SALISBURY, Md. – Tyler Norris tossed six shutout innings on Thursday afternoon, as No. 2 seed (South) Bethune-Cookman opened the 2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Baseball Championships with a 10-0 victory over No. 3 seed (North) Coppin State at A.W. Perdue Stadium.
Six innings, two hits, a walk and eight strikeouts for the sophomore from Coral Springs, Florida was the line for Norris, giving him his first-ever MEAC Championships win. The All-MEAC pitcher put up one of the best performances for any Wildcats hurler in the MEAC Championships since Montana Durapau in 2013.
Bethune-Cookman (26-25) got on the board first in the home-half of the opening inning.
Coppin State (12-37) starting pitcher Devin Sutorius walked the first three Wildcats he faced, allowing B-CU catcher Clay Middleton (Oviedo, Fla.), a first team All-MEAC performer honored prior to the game, to plate leadoff man Rakeem Quinn (Port St. Joe, Fla.), a third team All-MEAC outfielder, on a sacrifice fly to right field.
The Wildcats would add another run in the bottom of the fourth, using a Nate Sterijevski (Clermont, Fla.) sacrifice fly to center field to bring in freshman Josten Heron (Miami, Fla.) from third. That allowed Bethune-Cookman a 2-0 advantage after four innings played.
B-CU would increase the advantage by a run in the bottom of the fifth.
An error charged to Eagles' right fielder George Dragon on a dropped fly ball allowed All-MEAC outfielder Nathan Bond (Orlando, Fla.) to reach safely. That also allowed first team All-MEAC designated hitter Michael Cruz (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico) to score on the play, giving the Maroon and Gold a 3-0 lead.
It was in the sixth inning that B-CU broke the game open with five runs.
Sutorius was replaced in the start of the Wildcats at-bat by right-hander Devin Rivera Ozuna. After a walk and a wild pitch to begin, the freshman right-hander was quickly replaced by Desean Rabb on the bump.
Cruz drove in the first run for the Cats with a bases loaded walk, seeing Sterijevski cross for the 4-0 lead. MEAC Rookie of the Year Danny Rodriguez (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) collected the RBI in the next at-bat with another walk, this time seeing Quinn score on the play.
Middleton would plate his second run of the afternoon with a sacrifice fly to straight away centerfield, bringing across All-MEAC shortstop Demetrius Sims (Ann Arbor, Mich.). That was followed three plays later with Heron's RBI via base on balls, bringing across Cruz. The final run of the inning was scored by first baseman Rodriguez when Sterijevski batted for the second time in the frame, drawing his second base on balls of the inning.
Bethune-Cookman led 8-0 after six innings in the books.
B-CU fifth-year head coach Jason Beverlin went to the bullpen in the seventh inning, as Norris had reached 100 pitches on the day. Junior reliever Zach Olszewski (Bay City, Mich.) toed the rubber and got three outs to allow B-CU the chance for the mercy-rule in the bottom of the frame.
With Sims drawing a walk to begin the Wildcats' at-bat, Rodriguez registered his eighth home run of the year with a towering shot to left, making the final, 10-0.
With the win, Norris improved to 6-3 on the hill for the season.
Meanwhile, the loss went to CSU's Sutorius, dropping his record at 4-7 for the season. He went five innings in the start, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits, five walks and three strikeouts. In all as a team, Coppin State walked 13 batters against just two for the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman.
The B-CU offense was paced by four players with a hit apiece, including Rodriguez's two-run, game-ending, walk-off home run in the seventh. He finished the game 1-for-3, adding three RBIs and scoring two runs. Middleton added a pair of RBIs, while teammate Sterijevski drove in a pair.
Bethune-Cookman will next face the North's top-seed Norfolk State on Friday, May 20, at 3:30 p.m. Norfolk State will throw left-hander Matt Outman, the 2016 MEAC Pitcher of the Year, while Bethune-Cookman will counter with right-hander Tyler Krull on the bump.
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