Birmingham, Ala.  – A Boris Peña blast provided all the offense Bethune-Cookman needed as they took down Grambling State and the SWAC Pitcher of the Year to open the 2022 SWAC baseball tournament, Wednesday evening at Regions Field.  
 
How It Happened
 
The Wildcats wasted no time jumping on the SWAC pitcher of the Year, Shemar Page. In the top of the first, Matthew Garcia made it all the way to third on a single with help from a Tiger error. Christopher Patterson drove him in two pitches later with an RBI single to left that made it 1-0.
 
Grambling State tied things up in the bottom of the first on a leadoff single and a passed ball.
 
The Wildcats took the lead for good in the fourth. Irvin Escobar scorched a ball down the left field line, bouncing over the head of the third baseman, and legged out a double with only one out. Manny Souffrain walked to put runners on first and second with only one out.
 
Boris Peña put the Wildcats in front with a rocket deep over the wall in left field. B-CU's leader in home runs in the regular season drove in a pair of runners to make it 4-1 in the top of the fourth.
 
A brief rain shower delayed things for 30 minutes, but things resumed quickly as starter Louis Lipthratt worked a four-pitch, 1-2-3 inning to send things to the fifth.
 
The Tigers grabbed a run back in the top of the sixth on an RBI groundout. They cut the lead down to one with a two-out RBI single in the eighth.
 
The Tigers threatened in the ninth, putting two runners on with one out, but Joan Gonzales punched out back-to-back hitters as the Wildcats held on for the 4-3 win.
 
"The guys competed," Wildcats head coach Jonathan Hernandez said after the game. "We wanted to start off the tournament on the right foot and I think our guys did that. Baseball is a game that can get out of hand early but the guys were locked in from the get-go."
 
Louis Lipthratt made the start. He put together a strong outing, going six innings, allowing only two runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts in his postseason debut.
 
Joan Gonzalez was solid in three innings of work, allowing one run on two hits, two walks, and seven punchouts. He was awarded the save.
 
"The biggest thing with Louis is confidence. His last couple of outings haven't been, up to par to what he's done all year, but he settled in. He set the tone early. Then we can turn it over to Gonzalez, who could be a big-time weapon for us out of the pen – our guys did their jobs tonight."
 
For Hernandez, the success that Peña and the Wildcats saw against the SWAC's Pitcher of the Year came down to experience against premium competition.
 
"Boris got a pitch up in the zone and he did what he does," Hernandez said. "The thing with our guys – We're battle tested. We faced LSU. We faced Florida State. We faced in Miami. At the end of the day, they had five guys that won awards in the SWAC – Awards are just awards. At the end of the day you still have to play the game. Our guys came to play from start to finish."
 
Notes

• Matthew Garcia has hits in seven straight games. He has registered multiple hits in six of his last eleven games.
• Garcia and Christopher Patterson each went 2-4
• Three RBI is a season-high for Peña after his three-run homer.

Up Next
 
With the win, the Wildcats will now look forward to taking on the winner of Texas Southern vs. Alabama State. That game was originally scheduled for Wednesday night but has now been rescheduled to Thursday at noon due to weather.

There has been no official announcement from the SWAC on the full list of schedule adjustments. Stay tuned to SWAC.org and @BCUDiamondCats on Twitter for the latest on the Wildcats' next game. It is very likely that B-CU will have Thursday off as the SWAC plays catch-up for lost games.
 
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) and www.bcuathletics.com.