DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Fresh off its first series win of the season, Bethune-Cookman baseball hosts Indiana State for the first ever matchup between the two teams on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.



Tuesday, February 25
Opponent: Indiana State (4-3)
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. | Jackie Robinson Ballpark
Watch: Youtube.com/Cateyenetwork
Live Stats: https://bcuathletics.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary



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 and UMass 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. 



Indiana State is 4-3 on the year, with a series win over Wagner to start the season, followed by a 1-2 finish against Northeastern last weekend in Port Charlotte, Fla. 

The Sycamores received votes in the 2025 NCBWA Preseason Poll after a 2024 season in which they finished 44-15 with a 22-5 record in conference play. The Sycamores  fell, 8-6 in the 2024 Missiouri Valley Conference Championship, but earned an at-large bit to the Lexington Regional. 

Indiana State was picked to finish first in The Valley's preseason poll, receiving eight of ten first-place votes. Right-handed pitcher Ryan Karst as named to the preseason All-Conference team. 

The Sycamores have hit nine homers as a team through seven games, hitting .275 as a team with 67 runs scored to only 36 runs allowed. Freshman Catcher Jeremy Martinez has recorded nine hits, three doubles, and a homer in 23 at-bats. 

• Tuesday's game marks the first midweek contest with an out-of-state opponent since the 2020 season. That year, the Wildcats played their second-to-last game prior to COVID-19 shutdowns against Fairfield - a 7-2 win at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. They were also scheduled to host Dartmouth later in the season, but the game was never played. 
• Joel Core ranks second in the country in strikeouts with 23 through two starts. He sits behind only Liam Doyle of Tennessee, who is just two ahead with 25. 

Indiana State and B-CU have never met on the baseball diamond in the history of the two programs. 


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