May 3, 2008

Game One Box Score

Gamw Two Box Score

Dover, Del. - Delaware State and Bethune-Cookman stood toe-to-toe on Saturday as the two teams split a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader at Soldier Field in Dover, Del. B-CU took the first game, 6-4 while the Hornets came back for a 5-2 victory in the nightcap.

Bethune-Cookman (31-18, 16-1 MEAC) didn't quit enter Soldier Field--a stadium known for allowing its share of homeruns, as a regular season champion. They didn't have the swagger ... they didn't have the demeanor ... and they didn't have an undefeated season, in the end.

In the second game of the day, Delaware State (16-27, 11-5 MEAC) jumped on the board early with the help of two crucial errors on one (1) play for the Wildcats. DSU left fielder Jarrett Bibb singled off B-CU starting pitcher Joseph Gautier to start the at-bat, and later advanced on a sacrifice bunt. Three runs would score moments later when another bunt from Jim Johnson would plate Bibb ... as well as two more runs as B-CU committed two throwing errors to allow Johnson to score on the play as well.

DSU led 3-0 after the second inning of play. The Hornets would advance their lead in the third with a RBI double from catcher Wynton Weather who pulled the score to 4-0 in favor of DSU.

The Maroon and Gold did get on the board in the fifth with two runs to cut the lead to 4-2. Patrick Jones singled to score pinch runner Dev De La Rosa, as well as teammate Patrick Jones.

DSU would gain another run in the bottom of the fifth for the final 5-2 score when Bibb registered his first sacrifice fly of the year to bring in Jose Sanchez from third.

DSU's Josh Schmidt earned the win in a complete game for the Hornets as he allowed two runs on five hits in the seven-inning affair to improve his record to 7-4. The loss went to B-CU junior Joseph Gautier who dropped to 5-2 ... and took his first-ever MEAC loss. Patrick Jones led the Wildcats at the plate with two hits in the nightcap.

"This isn't B-CU Baseball today, and we can't just show up at the field and expect to beat teams," admitted B-CU head coach Mervyl Melendez immediately afterwards. "We threw away everything we worked for this season in one game, but don't expect to see that team again."

The loss snapped the Maroon and Gold's 27-game regular season MEAC winning streak dating back to a nationally-televised contest (ESPNU) last year at North Carolina A&T in the third game of the series. The two runs scored was the lowest against a conference opponent since Apr. 30, 2005 when the `Cats were eliminated by Norfolk State in the 2005 MEAC Tournament.

"We will be more focused tomorrow, and I will make sure that we don't look as bad as we did today again," admitted Melendez. "There was no excuse other than we played bad, and we never had any energy. Delaware [State] took advantage of that, and we paid the price."

In the first game of the day, DSU found it hard to solve B-CU starter Hiram Burgos as the junior slinger was impressive on the mound. Burgos went seven full frames on the hill, allowing two unearned runs and spreading out three hits while fanning six batters.

The Wildcats jumped on the board in the top of the first inning off DSU starting pitcher JR McAllister when the first two batters reached safely in the form of Ortiz and Justin Hoyte. Ortiz scored on an error, while Hoyte scored courtesy a McAllister wild pitch.

DSU tied things up in the home-half of the fifth with two runs of their own as first baseman Jamie Friel was hit by a pitch from Burgos and swiped second to move into scoring position. Friel would score on an error while Ryne Schweiwe scored on the same thing, an error by the Wildcats.

The Maroon and Gold would retake the lead with four runs and two away in the top of the seventh.

Junior third baseman Mark Brooks drove in the third run of the inning on an infield single, and the final run scored on a wild pitch by DSU reliever Jose Portela.

The Hornets pulled to within 6-4 on a two-run single by Friel in the last of the eighth. DSU had the tying runs on base with two out, but Chris Kidd hit into a force out to end the threat. B-CU ace reliever Phil Enright was called upon to finish it off in the eighth and ninth frame, respectively, for the Wildcats.

Hiram Burgos earned the win to stay perfect in MEAC play at 6-0 and improved his overall record to 8-1. The loss went to DSU's McAllister who dropped to 3-4. The save went to Enright who collected his fifth of the campaign.

With the pressure of the first-ever 18-0 regular season record out of the way, B-CU now looks to collect a win in the series tomorrow as they have not lost a conference series since Delaware State beat the Wildcats in 2005 in Daytona Beach--also B-CU's last home MEAC loss.

The two teams will meet back at Soldier Field tomorrow at noon for the rubber game of the series. Live stats will be available through Game Tracker at www.BCCathletics.com.