DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jorge Gonzalez Febo returned to the starting lineup and helped power Bethune-Cookman with three hits Friday night in the Wildcats' 15-4 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opening win from Alcorn State at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
 
Alcorn State (2-12, 0-1 SWAC) jumped out to an early lead in the first inning when Reyfield Adams singled to left field and later scored on Nathan Gamez's double to left center. The Braves took a 1-0 advantage, but it would be their only lead of the night.
 
Bethune-Cookman (8-10, 1-0 SWAC) responded with a pair of runs in the second inning.
 
Jorge Gonzalez Febo doubled and stole third while left fielder Michael Rodriguez drew a walk and stole second. Andrey Martinez's sacrifice fly brought home Febo for the Wildcats' first run, followed by Rodriguez scoring on a wild pitch from Braves starter Jermel Ford to give B-CU a 2-1 lead they would never relinquish.
 
After a scoreless third inning, the Wildcats' offense erupted.
 
In the fourth, B-CU capitalized on a pair of walks and an RBI double by Irvin Escobar. Jeter Polledo and Darryl Lee added run-scoring hits to extend the lead to 5-1.
 
After Febo scored on a wild pitch, Ford walked Martinez and hit first baseman Manny Souffrain on consecutive plays. Following a walk to Escobar, Alcorn made a pitching change, bringing in Hayden Konkler. The reliever was greeted harshly as shortstop Polledo cleared the bases with a three-run double to right center. Lee followed with an RBI single, pushing the score to 10-1.
 
In the top of the sixth, the Braves' Ford, hitting and pitching on the night, tripled and scored on Nathan Gamez's groundout.
 
However, Bethune-Cookman answered immediately with a five-run outburst in the bottom-half of the frame.
 
The Wildcats strung together six hits, highlighted by Martinez's two-run double, Souffrain's RBI single, and Escobar's run-scoring double. Daniel Figueroa capped the scoring with an RBI single, extending the lead to 15-2.
 
The Braves managed to score twice in the seventh on Ben Martin's two-run homer in order to produce the final score, as the run-rule was in effect.
 
The Wildcats bats were led by Febo, who went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Polledo drove in a game-high four runs, while Martinez added three RBIs. Every Wildcats starter reached base at least once, with eight of the nine recording at least one hit.
 
On the mound, Tanner Boccabello delivered a complete game for Bethune-Cookman, scattering eight hits while striking out eight over seven innings to improve his record to 4-0 on the season.
 
For Alcorn, Reyfield Adams went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Martin homered and drove in two runs. Mason Duke also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-2. Ford took the loss on the bump, falling to 0-5 after allowing nine runs in 4.2 innings.
 
The two teams meet back at Jackie Robinson Ballpark for game two of the three-game set Saturday at 6 p.m.
 
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