Visiting Bethune-Cookman scored nine unanswered runs to rally for a 10-7 win in game one, then jumped out early and cruised to a 12-5 victory in game two to sweep a doubleheader from Norfolk State on Saturday at Marty L. Miller Field.
The Spartans (14-20, 6-4 MEAC) jumped out to a 7-1 lead after five innings of the opener, but couldn’t keep the opportunistic Wildcats (21-17, 8-0) at bay.
NSU scored two runs in the first, capitalizing on some wildness and an error by B-CU starting pitcher Gabriel Hernandez. Brandon Hairston had an RBI groundout and John Rasberry an RBI single to give NSU a 2-0 lead. The Spartans scored two more in the third on a run-scoring single by Chris Joyce and a bases-loaded walk from Hernandez to Sammy Serafine that made it 4-0.
B-CU got a wind-aided solo home run off the bat of Emmanuel Castro in the fourth to make it 4-1, but NSU scored three more in the fifth to take a 7-1 lead. Joyce doubled and Ryan Montgomery reached on a fielder’s choice to start the inning, and Blaze Zeilman followed with a long two-run double off the right-field wall. Later in the inning, Serafine’s RBI single made it 7-1.
NSU starter Ryan Shook, who cruised through five innings, ran into a bit of trouble in the sixth. Alejandro Sanchez singled to start the inning and Shook walked Castro. Shook was then lifted in favor of Ryan VanAssche, and Ryan Durrence greeted the freshman by hitting a high fly ball into the gusty wind conditions for a three-run homer to center, cutting NSU’s lead in half. Two batters later, Nick Johnson reached on a bloop double, then scored on an NSU throwing error on the same play to cut NSU’s lead to 7-5.
The Wildcats took the lead with a three-run seventh. Castro knocked in a run with an RBI groundout, and D.J. Leonard’s two-out, two-run single gave the Wildcats an 8-7 lead.
B-CU added two more in the ninth on a two-run triple by Johnson.
The Spartans outhit B-CU 11-8 for the game, but Wildcat relievers Chris Anselmo and Jordan Dailey kept NSU off the board over the final five innings. Anselmo pitched two scoreless frames for the win, and Dailey pitched three scoreless for the save.
Shook got a no-decision despite matching his career with nine strikeouts in five-plus innings. He allowed just three hits and three runs. Shook, VanAssche and Richie Salter combined to strike out 17 hitters, an NSU single-game record.
B-CU rode that momentum and jumped on NSU starter Jordan Egan early in game two, scoring 12 runs in the first four innings. Seven of those runs came in the first inning, capped by a three-run homer by Peter O’Brien and a two-run triple from Leonard. The Wildcats had six hits in the inning, five going for extra bases.
O’Brien and Brashad Johnson had RBI singles in the second, and O’Brien had a two-run single in the third to make it 11-0. Matt Wright’s solo homer in the fourth made it 12-0.
The Spartans managed just two hits in the first six innings off B-CU starter Scott Garner (4-2). The Spartans did go down with a fight, plating five runs in the bottom of the seventh and final inning. Montgomery, Serafine and Hairston had RBI singles and John Lynch an RBI double.
Garner got out of it without any further damage, and pitched a seven-inning complete game. He allowed eight hits and five runs, one earned, and struck out seven. Egan (1-2) took the loss after allowing 15 hits and 12 runs, nine earned, in four innings.
Rasberry went 5-for-9 on the day, Serafine was 3-for-6 with three RBI, and Hairston went 3-for-7 for a NSU.
O’Brien had five hits on the day and six RBI. Four of his hits and all six RBI came in game two. Leonard knocked in four runs, two in each game.
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