SANFORD, Fla. - The Wildcats were unfazed in their home away from home as they took a 13-3 run-rule victory over Mississippi Valley State, Friday afternoon at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium.



Mississippi Valley State (9-1, 4-6 SWAC) came out of the clubhouse swinging, putting the first two batters of the game on via a pair of singles before B-CU starter Tanner Boccabello forced a double-play to escape the jam.

The Delta Devils forced a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the first before two more singles in the second. Again a double-play ended the threat as Jorge Gonzalez Febo made a quick tag at third and fired to first for the third out of the inning.

Bethune-Cookman (15-15, 8-2 SWAC) got on the board in the second as Jesus Vanegas doubled, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a wild pitch. 

MVSU continued to rack up hits with two more one-out singles in the third, but a flyout and fielder's choice kept the Delta Devils off the scoreboard. 

The Wildcats put three more on the board in the fourth after Gonzalez Febo lead off the half-inning with a walk, stealing second and advancing to third on a Jorge Rodriguez single. 

Vanegas came through again with an RBI single to make it a 2-0 lead before Irvin Escobar plated him with an RBI single of his own. The B-CU lead reached 4-0 as Michael Rodriguez tripled to right center, scoring Escobar. 

MVSU took three back in the top of the fifth, going double, single, double, followed by a groundout that pulled the Delta Devils to within 4-3. 

Darryl Lee led off the fifth with a triple before Andrey Martinez took the team lead in homers with his sixth of the year to left to push the lead back up to 6-3. 

B-CU added another in the sixth, with Lee credited with the RBI after scoring Michael Rodriguez from third. 

The Delta Devils threatened again in the seventh, with a two-out single and double putting a pair in scoring position, but a groundout prevented any damage. 

For the third straight inning, the Wildcats crossed the plate as Jorge Rodriguez matched his teammate with his sixth homer of the year - a solo shot that made it 8-3. 

After two B-CU walks and a wild pitch, a double-steal attempt went awry, with Vanegas caught at home attempting to score. 

The Wildcats proceeded to put three more on the board anyway as Jayme Villafane slugged the first homer of his B-CU career to make it an 11-3 ballgame. 

The Cats sent everyone home early in the eighth off another MVSU bullpen arm. They did so without recording a hit, walking twice, taking a hit batter, and scoring two runs off two wild pitches to end the affair early at 13-3. \

Boccabello improved to 5-1 on the mound on the year after a complete game in which he allowed three earned runs on 14 hits with no walks and four strikeouts over eight innings.

• The Wildcats scored runs in six of eight innings. 
• 29 total hits were recorded in the game - B-CU led with 15 to MVSU's 14. 
• Six Wildcats recorded multiple hits in the game, led by Jorge Rodrigues with three.
• Villafane led in the RBI department with three, with Andrey Martinez notching two.
• B-CU walked seven times to only one strikeout as a team. 
• With Villafane's homer, 10 different Wildcats have now recorded a big fly this season. It marks the most individual batters to record a homer in a season for B-CU since 2023, when 13 different Wildcats hit at least one homer. That B-CU team finished the season with 35 as a team to the 33 currently totalled by the 2025 squad.

The Wildcats wrap up the MVSU series with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. at Sanford Memorial Stadium. 

Follow Bethune-Cookman Baseball on Twitter/X and Instagram (@BCUDiamondCats) and  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--