Daytona Beach, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman baseball welcomes in Florida International and B-CU Hall of Famer Mervyl Melendez to "The Jack" Tuesday night for their first midweek game of the season, 6:30 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Ballpark


Game Information

Tuesday, Feb. 22
Opponent: Florida International (4-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. / Jackie Robinson Ballpark
Live Stats:  https://bcuathletics.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.com/BethuneCookman-Baseball-tickets/artist/1394853
 
Weekend Recap
 
The Wildcats come out of opening weekend with a 1-2 record. B-CU took the first in a three-game series from Youngstown State thanks to a dazzling performance from starter Louis Lipthratt, who turned in seven strong innings, allowing no runs, only three hits, and a walk with six strikeouts on the way to a 3-1 Wildcat win.
 
The Wildcats dropped the final two games of the series, 7-6 and 10-9. A late comeback attempt put the Wildcats in position to win Sunday's game in the ninth, but B-CU fell one run short.
 
Christopher Patterson enters play Tuesday after recording a hit in 7 of 11 at-bats opening weekend. He drove in four runs and scored two of his own in the series. Malik Stephens put together a monster weekend of his own, totaling seven hits in 14 at-bats, as well as three runs and 5 RBI. Irvin Escobar, Colton Olasin, and Matthew Garcia also enter play Tuesday with four hits from the weekend.
 
An Old Friend Returns

FIU is led by head coach Mervyl Melendez – no stranger to Daytona Beach. Melendez was inducted into the Bethune-Cookman Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016 for his success as both a player and a coach for the Wildcats.
 
Melendez played in Daytona Beach in the 1995 and 1996 seasons at B-CU. He finished his Wildcats career as the all-time leader in doubles and batting average. The third baseman also spent time as a relief pitcher in the Wildcats pen. Melendez drove in the winning run with a double against Georgia Southern in B-CU's first ever NCAA postseason baseball victory.
 
Following his playing career, Melendez was named an assistant coach on the Wildcats' staff under Richard Skeel and became the head coach two seasons later. In 11 seasons at the helm, he was named MEAC Coach of the Year eight times. He led B-CU to 11 MEAC Tournament Championships and NCAA Regional appearances. He coached his way to three undefeated seasons in conference play, and 379 total victories as head coach. Melendez accepted the head coaching job at FIU in 2016, where he currently holds a 110-123 record in six seasons.

Scouting the Panthers


Florida International took all four games in last weekend's series against St. Thomas by a combined score of 19-8. The Panthers finished 20-31 a season ago. FIU was picked to finish seventh in the 2022 Conference USA Coaches' Poll.
 
Adrian Figueroa led the Panthers at the plate in 2021. The first baseman batted .324 with 32 RBI as a freshman, earning All-Freshman honors from Conference USA and Collegiate Baseball. Outfielder Alec Sanchez had a big opening weekend, totaling seven hits, six RBI, and a pair of homers against St. Thomas.
 
 
The Starters
 
The Wildcats will send right-hander Héctor Vázquez to the mound for the start Tuesday. The junior made an appearance on opening day for B-CU, earning the save after providing two innings in relief of starter Louis Lipthratt. In those two innings, Vázquez allowed only a single hit – a solo homer – and struck out four of eight batters he faced.
 
The Panthers will counter with right-hander Richie Peña. Peña appeared in nine games in the 2021 season, all in relief. Over 10.2 innings pitched, he allowed 16 earned runs with eight strikeouts – a 13.50 ERA. He has yet to make an appearance this season.
 
All-Time Series
 
Tuesday night will mark the sixteenth ever meeting between B-CU and FIU. The Panthers hold a 16-9 edge in the series, and have won six straight meetings dating back to 2018.
 
Notes

• The Wildcats stole 10 bases over three games opening weekend. B-CU runners were successful on 10-14 attempts. Patterson and Stephens swiped four bags each.
• B-CU totaled over 10 hits as a team in two of three games last weekend.
• The Wildcats batted .294 as a team over the weekend.

 
 
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