May 1, 2007

Box Score

Daytona Beach, Fla. - The bats stayed hot from this past weekend with yet another double-digit hit performance on Tuesday en route to a 7-2 victory for the Bethune-Cookman University baseball squad against visiting Jacksonville University at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Fla.

With Joseph "Gio" Gautier taking the mound for the first time in 14 days, B-CU (25-22) decided to give him some defense and hitting to help his confidence right from the start.

The Wildcats used a walk to senior third baseman Luis Gonzalez to set-up the first of three (3) homeruns on the day by B-CU with a deep shot to left field for senior right fielder Angel Mercado. That shot was his eighth of the year, and put B-CU ahead in the first inning, 2-0.

JU (24-22) starter David Yates was looking for his first decision of the year as he entered the game with a 0-0 record. The outcome was far from anticipated as he allowed his second homer of the day in the bottom of the second frame with a leadoff shot to left center for shortstop Chris Henault--his team-leading ninth of the season.

That would close the book on Yates as he was relieved by Matt Dobbins.

The `Cats were not done offensively, however, as José Ortiz-Rivera collected his second triple of the year that crossed teammate José Almonte from first baseman. Almonte reached via a Dolphins infield error one batter prior. Ortiz-Rivera scored on the next play when Dobbins was called for a balk, thus putting the `Cats out in front at 5-0.

JU finally got to Gautier in the fourth when left fielder Pete Clifford registered his eighth homerun of the year with a leadoff shot to right field, cutting the B-CU lead at 5-1.

Bethune-Cookman plated another run to advance their lead to 6-1 in the home-half of the fifth when left fielder Neil Jones collected his team-leading sixth triple of the season to push in Almonte for the score.

The Dolphins of JU bounced back in the top of the sixth when Clifford collected his third hit of the day with a single to center, followed by an RBI double from Ryan McArdle to put the B-CU lead at 6-2.

After another batter reached safely for the Dolphins, freshman Felix Machado toed the mound in relief for Gautier and abruptly secured a double-play to get the `Cats out of the inning with a runner charging in from third base.

Designated hitter Angel Negron blasted his seventh homerun of the year in eighth off JU reliever D.J. Ackley to put the final score on the board at 7-2.

The Wildcats Felix Machado and Francisco Gomez collected work out of the bullpen for the Wildcats, combing for 3.2 innings of work and six strikeouts with zero (0) hits to finish out the contest.

JU's Clifford was 3-for-4 at the plate to lead the Dolphins with a RBI and two runs, while teammate and centerfielder Kevin Ferreira went 2-for-3. Ryan McArdle also collected two hits for the Dolphins.

B-CU was led at the plate by José Ortiz-Rivera, Angel Mercado with 2-for-4 outings each, respectively. Mercado collected two RBI while José Almonte scored twice in the game.

With the win tonight, the Wildcats are riding a season-high 10-game winning streak dating back to their loss at North Carolina A&T (14-11) on Apr. 8 on ESPNU in Greensboro, N.C. This is the longest winning streak in school history, as well as the longest since the 2002 campaign when the `Cats posted an eight-game win-streak. That was also the winningest season in school history for Bethune-Cookman with a total of 39 victories posted by head coach Mervyl Melendez.

The Wildcats get back to the diamond on Saturday, May 5 when they host the first two games of a key Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference [MEAC] series against Delaware State University at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The action begins at 1 p.m. with live stats available through www.BCCathletics.com.