TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In one of the grittiest games of the NCAA Baseball Tournament so far, the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman pushed Florida State late into the game, holding a 5-5 tie into the eighth inning before a mostly Garnett and Gold-clad crowd of 3,475 at Dick Howser Stadium. B-CU led for several stretches of the tightly-contested game, but FSU broke the tie in the bottom of the eighth and held on for the 6-5 win in the final frame.
“I thought our guys fought hard,” said Head Coach Mervyl Melendez. “When things don't go your way, you just gotta keep fighting and we made it into a game. We were on top in the beginning, we fell behind and we came back and tied the ballgame.”
First Baseman Ryan Durrence opened the scoring in this tough battle with a 1-2 count home run to lead off the second inning, sending the solo shot around sixty feet beyond the left field fence, and bringing a rise from the large contingent of Wildcat fans in the stands.
After three scoreless innings at the hands of the B-CU defense, FSU knotted up the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth, with a single to right turning to an RBI on a fielding error. The B-CU defense kept the Seminoles in check, limiting the scoring to just one, while stranding two FSU runners.
DJ Leonard to rebuild and extend the lead with his sixth homer of the year, and B-CU's second on the night, as the two-run shot bounced past the left center field wall.
The Seminoles didn't allow the 'Cats to get much distance, hitting a two run single in the bottom of the fifth to tie it up at three-all, and a two-run single to left field gave FSU its first lead of the game at 5-3
Quick to answer was Peter O'Brien, who took the first pitch of the sixth inning yard to narrow the newly-gained FSU lead to just one. Ryan Durrence followed up two batters later with his second homer of the game, just inside the right foul pole, bringing the game back to a tie at five-all.
Following the fourth Wildcat homer of the game, FSU went to the bullpen for their top reliever, calling up Brian Busch, who held the 'Cats scoreless through the seventh and eighth frames, logging four strikeouts against seven batters.
“I thought he was really good, to be honest with you.” Melendez said of Busch. “I thought him being in the ball game was the difference because I think we could have scored more runs and we could have done a little more damage at the plate.”
Roman Lancara took over for the Wildcats in the bottom of the sixth, snapping FSU's scoring streak and holding the Seminoles to no hits in the sixth and seventh, but FSU added another in the eighth on Jordan Dailey's watch, moving on top 6-5.
In crunch time, FSU went to closer Daniel Bennett, who took out the Wildcats in three straight, wrapping up the game in a one-run Florida State win.
The Wildcats active offense collected ten hits on the night, logging the most home runs of any Florida State opponent this season. Leading the charge, Ryan Durrence hit 3-4 with two RBI, both coming off his ninth and tenth home runs of the year. DJ Leonard and Peter O'Brien collecting RBI.
With the loss, the Wildcats drop to 36-24 on the season, but the post-season is far from over for B-CU. The Wildcats return to action at the NCAA Regional at 12:00 p.m. in Tallahassee to face off with Central Florida, who fell to Alabama, 5-3, in Friday's early game.
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