DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - After another dramatic win Tuesday night, the Wildcats will turn their attention to a familiar foe, Delaware State of the MEAC. The four-game series begins Friday at 7 p.m. from Jackie Robinson Ballpark.



Friday-Sunday, February 27-March 1
Opponent: Delaware State (0-7)
Time: 7 p.m. | 3/6 p.m. (DH) | 1 p.m.
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. | Jackie Robinson Ballpark
Watch: Youtube.com/Cateyenetwork
Live Stats: https://bcuathletics.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Bethune-Cookman capitalized on timely hitting and a costly balk to take control.

Erick Almonte drew a leadoff walk and later stole second before Darryl Lee also worked a free pass. With two outs, Maikol Lucena delivered a single to right field to score Almonte and tie the game at 3-3. Moments later, Lucena advanced to second on a balk, allowing Lee to cross the plate with the go-ahead run.

The Wildcats struck first in the second inning when Jose Fernandez launched a solo home run to left-center field for a 1-0 lead. South Florida answered in the fifth on an RBI single from Jevin Relaford, then surged ahead in the sixth. Bradke Lohry doubled down the left-field line and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nathan Earley before Jacob Green added an RBI single to give the Bulls a 3-2 advantage.

The B-CU bullpen kept the deficit manageable and shut the door late. Bryon Rincones (2-0) earned the win with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Justin Morales recorded the final three outs for his first save of the season. Bethune-Cookman pitchers combined for nine strikeouts and worked around 10 South Florida hits.

South Florida's Ethan Sutton (0-1) was charged with the loss after surrendering the decisive runs in the seventh.

Jacob Green led the Bulls at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base, while Lucena drove in two runs to pace the Wildcats' offense.

The Delaware State Hornets are winless thus far this season and have suffered four losses by 10+ runs. In their first series against Virginia Military, the Hornets were outscored 67-12 in four games.

Rosnell Lewis and Caleb King have been key players for Delaware State offensively, combining for three home runs and 10 RBI this season. King recently hit a three-run homer in the team's loss to La Salle.

On the pitching side, the Hornets have recorded an 14.81 ERA as a team. They have more walks than strikeouts and are allowing a .358 batting average to opposing hitters.

Michael Lane has gotten off to the best start of anyone on the staff. He has managed a 2.70 ERA in 6.2 innings, but he has also tallied six walks and allowed two doubles and a triple.

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• Maikol Lucena is currently on a six-game hitting streak. He has gone hitless just once this season.
• Jose Fernandez hit his second home run this season against the Bulls. Like Lucena, he has finished without a hit just once thus far this year.
• Erick Almonte is on a six-game hitting streak after going hitless in the first two games.
• B-CU starting pitching continues to shine this season, having allowed just eight earned runs in 37.2 innings (1.94 ERA).
• Edwin Sanchez leads the team with 17 strikeouts after his near no-hitter in Vero Beach. He is allowing a .116 batting average.

The Wildcats and Hornets have squared of 50 times. Bethune-Cookman holds a significant edge in the series 35-15 and are 16-7 in Daytona Beach.


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