CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Anthony Maldonado was one off a career-high with nine strikeouts and Bethune-Cookman churned out 11 hits before succumbing to a walk-off loss, 8-7, to the University of Miami Saturday night at Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park.

Maldonado allowed just one earned run in 5.2 innings. He scattered six hits and issued only one walk against 25 Hurricanes (20-25) in a no-decision, and earned more strikeouts than the Atlantic Coast Conference's second-highest strikeout hurler, Evan McKendry.

The Wildcats (18-30) clawed back in a see-saw affair for an eighth inning lead. Michael Deeb led off the inning with a single, then advanced to second on a Chase DeBonis sacrifice bunt. Jake Hellweg entered as a pinch-runner, and Zach Spivey gave BCU its third lead of the night on an RBI single up the middle.

Miami finally found success against Ivan Coutinho (3-3) in the ninth. Romy Gonzalez and Michael Burns both singled before Danny Reyes tied the game on a double to left. With the infield in, Dylan Cloonan sent a missile under the glove of Jordan Stacy at third to give the Hurricanes the series-deciding victory.

BCU struck first when Adonis Lao set the tone on a triple off the left field wall. Nate Sterijevski picked up an RBI and reached off a throwing error from short.

Miami took its first lead with production from the bottom of the order an inning later. With two runners aboard and two outs, Raymond Gil belted a three-run home run to left off Maldonado. All three runs were unearned though after Burns led off the second by reaching on an error.

The Wildcats tied the game in the fourth. Danny Rodriguez showed a patient eye with a leadoff walk and hustled to score as Stacy lined his first triple of 2018 on a drive down the right field line.

A Deeb grounder to second scored Stacy to knot the score at three.

BCU chased out UM starter Evan McKendry and took the lead on a triple by Rodriguez in the fifth. With Joe Fernando at third following a single and Nate Sterijevksi at second thanks to a walk and wild pitch, Rodriguez won a 3-2 battle with a cue shot down the third baseline and handed the Wildcats a 5-3 advantage. 

McKendry allowed five earned off eight hits in five innings. He walked two and totaled six strikeouts.

The sixth inning began a pattern of both bullpens struggling to find a suddenly inconsistent strike zone. Danny Reyes sent a deep bomb out to left center with one out for Maldonado's final run, and the sophomore hurler exited after inducing a Cloonan groundout to third. 

Jordan Pinto could not find a call on the outer part of the plate and issued consecutive walks before Joe Calamita allowed an RBI single to Freddy Zamora and walked Willy Escala to load the bases.

Coutinho stepped in and also suffered difficulties with a game-tying walk to Isaac Quinones before retiring Gonzalez on strikes.

The Wildcats tied the game in the seventh with a two-out rally off reliever Daniel Federman that was capped off by a Rodriguez RBI single up the chute.

Lao, Rodriguez, Spivey, and Fernando each two-hit evenings and Rodriguez tied for a game-high three RBI. 

Cooper Hammond (2-2) picked up the win with two strikeouts and no hits over 1.1 innings. Coutinho gave up four hits, all in the ninth, in 2.1 innings with three walks and two strikeouts.

The three-game series wraps up Sunday at 1 p.m.

Follow Bethune-Cookman Baseball on Twitter (@BCUDiamondCats) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BCUathletics), Instagram (@BCUathletics), Snapchat (@BCUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/BCUathletics).

– #BCUConquer –