DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — UCF scored twice in the eighth inning to rally past Bethune-Cookman 5-4 on Tuesday evening at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Bethune-Cookman (29-12) struck first in the opening inning when Andrey Martinez launched a solo home run to left. The Wildcats added another run on an RBI double by Maikol Lucena to take a 2-0 lead.

UCF responded with a run in the second and took a 3-2 advantage in the fourth behind RBI singles from Jacobs and Smith.

The Wildcats regained the lead in the sixth, scoring twice on an RBI single by Jorge Rodriguez and a sacrifice fly from Jose Fernandez.

Trailing 4-3 entering the eighth, UCF (22-15) capitalized on timely hitting to take the lead for good. After a leadoff single and a walk, Zak Skinner delivered a two-run single up the middle, scoring Cayden Gaskin and Andrew Williamson to put the Knights ahead 5-4.

Bethune-Cookman threatened in the ninth with a leadoff single, but a pickoff and two groundouts ended the game.

Pablo Torres (2-1) was charged with the loss for Bethune-Cookman after surrendering the go-ahead runs in the eighth.

• Maikol Lucena and Jose Fernandez each had two-hit games.
• Andrey Martinez hit his seventh home run of the season.
• Bryon Rincones pitched 2.0 innings of scoreless relief with three strikeouts.
• The Knights out-hit B-CU 12 to nine.

B-CU returns to Jackie Robinson Ballpark to take on UCF Tuesday night, with first pitch set for 6 p.m. EST.
 

Follow Bethune-Cookman Baseball on Twitter/X and Instagram (@BCUDiamondCats) and  for all of the latest news and updates. For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BCUathletics), Instagram (@BCUathletics) and www.bcuathletics.com.
 

--#HailWildcats--