JACKSON, Miss. – Bethune-Cookman Baseball kicks off Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play this weekend when the Wildcats travel to Jackson, Mississippi, to take on the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils for a three-game set at Hank Aaron Sports Academy (formerly Smith-Wills Stadium) beginning Saturday, March 16, at Noon ET.
 
Originally scheduled to be housed at Magnolia Field on the campus of MVSU in Itta Bena, Mississippi, the series was moved to Jackson due to inclement weather affecting field conditions in the Delta region of the "Magnolia State."
 
THE SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 16
Noon – vs. Mississippi Valley State | Jackson, Miss. | Hank Aaron Sports Academy (Smith-Wills Stadium)
3 p.m. – vs. Mississippi Valley State | Jackson, Miss. | Hank Aaron Sports Academy (Smith-Wills Stadium)
 
Sunday, March 17
Noon – vs. Mississippi Valley State | Jackson, Miss. | Hank Aaron Sports Academy (Smith-Wills Stadium)
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Bethune-Cookman Baseball this season by following the Wildcats social media platforms. You can follow @BCUBaseball on Instagram and @BCUDiamondCats on Twitter.
 
STATS & NOTES
▪ Through 16 games this season, this weekend serves as the first contests for the Maroon and Gold outside the "Sunshine State."
▪ The Wildcats have won three of their last four contests, including a midweek walk-off win from Jacksonville, as well as a series victory at home to visiting Maine last weekend at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
▪ The Bethune-Cookman pitching staff owns an ERA of 5.36 collectively, while opposing pitchers have logged a 5.35 ERA against the Wildcats.
▪ Tanner Boccabello, a junior from Tampa, Florida, owns a 1-0 record on the bump in four starts, including a 3.22 ERA and team-high 19 strikeouts against just five walks.
▪ Pablo Torres has collected two saves thus far on the campaign in 5.2 innings of relief work.
▪ Jayme Villafane leads the Maroon and Gold in batting with a .452 average at the dish, adding 14 hits, four RBIs and 11 runs scored. Sergio Rivera, a junior from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, sits second on the team with a .317 average at the plate, owning a team-high 14 runs and 20 hits.
▪ Garrett Chun is the team leader in RBIs (16) and walks drawn (21).
▪ As a team, the Cats have stolen 31 bases, while opponents have collected just 14 on 19 attempts.
 
QUOTES FROM COACH HERNANDEZ
"Mississippi Valley [State] is a team that plays with a lot of heart and determination. Last year, I thought that were in a lot of ballgames, and just seemed to slip in the end with a tough play here or there. But it wasn't because of lack of talent. They have some good players on that roster and in the lineup, and some guys that really swing the bat well. They're going to be a tough team for everyone in the SWAC East once again this year."
 
"When the series had to be moved because of possible flooding in the Delta due to weather, coming here to Smith-Wills Stadium and the Hank Aaron Sports Academy was a no-brainer when they asked what I thought about the potential move. I am really impressed with the facility, and I appreciate everyone involved with allowing us the chance to play here this weekend in what should be a great display for HBCU Baseball, as a whole."
 
"You want to get out to a strong start when you open conference play. This is an unforgiving SWAC Eastern Division. Every team is good enough to beat every other team. There's not a single game where you can take your foot off the gas and think you're going to coast. Not in this league. You have to play hard every night for nine innings – and sometimes even longer."
 
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE (8-6, 0-0 SWAC)
Rankings: D1Baseball.com – NR | NCBWA – NR | USA Today Coaches – NR
Head Coach: CJ Bilbrey (1st season)
2024 Batting Average: .304; Runs Per Game: 8.1; Hits Per Game: 9.5; Slugging Percentage: .452
2024 ERA: 5.61; K/BB Ratio: 1.5; Opp. Batting Avg: .272
 
BCU VS. MVSU SERIES
▪ In a short series that has only existed since Bethune-Cookman entered the SWAC in 2021-22, Bethune-Cookman holds a 10-2 advantage between the two sides.
▪ Bethune-Cookman has won the last eight meetings against the Delta Devils, including a 6-3 extra-inning win in Itta Bena, Mississippi last season.
▪ Across six games against MVSU last year, the Wildcats averaged 11.5 runs per contest, while the average margin of victory stood at seven runs in favor of the Maroon and Gold.
▪ The last victory for the Delta Devils over the Wildcats was a 12-2 decision in seven innings on April 22, 2022, in Daytona Beach.
 
MVSU NOTES & STATS
▪ Mississippi Valley State comes into the series having won four of its last five games. Those wins include two nonconference victories over SWAC opponent Arkansas-Pine Bluff out of the Western Division.
▪ The Delta Devils last took the field Wednesday evening, defeating Tougaloo in both legs of a doubleheader on scores of 15-1 and 13-6, respectively.
▪ The Delta Devils have swiped 31 bases in 36 attempts, led by a 6-for-6 effort by Aaron Coates and 5-for-6 from Davon Mims.
▪ Ty Washington leads the Delta Devils with 16 hits, including four doubles and a team-high matching two home runs. He is followed by Dreylin Holmes with 15 hits and three doubles.
▪ Jack Early is batting .448 for the Delta Devils and has driven in six runs with nine runs scored himself.
▪ The MVSU pitching staff is headlined by Armando Sierra with a 2-0 record on the bump, adding an ERA of 4.68 and a team-leading 16 strikeouts.
▪ Blake Bax has tossed 19.2 innings for MVSU in five appearances and three starts. He has logged an ERA of 5.95 with 10 strikeouts under his belt.
▪ The other win on the hill for the Delta Devils was collected by Jesus Campa who is 1-0 with a 0.47 ERA in 19 innings across three starts.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST MVSU
It took two extra frames, but the Wildcats finished off a three-game sweep of Mississippi Valley State for win number 20 at Magnolia Field in Itta Bena, Mississippi.
 
The Delta Devils struck first for the second afternoon in a row, scoring the opening run on a line drive RBI single in the bottom of the second. The Wildcats tied things up in the top of the third as a Garret Chun grounder-turned MVSU error scored Jeremy Garcia.

Mississippi Valley State retook the lead a half-inning later with a groundball RBI single that made it 2-1. The Delta Devils added another run in the sixth to make it 3-1. The Wildcats tied things up in the seventh on the second homer in as many nights by Irvin Escobar, scoring Manny Souffrain. 

The game continued into extra innings - The Wildcats loaded the bases to start the eleventh with only one away. A pinch-hit single from Jason Hodges scored Malik Stephens for the first B-CU lead of the afternoon. Bases loaded walks from Chun and Hylan Hall made it 6-3.
 
Daniel Gaviria made the start on the mound for B-CU. He pitched 5.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

From there, it was all Joan Gonzalez, who pitched a stellar 5.1 innings, allowing only one hit with no walks and 10 strikeouts. He earned the win.
 
UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman returns home for the first of nine consecutive games at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, starting with a midweek visit from North Florida on Tuesday, March 19, at 6 p.m.
 
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