TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Fresh off the heels of a series victory over Longwood, Bethune-Cookman Baseball hits the road for the first of four games away from the friendly confines of Jackie Robinson Ballpark as the Wildcats travel to No. 21 Florida State on Tuesday, March 7, at 5 p.m. Tuesday evening's game is the first of four against nationally ranked opponents for the Wildcats as well.
 
Tuesday's contest marks just the second time Bethune-Cookman and Florida State have played a midweek game in more than a decade. The Wildcats fell to the No. 8 ranked Seminoles last year in Tallahassee by a 17-9 decision. Prior to that, the two teams had not met since the 2011 NCAA Tallahassee [Fla.] Regional opening game in which the Seminoles escaped with a 6-5 win over the Cats at Dick Howser Stadium.
 
Bethune-Cookman enters the midweek affair on a two-game win streak, while the Noles have won just two of their last five.
 
AT A GLANCE
Records: Bethune-Cookman 8-4 (0-0 SWAC) | Florida State 8-3 (0-0 ACC)
Rankings: Bethune-Cookman is unranked. Florida State is ranked No. 21 in the NCAA Baseball poll.
On The Web: BCUathletics.com • Twitter: @BCUDiamondCats | @JDHerns30
 
What: Game Thirteen
Who: Bethune-Cookman at No. 21 Florida State
When: Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at 5 p.m.
Where: Tallahassee, Fla. – Dick Howser Stadium (6,700)
 
Watch: ACCNX
Attend: Online Ticket Sales
Stats: Click Here
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Bethune-Cookman Baseball this year by following the Wildcats social media platforms. You can follow @BCUBaseball on Instagram and @BCUDiamondCats on Twitter.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Bethune-Cookman
RHP Marcos Gamboa (0-0, 3.86 ERA)
Florida State
RHP David Barrett (0-0, 10.13 ERA)
 
Bethune-Cookman – Florida State Series History

• In what will be just the second midweek meeting in more than a decade between the two Sunshine State schools, Bethune-Cookman and Florida State have traditionally met in the postseason
• Florida State leads the all-time series 7-0 dating back to 1999
• The Wildcats and Seminoles met in consecutive post seasons in 2000 and 2001
• FSU took last year's meeting 17-9 in Tallahassee
• BCU also traveled to the NCAA Tallahassee [Fla.] Regional in 2011, '07 and '04, respectively

 
Bethune-Cookman Weekend Recap
Bethune-Cookman enjoyed a series victory over Longwood at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Wildcats fell in the opener 9-5, but quickly rebounded to surge past the Lancers 14-2 in the second game. The Maroon and Gold collected the series win with an emphatic 9-0 win behind Daniel Gaviria's eight shutout innings on the hill, allowing the Wildcats to take the series in the rubber game.
 
Florida State Weekend Recap
Entering the past weekend ranked No. 16, the FSU Seminoles were beaten at home two games out of three to in-state opponent Florida Gulf Coast. The Seminoles dropped the opener 10-8, and the dropped the second game 11-10. FSU managed to take Sunday's finale with a 14-8 decision.
 
Last Time vs. Florida State
FSU grabbed the first run of the night in the second inning when a runner scored from third on a pitch to the backstop. The Seminoles added to that lead with a three-run homer an inning later to go up, 4-0.

The Wildcats got on the board with a pair of hits in the fourth. Malik Stephens Malik Stephens got things started with a double. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and came around to score on a single by Matthew Garcia. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded,  Brian Perez sent a double-play ball up the middle that instead turned into an FSU throwing error, scoring Garcia and Christopher Patterson to cut the Seminole lead to 4-3.
 
FSU turned things around quickly in the bottom half of the fourth. A single and an error plated two for the Seminoles, and a double added two more as FSU took an 8-3 lead.

The Wildcats loaded the bases an inning later with no outs. A passed ball allowed Franki Febles to take home. A few pitches later, Patterson set a sacrifice fly into shallow center, scoring Colton Olasin.

The back and forth continued in the bottom of the sixth as FSU tacked on two runs on a bouncing ball through the left side of the infield to go up, 10-5. A seven run seventh put the Seminoles up, 17-5.

In the top of the ninth, Lake Fisher pinch hitting for Irvin Escobar, crushed a ball over the right field wall – a three run shot that made it 17-8. Brandyn Gatenby added one more Wildcat run with a sacrifice fly.
 
Marcoa Gamboa took the loss for B-CU. He went 2.2 innings, allowed four earned runs, walked four, and struck out three.
 
Up Next
Bethune-Cookman travels to Columbia, South Carolina for a weekend series against Southeastern Conference (SEC) member in the form of the 20th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. The three-game series begins Friday, March 10, at 7 p.m.
 
Follow Bethune-Cookman Baseball on Twitter (@BCUDiamondCats) and Instagram (@BCUBaseball) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BCUAthletics), Instagram (@BCU_Athletics) and BCUathletics.com.