DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Bethune-Cookman baseball will look to lock up the SWAC regular season title this weekend as they host the Grambling State Tigers at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The series begins Thursday with first pitch set for 7 p.m. EST. Senior Day festivities will take place prior to Saturday evening's contest, which begins at 5 p.m. EST.



Thursday-Saturday, May 14-16
Opponent: Grambling (20-28, 17-10)
Time: 7 p.m. | 6 p.m. | 5 p.m.
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. | Jackie Robinson Ballpark
Watch: https://tv.swac.org/
Listen: https://bcuathletics.com/sports/2024/11/13/Cateye-Network-Radio.aspx
Live Stats: https://bcuathletics.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Bethune-Cookman (35-17, 21-6) opened the scoring in the second inning. After Maikol Lucena worked a leadoff walk and Erick Almonte doubled down the left field line, Jeter Polledo lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats added another run in the third when Andrey Martinez launched a solo home run to left field to extend the advantage to 2-0.

Alabama State answered in the bottom half of the third. Breydon Divine delivered an RBI single before Miguel Oropeza followed with an RBI double to tie the game at 2-2.

Bethune-Cookman regained the lead in the fourth inning. Lucena doubled to begin the frame before Almonte lined an RBI single to left field. Later in the inning, Almonte stole third and scored on a throwing error to push the Wildcats ahead 4-2.

The teams traded runs over the next two innings. Martinez connected on his second solo home run of the day in the fifth to give B-CU a 5-3 lead before Oropeza answered with a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning to even the score once again.

The Wildcats reclaimed the lead in the sixth inning with a three-run frame. Jorge Rodriguez drove in a run with a single to center field before Sergio Rivera brought home another run on a fielder's choice. Rivera later stole home to extend the lead to 8-5.

Alabama State responded with its biggest inning of the game in the bottom of the sixth. After loading the bases, Fabian Santana drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before Devin Chandler blasted a three-run home run down the left field line to give the Hornets a 9-8 advantage.

The Hornets continued to add on in the seventh with back-to-back solo home runs from Niguel Jenkins and Trey Callaway to make it 11-8.

Alabama State added three more runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by a two-RBI single from Quentin Jenkins, extending the lead to 14-8.

Bethune-Cookman attempted to rally in the ninth. Jose Fernandez singled and Erick Almonte walked before Jeter Polledo launched a three-run home run to left field, cutting the deficit to 14-11. The comeback attempt ended there, however, as Alabama State recorded the final out to secure the victory.

Caio Araujo earned the win in relief for the Hornets, while Bryon Rincones was charged with the loss for the Wildcats.

The Tigers are currently tied for fourth in the SWAC with Alabama State at 17-10. They are coming off a series loss to Arkansas - Pine Bluff on the road after sweeping Florida A&M at home. Grambling is just 4-12 away from Wilbert Ellis Field.

GSU is a solid offensive team, sitting third in the conference in runs scored. They are excellent at getting on base, leading the league in walks and ranking third in on-base percentage. The Tigers are also one of four teams who have hit at least 40 home runs this season.

Senior Cameron Hill and freshman Charles Ashe III have formed an excellent one-two punch in the middle of the Tigers' order. Hill leads the team with 10 home runs and 52 RBI while Ashe III sits just behind him with nine homers and 51 driven in. Hill hit two home runs in the series finale victory over Florida A&M.

The pitching staff has been the team's weakness this season. They rank eighth in the SWAC in ERA, 11th in walks, and 11th in home runs. They are allowing a .303 batting average to opposing hitters.

Kenyon Guillory leads the club with 63.0 innings pitched. He is 3-3 with a 5.71 ERA, the lowest on the staff. Keevyn Goss is the only other player with over 10 starts, and he is 1-5 with a 10.23 earned run average.

• In his final regular season start, Edwin Sanchez will look to remain undefeated against SWAC opponents this season (7-0(.
• Harbersting Abreu has earned a win in three consecutive starts.
• Jean Carlo Zambrano has not allowed a run in his previous 7.1 innings of work.
• Michael Rodriguez has reached base in 30-straight games. He enters the final series batting .401 on the year, which places him tenth in Division I.
• Jose Fernandez is on an 18-game hitting streak and has homered in five straight SWAC series.
• Maikol Lucena is on a 17-game hitting streak and needs just three caught stealings to reach 30 for the season.
• Jeter Polledo continues to lead the club in RBI with 51 after  four driven in the final game against the Hornets.

The Wildcats and Tigers have met just seven times prior to this weekend. B-CU is 6-1 against them and have won six straight dating back to 2022. Four of the six victories have been in the SWAC Tournament.

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