April 16, 2008

Box Score

Daytona Beach, Fla. - The University of South Florida held on Wednesday night for a 7-6 win over Bethune-Cookman University at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in a thrilling baseball affair in windy and unseasonably chilly Daytona Beach, Fla.

Bethune-Cookman (22-15) was a hit away--literally, on Wednesday night from capturing a miraculous comeback against one of the best closing pitchers in college baseball today.

Trailing 7-3 entering the bottom of the ninth frame, the hearts and minds were still afire in the B-CU dugout. Catcher Drew Clark singled to start-off the at-bat, and teammates Justin Hoyte and Kenneth Ford both walked in consecutive at-bats to load the bases right off the gate. That's when junior outfielder José Ortiz punched his only hit of the game with a two-run scoring single through the right side to score pinch runner Joseph Gautier and Hoyte.

When USF (18-18) closer Shawn Sanford took the mound in the ninth with zero (0) outs and runners on second and third, it still seemed apparent that the Bulls would close-out yet another game with a Wallace Watch List member on the mound.

B-CU and head coach Mervyl Melendez still saw a challenge to beat the best and take a win in a way they had given them up so many times in recent memory--in the last at-bat.

Sanford immediately struck-out B-CU second baseman Mark Brooks who was in the lineup for the first time in three games tonight, before issuing a walk in a great battle to José Lozada. Coincidentally, Lozada reached base three times tonight, but had his 13-game hitting streak snapped. It is just the second game all season that he has failed to post a hit.

With the bases full of Wildcats and just one out showing on the scoreboard, Sanford walked B-CU first baseman Osvaldo Torres to push in another run and give B-CU even more life in the dugout as the score was cut to 7-6.

Neal Jones went down on strikes as the next batter before Emmanuel Castro's hard shot to second base was just barely scooped up by the Bulls' Jonathan Koscso to register to 4-6 fielder's choice putout and end the game.

"We have to string together a complete game of baseball, and not just play one or two good innings as we have the last few weeks," expressed Melendez afterwards. "Right now, this is not Bethune-Cookman University baseball, and not the way we started the season. We have to find that hunger again, and close teams out like we were in the beginning."

The `Cats struck first in the bottom of the third inning when Patrick Jones led-off the at-bat with a single and later scored alongside Brooks with a two-run single from Torres. That put B-CU ahead at that point, 2-0.

USF scored one in the top of the fourth as first baseman Joey Angelberger kicked off the inning with a hard-shot double to left field, followed by a sacrifice fly from Stephen Hunt to plate Angelberger from third two batters later.

The Bulls took their first lead of the game in the top-half of the fifth inning as they crossed two runs in the frame.

Koscso singled to left and advanced into scoring position with one of two costly errors charged to the Wildcats outfield on fielding slow rollers hit right to them. Angelberger pushed in Koscso with a RBI single to short, and Ryan Lockwood registered a sacrifice fly to left field that allowed shortstop Addison Maruszak to scamper in from third.

USF led 3-2 until the bottom of the sixth. That's when B-CU used a Neal Jones double off the right field wall, followed by a single from Castro. With runners at the corner, Clark collected a sac fly to score Jones. That tied the game at 3-3.

USF would score three runs in the seventh inning to take their final lead of the game, this time at 6-3.

B-CU relief pitcher Roman Lancara was looking good through an inning of relief for starter Felix Machado, but the Bulls finally got to the crafty left-hander in the seventh.

Yet another error in the inning allowed USF to stretch a single into a two-bagger as Hunt delivered a RBI single to left that scored Lockwood. Left fielder Chris Rey collected a two-run scoring single himself that pushed the lead out even farther for the Bulls. USF would score yet another run in the eighth when Lockwood scored a RBI single up the middle off B-CU reliever Andrew Tilka to plate teammate Maruszak for his second run of the day.

"The bottom line is we are falling back into what people expected of us in the preseason," stated Melendez. "People always think we will play tough against teams at first, and then fall like we are supposed to, as they see it. We know how to play this game, and we have got to start to show it better than we have the last few weeks. That's, again, the bottom line."

USF starting pitcher Teddy Kaufman earned the win on the mound for the Bulls as he went six innings allowing three earned runs and five hits. He also struck-out five batters and walked three others. B-CU's Machado took the loss to fall to 2-4 on the year. Machado allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits with three walks and two Ks in five innings of work.

The Bulls were led at the dish by Chris Rey with a 3-for-5 night, as well as Angelberger and Lockwood with two hits each. The three combined for seven of USF's nine hits in the game.

B-CU was led by seven different batters with a hit apiece, mainly the play of Torres who also drove in three runs. Beside him was Ortiz with two RBI, the critical ones in the ninth too.

B-CU will now take on Coppin State in their fourth conference series of the year as the Wildcats travel to historic Baltimore, Md. for a Saturday/Sunday match-up with the Eagles. Saturday, Apr. 19 begins the series with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. B-CU is scheduled to pitch Joseph Gautier in the doubleheader affair.

Live stats for all games will be available through Game Tracker at www.BCCathletics.com.