TALLAHASEE, Fla. — The Wildcats will return to the site of last year's regional Tuesday night as they take on No. 11 Florida State at Dick Howser Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. EST.


Tuesday, March 17
Opponent: No. 11 Florida State (16-3, 3-0)
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Tallahassee, Fla. | Jackie Robinson Ballpark
Watch: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/42ef4826-7acb-485a-a7ce-2c962808b1c1
Listen: https://seminoles.com/watch/
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Tickets: https://seminoles.evenue.net/events/BBSINGLE

Prairie View A&M struck first with two runs in the opening inning. Tyvon Moore doubled and later scored on Ryland Duson's RBI single before Sonnier Moses drove in another run after being hit by a pitch.

Bethune-Cookman answered with a run in the bottom of the first on Darryl Lee's RBI single, then took control in the fourth. The Wildcats scored four runs in the inning, highlighted by RBI hits from Michael Rodriguez, Jorge Rodriguez and Ruben Zuany to grab a 5-2 lead.

The Panthers added a run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Duson, but B-CU responded with another four-run frame in the bottom half. Zuany delivered the big blow with a three-run double to left-center, extending the Wildcats' advantage to 9-3.

PVAMU trimmed the deficit to 9-5 in the sixth on an RBI single from Dylan Diaz and a sacrifice fly by Moore, but the Wildcats added an insurance run in the eighth on Erick Almonte's sacrifice fly to close the scoring.

Ruben Zuany led Bethune-Cookman at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs, while Jorge Rodriguez added two hits and two RBIs. Moore paced Prairie View with three hits and two runs scored.

Tanner Boccabello (1-0) earned the win after allowing three runs over five innings. Kamar Dove (0-3) took the loss for Prairie View after surrendering seven runs, six earned, in 4 2/3 innings.

Bethune-Cookman finished with 11 hits in the victory, while Prairie View totaled eight.

The Florida State Seminoles moved up to 18th in the Division I baseball rankings after a series victory over Wake Forest. Overall, FSU is 16-3 with its only losses coming to ranked opponents (Wake Forest, Auburn, and Florida).

The Seminoles are currently batting .298 and rank 49th in the country with 139 runs scored. The team's top bat this season has been Myles Bailey, who is hitting .333 with a team-high eight home runs and 21 RBI. However, he also leads the team in strikeouts with 23 and has hit into two double plays.

The pitching staff has accumulated a 3.57 ERA while holding opponents to a .194 batting average. They rank in the top 15 in hits allowed per contest. The Seminoles have often relied on a variety of pitchers during midweek contests.
 

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• The Wildcats swept Prairie View A&M over the weekend to begin SWAC play at 3-0.
• Michael Bennedict will likely draw the start against FSU. He is 1-1 with a 5.93 ERA in 13.2 innings.
• Maikol Lucena is currently on a five-game hitting streak with eight hits and four RBI during that span.
• Erick Almonte was excellent at the plate against the Panthers, driving in five runs in three games.
• B-CU starting pitchers each picked up victories against PVAMU after a tough series against Florida Gulf Coast.

The Wildcats have never beaten Florida State in baseball (0-10 all-time).

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