March 9, 2011
Final Stats
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Facing cross-county rival Stetson for the second time this season, the Wildcats brought their bats in the rematch with the Hatters. B-CU scored runs in five different innings, while holding Stetson to just two runs with excellent pitching and steadfast defense, winning 10-2 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, making the record when scoring first 7-1 on the season.
“Tonight was a matter of us playing with the lead, and taking advantage of an early lead. It was a matter of putting some good at-bats together and playing with confidence.”
The Wildcats controlled the game the entire way, putting six runs up without a Hatter response.
B-CU got to work from the very first inning, putting away three straight batters, followed by Ryan Durrence batting in DJ Leonard on B-CU's third at-bat. Emmanuel Castro put another on the board with a sacrifice fly.
In the third, Peter O'Brien put in an RBI to get started, and Castro tacked another up, while Stetson walked in a run late in the inning.
O'Brien added another in the fourth with a sac fly, with Alejandro Sanchez hitting a big triple in the fifth for two more RBI. In the eighth, O'Brien and Nick Johnson put up the final two runs, completing the 10-2 rout.
While consistent offense shows well on the scoreboard, it's only a small piece of the victory for B-CU. The Wildcats got excellent performances from both the starting and relief pitching.
Gabriel Hernandez (1-0) made his first start on the season, and made quite a debut, allowing just three hits, one run, and collecting three strikeouts. Appearing as a reliever, Montana Durapau took over in the sixth and earned the save, with just four hits, one run, and six strikeouts.
“I thought that our pitching was excellent,” said Melendez. “Gabriel was outstanding in his first outing of the year, and Montana, this is the best that he's thrown. I'm very satisfied with the performance of the pitchers tonight.”
Defensively, B-CU performed well, committing no errors along with a double play, and limiting Stetson to just seven hits on the night.
Offensively, Peter O'Brien topped the Wildcats' attack, going 3-4 with 3 RBI, in addition to four other Wildcats with two hits each of the 14-hit overall team performance.
“It was a team effort,” Melendez commented. “We had some good plays made by all of our fielders; hitting-wise we had a good day and a lot of guys with multiple hits. The team really rallied behind the starter, Gaby Hernandez, today.”
The Wildcats (8-7) look to take their momentum on the road, as they depart directly for Tulsa, Okla. to face Oral Roberts (3-4) in a three game series, Fri.-Sun.
“They're a very good ballclub,” Melendez noted of this weekend's opponent. “We've got to play well. If we play like we played tonight, we should be okay. We've got to get starts like we did tonight, swing the bat, and early in the ballgame have good at-bats. If you do all three like we did tonight, you've got to feel pretty good about your chances.”
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