CORAL GABLES, Fla. - A pitching duel between two Sunshine State programs saw just five earned runs score in total as Bethune-Cookman fell to the University of Miami, 4-2, Friday at Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park.
Wildcat (18-29) starter Tyler Norris scattered seven hits over five innings while allowing three earned runs. He struck out four and walked three in falling to 3-6 on the season.
Miami (19-25) starter Jeb Bergfeldt was in control through seven innings before the Wildcats mounted a two-out rally. Adonis Lao and Nate Sterijevski both singled before Jameel Edney stepped to the dish. Lao aggressively advanced to third on a wild pitch during the at-bat, then scored on an Edney infield single to third.
Frankie Bartow relieved the southpaw to face Danny Rodriguez before inducing a line-out to center field.Â
Bergfeldt earned the win to move to 3-4 with eight hits over 7.2 innings. He allowed a pair of runs, issued no walks, and struck out nine batters. Bartow took home his third save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Wildcats scored their first run of the evening in the sixth. Kyle Corbin set the table with a triple down the right field line, and scored easily on a sacrifice fly to left by Lao.
BCU did not have to exhaust its bullpen as freshman David Mata dominated in three innings of relief. The righty allowed just one hit while fanning three to match his season-high and not walking any Hurricanes.
Miami took an early lead with a run in the second. Three singles loaded the bags and Hunter Tackett delivered a sacrifice fly to left for a 1-0 Hurricane lead.
Two more runs came across for the home team in the third on a Michael Burns RBI single and a throwing error led to Freddy Zamora touching home. Miami's final run was thanks to a two-out RBI double by Danny Reyes.
Rodriguez and Lao accounted for half of BCU's hits with two apiece.Â
The three-game series continues Saturday at 7 p.m.
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