DeLand, Fla. – In their 101
st meeting all-time, Bethune-Cookman baseball shut out the Stetson Hatters on the back of an outstanding pitching performance from
Nolan Santos. The Wildcats took both games in DeLand on Saturday to improve to 4-6 on the season.
How It Happened
Game One – B-CU 5, SHU 4
Sacred Heart (1-7, 0-0 NEC) opened the scoring with a run in the first two innings. The Wildcats (4-6, 0-0 SWAC) broke onto the scoreboard themselves in the second, when Boris Peña singled and advanced all the way to third on a failed pickoff attempt that found its way into the outfield.
Brian Perez brought him home with a sacrifice fly an at-bat later.
The Wildcats offense finally clicked in the bottom of the fifth.
Manny Souffrain led off the inning with a single on the first pitch he saw.
Colton Olasin dropped a single in to right center, driving in the tying run.
Malik Stephens doubled to put runners at second and third, and
Matthew Garcia drove them. Peña would later drive in Garcia with another single to push the B-CU lead to 5-2, chasing the Pioneers starter.
After allowing five hits and two runs in the first two innings, starter
Louis Lipthratt settled in to take the win for B-CU. He finished the afternoon at 104 pitches as
Knickolas Billings entered in relief when Sacred Heart cut the lead to 5-4.
Lipthratt finished his afternoon at 7.2 innings pitched, allowing three earned runs on nine Pioneer hits with five strikeouts and no walks in the win.
"Louis kept us in the ballgame again," Wildcats head coach
Jonathan Hernandez said after game one. "He's been great for us to rely on."
Billings was nearly untouchable again. He tossed 1.1 innings, allowed only one hit with three strikeouts and no walks as he shut the door for the save – he has yet to allow an earned run this season.
"It feels really good to have a guy like that at the ends of these games," Hernandez said. "He and (Brenton) Fisher are probably one of the better one-two punches at the back end. Hats off to Billings – all the hard work and his decision to stay when we opted out – it just speaks volumes of the type of kid he is and the confidence we have in him."
Garcia, Peña, Perez, and Olasin each notched RBI in the win. Peña and Olasin finished with two hits.
Game Two – B-CU 4, Stetson 0
The Wildcats struck first in game two of the evening on a wild running play.
Christopher Patterson, making his return to the lineup for the first time since the FGCU series, appeared to be caught in a rundown, but instead eluded the Hatters (5-5, 0-0 ASUN) to swipe second while
Matthew Garcia stole home.
B-CU added some much-needed insurance in the top of the seventh.
Coby Tweten and
Irvin Escobar chased the Stetson starter with a pair of walks.
Franki Febles brought them home with a double down the left field line. Stephens drove him in two batters later with a double of his own to push the Wildcat lead to 4-0.
Nolan Santos enjoyed an outstanding outing that saw him go eight full innings. He allowed only two hits, no earned runs, no walks, and struck out 11.
"Santos was obviously the story of tonight," Hernandez said. "We decided to change it up a bit after he came out in long relief for us early this season and he proved us all right. That speaks volumes of the type of pitching we have."
Santos was hardly challenged – he showed no signs of slowing down at 107 pitches through eight – but
Brenton Fisher took the ninth, allowing only a single in an otherwise clean frame.
Garcia and Peña each finished with two hits. Febles grabbed a pair of RBI on the double. Hernandez applauded his team's improvement at the plate.
"I think it goes back to the work we put in at practice," Hernandez said. " We put an emphasis on situational hitting and that's something that we're going to need in order to be successful."
Santos and Fisher combined for the first shutout of the B-CU season, and the first Wildcats shutout of Stetson in the 101st ever meeting between the two teams.
Up Next
The Wildcats will tidy things up in DeLand tomorrow when they face a quick rematch with Sacred Heart. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.
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