DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The reigning SWAC champion Bethune-Cookman Wildcats begin 2026 conference play Friday night against Prairie View A&M at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Game one of the three game series begins at 7 p.m. EST.


Friday-Saturday, March 13-14
Opponent: Prairie View A&M (4-11, 0-0)
Time: 7 p.m. | 3/6 p.m. DH
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. | Jackie Robinson Ballpark
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/cateyenetwork
Listen: https://bcuathletics.com/sports/2024/11/13/Cateye-Network-Radio.aspx
Live Stats: https://bcuathletics.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

The first three innings were quiet for both teams offensively. North Florida had a chance to do some damage in the bottom of the first, with the bases loaded and just one out. But Julian Carrasquilla induced a double play to end the threat.

The Wildcats broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Jeter Polledo and Maikol Lucena recorded hits to start the inning, while Michael Rodriguez and Rueben Zuany later drove them in, giving B-CU a 2-0 lead.

Bethune-Cookman added to the advantage in the fifth, plating three more runs to stretch the margin to 5-0. Polledo hit yet another triple, scoring two runs, while Lucena drove him in on a groundout.

North Florida got on the board in the sixth inning, using an RBI single by Gialdri Gomez to trim the deficit to four.

The Ospreys mounted their biggest threat in the seventh, scoring three runs to pull within 5-4 and bring the tying run into play. Carter White hit a triple to score one run, while two Wildcat errors allowed the Ospreys to score two more.

Bethune-Cookman answered in the eighth inning with two insurance runs to extend the lead back to three. Sergio Rivera hit his first home run of the season to left field to give the Cats some breathing room.

Pablo Torres got the job done on the mound in the late innings, allowing no runs in 2.1 innings to earn the save.

Carrasquilla (1-0) earned the win in relief, allowing one run over 5 1/3 innings with four strikeouts.

Prairie View is currently 4-11 this season and are in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Two of their four wins on the year came against Jackson State and Alcorn State in the MLB HBCU Power Series. They are 0-11 on the road and have been swept three times.

As a team, the Panthers are hitting .277 and average 5.2 runs per game. Basilio Williams has been the team's top hitter, batting .396 with 11 RBI. He also leads the club with six stolen bases.

The pitching staff has accumulated an 8.82 ERA as a unit. They have recorded more walks (111) than strikeouts (92) and have allowed a .316 batting average. Redshirt junior Kenneth Haynes leads the Panthers in strikeouts with 17 in 17.0 innings.
 

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• Jeter Podello is now tied for the Division I lead in triples with four. He also leads the club in RBI with 20.
• The B-CU bullpen allowed just three earned runs in 8.2 innings against the Ospreys.
• Erick Almonte is currently on a five-game hitting streak.

This is the first-ever series between the Wildcats and the Panthers at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The two teams have faced just once in their history, which was a neutral site victory for Bethune-Cookman in 2024.

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