DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats will continue its historic season with another SWAC series against Alabama A&M at Sliwa Stadium. B-CU won back-to-back midweek games against ranked SEC opponents and has yet to lose a conference series this season.



Friday-Sunday, April 17-19
Opponent: Alabama A&M (8-31, 2-13)
Time: 6 p.m. | 7 p.m. | 1 p.m.
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. | Sliwa Stadium
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

Bethune-Cookman (26-11, 12-3) came up with a big swing in the first inning, as Andrey Martinez smashed a solo home run to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

Florida quickly tied the game in the bottom of the inning. The Gators hit three straight singles, including an RBI base hit from Cade Kurland to knot the game at one.

B-CU took advantage of struggling Gator pitching in the second, quickly loading the bases on a walk and two hit batters. Darryl Lee then picked up an RBI base hit followed by a two RBI double by Andrey Martinez to put the Wildcats ahead 3-1.

Florida picked up another run in the bottom of the frame. After an error allowed a runner to advance to third, Kyle Jones drove him in on a sac fly to cut the deficit to one.

After a scoreless third, the Wildcats went up by two runs again in the fourth. Jose Fernandez led off the inning with a home run to make it 4-2.

B-CU started the fifth with a base hit and a walk. Jeter Polledo then picked up the RBI on another sacrifice fly to extend the lead to three.

The Gators threatened in the bottom of the fifth, getting runners to the corners with two outs. But Erick Almonte made an outstanding diving play and flipped to second for the force to end the rally.

In the sixth, Florida would tie the game at five. After a walk and a hit by pitch, the Gators received RBI hits from Kurland and Blake Cyr.

The Wildcats blew the game open in the seventh. An outstanding sacrifice bunt by Almonte forced an errant throw from the Florida pitcher, scoring one run. Jorge Rodrigez then came up big with a two RBI single to make it 8-5. Darryl Lee followed it up with an RBI single and Andrey Martinez snuck a double down the left field line to score two more. Michael Rodriguez capped off the dominant frame with another RBI base hit to increase the lead to 12-5.

UF would attempt to rally in the seventh. After two walks, Kyle Jones drove in a run on a sac fly, followed by an RBI double by Brandon Lawson to make it 12-7.

The Cats would get the run back in the top of the ninth. Lee came through with a solo shot for his third RBI of the night to extend the lead back to six.

Justin Morales would take it from there. He shut down the Gators' offense in the ninth to close out another big-time win for B-CU.

Alabama A&M is tied for the worst record in the SWAC with Alcorn at 2-13. The Bulldogs pulled out a series victory over the Braves back in March but have not won a SWAC game since.

AAMU ranks in the middle of the pack in most offensive categories. They sit seventh in batting average, eighth in runs, and seventh in home runs. The Bulldogs are excellent at taking ball four, ranking second in walks behind only B-CU.

Miles Jackson leads the Bulldogs in hits, doubles, triples, slugging percentage, and runs scored. Meanwhile, Tervell Johnson paces the lineup in home runs (4) and RBI (27).

The Bulldogs' pitching staff has struggled this season, topping the league in hits allowed and giving up the second most earned runs. Redshirt junior Anthony Mateo leads the team in innings at 49.1. He is 2-3 with a 4.38 ERA. William Tarpley leads the staff in strikeouts with 30 but has only managed a 10.20 ERA.

Alabama A&M has the second-most errors in the league and has the second-worst fielding percentage.

• Bethune-Cookman returns to play in Daytona Beach for the first time since March 29th.
• Andrey Martinez helped carry the Wildcats to a win over Florida, going 3-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, and four RBI. He is currently on a nine-game hitting streak.
• Michael Rodriguez now leads the team with a .376 batting average. He also is in the midst of a nine-game hit streak.
• Erick Almonte, reigning SWAC Hitter of the Week, is on a seven-game hitting streak.
• Jeter Polledo is also on a seven-game hitting streak.
• Justin Morales pitched 2.2 innings against the Gators and picked up the win. He allowed just one hit and recorded two strikeouts.

The Wildcat have dominated the Bulldogs historically. They lead the series 22 to five and swept AAMU last season.

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