonte two batters later with a ground-out for the final 9-3 margin in favor of the `Cats.

Schutzbach took the loss for the Broncos while B-CU's Machado lifted his record to 2-1 on the year with the win. This was a vast contrast to Machado's relief efforts last week as he took a loss at Stetson in less than an inning of work on the hill.

Pedro Dager was a dagger for the Wildcats all day as he went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored. Abro was 2-for-4 with one RBI.

As for the victorious Wildcats, they were led by two players with a multi-hit game, including Luis Gonzalez with a 2-for-3 day that included two RBI and one run. Drew Clark went 2-for-4 with the bat as he plated two runs and scored once, appropriately.

Brown played in right field and freshman Orlando Bacon saw action in left field as the B-CU lineup was moved around due to imposed team suspensions of centerfielder José Ortiz-Rivera and right fielder Angel Mercado due to a violation of team rules. They sat out the third game of their three-game suspension today.

Bethune-Cookman will now prepare for La Salle on Tuesday as they will play at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex in Ormond Beach, S.C. at 6 p.m. For more information, please call the B-CU Office of Sports Information at (386) 481-2206.