ITTA BENA, Miss. — Following the monumental win over No. 24 LSU, the Wildcats will look to ride the wave of momentum into another key SWAC series against Mississippi Valley State at Magnolia Field. The three-game series begins Friday at 7 p.m. EST.



Friday-Sunday, April 10-12
Opponent: Mississippi Valley State (10-19, 6-6)
Time: 7 p.m. | 2/5 p.m. (DH)
Location: Itta Bena, Miss. | Magnolia Field
Live Stats: https://mvsusports.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

LSU struck first in the opening frame, grabbing two runs on two hits to take a 2-0 advantage. The Tigers opened the inning with two straight walks before scoring on a caught stealing and a base hit by Derek Curiel.

Bethune-Cookman (23-10, 10-2) quickly responded in the second with three runs on six hits to take a one run lead. Erick Almonte, Christopher Watson, and Darryl Lee each picked up RBI hits as the Tigers used three different pitchers in the inning.

The Tigers would then tie the game in the bottom of the inning on a Jake Brown single after a walk and a base hit to begin the frame.

In the third, LSU would retake the lead following a Cade Arrambide RBI double to deep center field. Sergio Rivera nearly made a spectacular leaping grab to rob the Tigers but couldn't quite secure it as it popped out of his glove as he hit the wall.

Bethune-Cookman tied the game once again in the fourth after Jorge Rodriguez crushed his first home run of the season. But LSU answered once again, with Curiel picking up another RBI hit to make it 5-4 Tigers.

The Cats tied the game for the third time in the fifth on a double by Michael Rodriguez. B-CU was aided by an error on a pickoff attempt, allowing the runner to advance into scoring position.

LSU took its final lead in the sixth, as Jake Brown hammered a solo homer to right field to go ahead 6-5.

The Wildcats blew the game open in the sixth, scoring five runs on just two hits to take a four-run advantage. Darryl Lee got the rally started with a triple and he would score on a single by Andrey Martinez. After two hit batters, LSU would then walk in two runs and allow two more on an error at second base.

Trailing 10-6, the Tigers had multiple chances to comeback in the late innings. They loaded the bases in the seventh inning with no outs, but Jean Zambrano came up big, striking out the side to eliminate the threat.

In the ninth, LSU got the tying run to the plate after a B-CU error. But Zambrano came through again, induced a groundout from Curiel to snatch the upset victory.

The Delta Devils are 6-6 in league play, having collected back-to-back sweeps over Alabama A&M and Alcorn to get back to .500 after an 0-6 start. They are coming off a road loss to Louisiana-Monroe Tuesday night.

MVSU ranks toward the bottom of the league in batting average (.257), hits (244), and runs (159). Tom Early and Kendall Brookins are the team's top hitters. Early is hitting .408 with 15 RBI while Brookins is slashing .350 with a team-high 16 RBI.

The pitching staff ranks third from the bottom of the league with a team ERA of 9.5. They do not walk a ton of batters but are allowing a .336 batting average to opposing hitters. Sophomore Luke Richard leads the Devils with 36.2 innings. He is 1-3 with a 6.87 ERA.

The Devils are a solid defensive team, ranking third in the SWAC in fielding percentage and errors.

• Bethune-Cookman's win over LSU was its first ranked victory since beating the eventual champion Florida Gators in the 2017 Gainesville Regional.
• The Wildcats have yet to lose a SWAC series this season.
• Jean Zambrano recorded his first win against the Tigers. He pitched the final three innings, allowing no runs and collecting three strikeouts.
• Christopher Watson is currently on a five-game hitting streak. He finished 1-for-3 with three RBI in the win over LSU.
• Michael Rodriguez is also on a five-game hitting streak. He has hit four doubles in his last four games, including one against the Tigers on Tuesday.
• B-CU has hit eight home runs over its last eight games after hitting just nine in its first 25 games.

The Wildcats have been dominant against the Delta Devils over the years with a 19-2 all-time advantage in the series. B-CU has won 17 straight against MVSU dating back to 2022.

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