JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A first inning grand slam mixed with an eight-run fourth inning allowed Jacksonville University to take a decisive 16-0 victory Tuesday night over Bethune-Cookman in non-conference baseball action at John Sessions Stadium. The game was broadcast live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app for mobile devices.
The game was called in the bottom of the eighth inning following a 30-minute lightning delay that eventually led to another lightning strike in the area moments before the game was to resume. However, the two coaches and umpires agreed to end it, rather than wait through another 30-minute delay. There was one out with the Dolphins batting in the frame.
Bethune-Cookman (14-27) starting pitcher Sidney Duprey was unable to get out of the first inning after collecting two quick outs, setting the table for a Jacksonville offense to match its most runs of the season – tying a 16-run outburst against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opponent Coppin State earlier in the year.
After Duprey issued a bases-loaded walk to left fielder Cameron Gibson, reliever German Hernandez toed the rubber for the Wildcats with the Maroon and Gold trailing, 1-0 at that point. With Hernandez in a tough spot on the hill, he immediately allowed his second grand slam in as many outings, when Samuel Armstrong blasted a home run to right center, propelling the Dolphins out to a sizeable 5-0 advantage.
Jacksonville (17-19) swelled the lead in the third when Gibson laced a RBI single through the right side to score right fielder Austin Hayes for the 6-0 lead. That would eventually grow to 8-0 later in the frame on a passed ball credited to B-CU catcher Clay Middleton off a pitch from Danny Melgarejo, allowing Armstrong to rush in from third.
The big inning would come in the fourth for the Dolphins as they brought 13 men to the plate in an eight-run inning that would lead to the 16-0 final score.
Mass substitutions for both teams occurred the rest of the way, and the Bethune-Cookman bullpen was able to hold the Dolphins offense in check down the stretch with pitchers Juan Pizarro, Donté Lindsay and Clint Clymer each seeing time on the bump.
The win went to JU starter Parker Perez who left the mound with a sizeable lead after three innings worked. He evened his record at 1-1 on the season, while B-CU's Duprey stayed winless in dropping to 0-4 on the campaign.
JU's Nathan Disch worked three scoreless innings out of the bullpen, as well as Ryan Quintero tossing two scoreless frames.
The Bethune-Cookman offense was led by redshirt freshman shortstop Demetrius Sims with two hits in three at-bats, while Middleton and pinch hitter José Carballo each tallied a hit a piece.
Bethune-Cookman looks to turn things around this weekend when they host conference foe North Carolina A&T for a three-game series at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium in Sanford, Florida. The weekend begins with a doubleheader on Saturday, 18, at 1 p.m.
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