BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Bethune-Cookman held off a late Grambling rally to earn a 7-6 victory on Wednesday afternoon at Rickwood Field and advance in the SWAC Tournament. The Tigers made a furious comeback in the eighth inning, pulling within one run, but Pablo Torres came in to record the final six outs and keep the Wildcats' season alive.
Grambling struck first in the opening inning. Dillon Braxton and Trey Bridges opened the game with back-to-back singles before Charles Ashe III brought home a run with a groundout to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats answered in the second inning when Jose Fernandez launched a solo home run to right field to tie the game at 1-1.
Bethune-Cookman then took control with a five-run third inning. Darryl Lee singled and later stole second before Michael Rodriguez and Maikol Lucena delivered consecutive singles. Fernandez followed with another base hit before Erick Almonte broke the game open with a towering grand slam to right field, giving the Wildcats a 6-1 advantage.
The Wildcats added another run in the fifth inning. Michael Rodriguez worked a leadoff walk and later scored on a Grambling throwing error to extend the lead to 7-1.
Meanwhile, Harbersting Abreu kept the Tigers in check through seven innings, allowing just two runs while working around multiple baserunners.
Grambling mounted a comeback in the eighth inning. After a double from Braxton and a single by Bridges, the Tigers capitalized on three B-CU walks to score four runs and cut the deficit to 7-6.
The Tigers threatened again in the ninth, but Pablo Torres retired the side to secure the save and preserve the Bethune-Cookman victory.
Abreu earned the win after tossing seven innings with three strikeouts, while Torres picked up the save with two scoreless innings in relief.
- Harbersting Abreu bounced back from last week's loss to Grambling. He earned the win after going 7.0 innings, allowing just two runs, and recording three strikeouts.
- Pablo Torres picked up his fifth save of the season, going two scoreless with no hits allowed.
- Erick Almonte's third inning grand slam was the Wildcats' third this season. He also had a double, finishing 2-for-3.
- Jose Fernadez finished with two hits and an RBI.
- The two teams each finished with eight hits.
B-CU will play again at 1 p.m. tomorrow, and they will face the loser of tonight's game between Alabama State and Arkansas - Pine Bluff.
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