DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Wildcats secured a much-needed first series win of the young season with a 10-3 rout of UMass, Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.



The early goings favored the defense as both B-CU (2-5), and UMass (1-2) came up empty through the first two frames. B-CU started Edwin Sanchez struck out four in the first two innings for the Cats. 

The Wildcats found some offensive momentum in the third as Daniel Figueroa singled to lead off the inning. The Cats turned to small ball as Sergio Rivera dropped down a sacrifice punt to move the runner over before a groundout sent Figueroa down to third with two away.

Michael Rodriguez came through with a two-out single before scoring himself a batter later on an Irvin Escobar single. The Wildcats made it 3-0 as Jorge Rodriguez sent a double down the line in left.

UMass put a scare into the B-CU starter as Sanchez walked the bases loaded, but a flyout ended the threat in the fourth. 

The Minutemen again led off the fifth with a single, but a strikeout and caught stealing made quick work of the threat.

Again UMass loaded the bases in the sixth,, this time with two outs, but again the Minutemen came up empty as Sanchez racked up another strikeout - his ninth of the contest. 

The Minutemen turned to the bullpen in the sixth, and the Cats immediately put two more on the board thanks to an error and fielders choice, scoring Armani Newton and Peter Vazquez to put B-CU in front 5-0.

B-CU broke things wide open in the seventh after another pitching change for the Minutemen. Rodriguez singled to open the inning, followed by a Wildcat walk and bunt single. 

Back-to-back hit batters by two different UMass pitchers scored two, with a balk scoring another, before a pinch-hitting Darryl Lee cleared the bases with a single. Rivera capped off the rally with an RBI single to make it 10-0.

The Minutemen finally crossed the board in the eighth, loading the bases for the third time in the game before an RBI double brought everyone home to make it 10-3, but they could come no closer. 

Edwin Sanchez earned the his first win as a Wildcat with six scoreless innings in which he struck out nine, walked four, and allowed five hits. 

Julian Carrasquilla and Aaron Schaefer combined to finish things out from the pen. 

• 17 different Wildcats appeared at the plate in the game - nine of them recorded hits.
• Jorge Rodriguez went 3-4 with a run and an RBI.
• Sergio Rivera recorded two RBI. Michael Rodriguez, Irvin Escobar, Jorge Rogriguez, Armani Newton, Peter Vazquez, and Darryl Lee also plated runs for the Cats.
• B-CU stranded 10 runners - UMass stranded nine.
• B-CU starting pitchers combined for 25 strikeouts on the weekend. 

The Cats return to The Jack on Tuesday, Feb. 25 to host Indiana State. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

Admission is free. Fans can watch live at YouTube.com/CateyeNetwork


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 (@BCUathletics) and www.bcuathletics.com.
 
--#HailWildcats--