BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the fourth time in a span of six days, Bethune-Cookman will take on the Texas Southern Tigers, as the two teams are set to open the 2025 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Baseball Tournament on Wednesday, May 21, at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The Wildcats enter as the No. 1 seed, while the Tigers are the No. 8 seed after claiming the last spot in the field from in-state rival Prairie View A&M, with first pitch set for 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. CT).
 
THE SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 21
10 a.m. ET – vs. #8 Texas Southern | Listen | Live Stats | Watch | Tournament Bracket
 
ADMISSIONS
Ticket packages and information for the SWAC Baseball Tournament can be accessed here.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Bethune-Cookman Baseball this season by following the Wildcats social media platforms. Follow Bethune-Cookman Baseball on X/Twitter (@BCUDiamondCats) and Instagram (@BCUDiamondCats) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on X/Twitter (@BCUAthletics), Instagram (@BCU_Athletics) and BCUathletics.com.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in this week's D1Baseball.com Top 25
▪ Texas Southern is not ranked in this week's D1Baseball.com Top 25
 
STATS & NOTES
▪ Andrey Martinez has 19 home runs on the season, as he chases Ryan Durrence who registered 20 back in 2010 for the most in a single season in Bethune-Cookman history.
▪ Head Coach Jonathan Hernandez was named SWAC Coach of the Year, allowing him his first-ever coach of the year award in either the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) or SWAC, respectively.
▪ Andrey Martinez was tabbed SWAC Co-Hitter of the Year and Jean Carlos Zambrano was Relief Pitcher of the Year.
▪ Six different Wildcats earned All-SWAC accolades in the form of First Team selections Jesus Vanegas (2B), Andrey Martinez (OF) and Jean Carlos Zambrano (RP), as well as Second Team choices Jeter Polledo (SS), Darryl Lee (OF) and Edwin Sanchez (SP).
▪ The Wildcats are 23-2 on the year when leading after seven innings.
▪ Since joining the SWAC, B-CU is 2-1 in opening round games, with the one loss being a 4-2 setback to Southern University in 2023.
▪ Polledo enters the tournament riding a 20-game on-base streak. Daniel Fifueroa is enjoying a 15-game on-base streak to sit behind him with the longest current run on the Maroon and Gold.
▪ The Wildcats committed just three errors last weekend in the series against Texas Southern including no mistakes in the series-opening loss.
 
BCU VS. TEXAS SOUTHERN SERIES
▪ Bethune-Cookman leads the all-time series against Texas Southern, 3-1.
▪ The two teams met for the first-ever series between the two sides last weekend in Sanford, Florida, as the Cats took two-of-three at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium.
▪ Last season, B-CU defeated TSU by a score of 16-0 as part of the SWAC Tournament in Atlanta.
 
QUOTES FROM COACH HERNANDEZ
"When you're facing a team you've just played less than a week ago, you both know what to expect from each other. That's both good and bad, as you both know the positives and negatives of each other, and there really won't be too many surprises. This is going to be just like last weekend where every game was a good one, and really no lead was safe."
 
"The field is really nice. You can tell where MLB [Major League Baseball] came in and did a few things before the big-league game played here last year. It plays really well, and a lot like Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The distance down the lines and to centerfield is long. So, we'll have a to change a few things, but not too much altogether."
 
"Tournament play is a new season. It's time to forget the regular season. Yes, winning the regular season title was great and feels good. But now, it's time to forget about that and lock in on an all new season, so to speak. Tournament play is different, and now it's every pitch, every at-bat, every out that counts more."
 
SCOUTING TEXAS SOUTHERN (22-30)
Rankings: D1Baseball.com – NR | Baseball America – NR
Head Coach: Michael Robertson (17th season)
2025 Batting Average: .301; Runs Per Game: 8.3; Hits Per Game: 9.8; Slugging Percentage: .486
2025 ERA: 9.01; K/BB Ratio: 1.03; Opp. Batting Avg: .336
 
RECAPPING B-CU'S LAST GAME (vs. Texas Southern)
For the first time in program history, the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats are SWAC Regular Season Champions after a thrilling 10-8 win in the regular season finale, Saturday afternoon at Sanford Memorial Stadium.
 
Bethune-Cookman opened the scoring with a solo shot in the bottom of the second from Armani Newton, his ninth of the year. Texas Southern erupted for a five-spot in the third, taking advantage of three Wildcat walks and four base hits to make it a 5-1 game, chasing B-CU starter Pablo Torres.
 
Fortunately for B-CU, the bats answered with four runs of their own in the bottom of the third, as the first four Wildcats to head to the plate reached base with a hit. Darryl Lee and Andrey Martinez collected the first RBI of the frame with a pair of doubles.
 
Jesus Vanegas tied things up with an RBI single to left to score Martinez and make it a 5-5 game. 

The fourth was the final clean inning of the game as Texas Southern retook the lead in the fifth with two outs. A two-out walk turned into danger after two straight wild pitches and an RBI single broke the tie at 6-5. That lead did not last long as the Wildcats jumped in front again in the bottom of the fifth after a two-out RBI single from Irvin Escobar that scored Jorge Rodriguez – who reached to start the inning on an error – and Jeter Polledo.
 
The Cats made it 8-6 an inning later, Martinez brought home Daniel Figueroa with a sacrifice fly. The Tigers did not go away, tying things again in the seventh off the B-CU pen with a walk and a pair of doubles. Jean Carlos Zambrano entered the game out of the pen to stop any further damage.
 
B-CU scored for the third straight inning with another solo shot, this time for Vanegas to break the stalemate again at 9-8. B-CU made it four straight innings with a run after another Martinez RBI single to score Figueroa and make it 10-8.  Zambrano shut the door in the ninth, earning the win - his sixth of the year.
 
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS
Follow Bethune-Cookman Baseball on X/Twitter (@BCUDiamondCats) and Instagram (@BCUDiamondCats) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on X/Twitter (@BCUAthletics), Instagram (@BCU_Athletics) and BCUathletics.com.