DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman Baseball travels southwest to Winter Haven, Florida on Friday, taking on the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee as part of the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational. The Cats will take part in a single game during the invitational beginning at 1 p.m., at Chief of Lakes Park Stadium.
Bethune-Cookman (2-2) is coming off a 12-7 defeat at the hands of UCF Tuesday night in Orlando, Florida. In that contest, the Cats got a solid game from redshirt sophomore shortstop Demetrius Sims (Ann Arbor, Mich.) with a 3-for-5 evening, adding a leadoff double to start the game. Second baseman Jameel Edney (West Palm Beach, Fla.) supplied three RBI and a two-run home run, while freshman right fielder Akevious Williams (Madison, Fla.) was 2-for-4 with a double.
Senior right-hander Alex Seibold (Lauderhill, Fla.) will get the nod in his second start of the year, after suffering the loss on opening day for the Cats in a 5-0 shutout against Murray State. Seibold worked 4 1/3 innings for the Cats, giving up five runs (three earned), striking out four and walking three.
The RussMatt Central Florida Invitational hosts over 200 colleges annually in all divisions (NCAA D I, II, III, NAIA and JUCO), more college teams than all other Florida spring break tournaments combined. It features two former Major League spring training stadiums (Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers) plus the addition of four more fields at Lake Myrtle Park.
AT A GLANCE
Records: Bethune-Cookman 2-2 (0-0 MEAC) | Milwaukee 1-3 (0-0 Horizon League)
Rankings: Bethune-Cookman is unranked. Milwaukee is unranked.
On The Web: BCUathletics.com • Twitter: @BCUDiamondCats, @JasonBeverlin
PROMOTIONS
Friday
- There are no promotions from Bethune-Cookman for the game against Milwaukee.
BETHUNE-COOKMAN VS. MILWAUKEE PROBABLE STARTERS
FRIDAY, FEB. 26 (1 p.m.)
Bethune-Cookman
RHP Alex Seibold (0-1, 6.23 ERA)
Milwaukee
RHP Jay Peters (0-0, 1.80 ERA)
Bethune-Cookman-Milwaukee Series History
• This is the first-ever meeting between Bethune-Cookman and UW-Milwaukee.
• B-CU last faced a team from the Horizon League back in 2011, as the Cats traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to face Oral Roberts. The Eagles swept the series against the Cats.
Noting the Wildcats
• B-CU opened the season with a series victory over Murray State last weekend, coming from a game down to open the series. Back-to-back strong pitching performances from German Hernandez and Tyler Norris aided the Cats in the victories over the Racers.
• This will be Bethune-Cookman's only game in the 2016 Russmatt Central Florida Invitational, while other teams form the north will play throughout the weekend.
• Senior pitcher German Hernandez was named this week's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Pitcher of the Week.
• Hernandez, a 6-3, 205-pound senior pitcher from Cleburne, Texas, picked up his first win of the season in helping Bethune-Cookman shutout the Murray State Races over the weekend inside Radiology Associates Field at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. He tossed eight scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out a career-best eight, in a 6-0 victory over the Racers, helping the Cats even the series with the game two victory.
• Preseason All-MEAC members include Clint Clymer (RHP), Demetrius Sims (SS), Nathan Bond (OF), Alex Seibold (RHP) and Jameel Edney (3B).
• The Wildcats were predicted to finish second in the MEAC Southern Division.
• Bethune-Cookman placed five players on the preseason All-MEAC Team.
Notes from the Panthers
• Milwaukee was picked to finish fourth in the 2016 Horizon League preseason baseball poll.
• The Panthers will be one of the youngest teams around in 2016, with 21 of the 35 players on the active roster set to make their debuts in a Milwaukee uniform this season. This year, the roster will feature 11 freshmen, eight junior-college transfers, one sophomore and one graduate student all in their first season at UWM.
• The Panthers finished with a Horizon League-high 40 home runs as a team in 2015, the most since 39 of them back in the 2010 season.
Up Next for B-CU
Bethune-Cookman gets geared up for five games in six days, all inside the friendly confines of Radiology Associates Field at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The Cats begin the slate hosting USF (March 1), followed by Volusia County opponent Stetson (March 3). They conclude the week with a three-game series against Florida Gulf Coast on Friday, March 4.
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