Box Score

SANFORD, Fla. - For the first time in program history, the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats are Southwestern Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions after a thrilling 10-8 win in the regular season finale, Saturday afternoon at Sanford Memorial Stadium.

With the win, the Wildcats clinch the No. 1 overall seed ahead of the conference tournament at Rickwood Field in Birmgham, Ala. They will face No. 8 seed Texas Southern in the opening round on Wednesday, May 21 at 9:00 a.m. CST.

Bethune-Cookman (33-21, 24-5 SWAC) opened the scoring with a solo shot in the bottom fo the second from Armani Newton, his ninth of the year.

Texas Southern (22-30, 15-15 SWAC) erupted for a five-spot in the third, taking advantage of three Wildcat walks and four base hits to make it a 5-1 game, chasing B-CU starter Pablo Torres. 

Fortunately for B-CU, the bats answered with four runs of their own in the bottom of the third, as the first four Wildcats to head to the plate reached base with a hit. Darryl Lee and Andrey Martinez collected the first RBI of the frame with a pair of doubles. 

Jesus Vanegas tied things up with an RBI single to left to score Martinez and make it a 5-5 game. 

The fourth was the final clean inning of the game as Texas Southern retook the lead in the fifth with two outs. A two-out walk turned into danger after two straight wild pitches and a Tyler Legendre RBI single broke the tie at 6-5.

That lead did not last long as the Wildcats jumped in front again in the bottom of the fifth after a two-out RBI single from Irvin Escobar that scored Jorge Rodriguez - who reached to start the inning on an error - and Jeter Polledo. 

The Cats made it 8-6 an inning later as Martinez brought home Daniel Figueroa with a sacrifice fly.

The Tigers did not go away, tying things again in the seventh off the B-CU pen with a walk and a pair of doubles. Jean Carlos Zambrano entered the game out of the pen to stop any further damage.

B-CU scored for the third straight inning with another solo shot, this time for Vanegas to break the stalemate again at 9-8. B-CU made it four straight innings with a run after another Martinez RBI single to score Figueroa and make it 10-8. 

Zambrano shut the door in the ninth, earning the win - his sixth of the year.

For Texas Southern, Bryce Hughes and Legendre both had two hits and two RBI while Jaden Jones had two RBI. TSU's Isaac Garcia was tagged with the loss in relief on the mound.

About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
 
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Tennis.

Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball.
 
Follow the SWAC
For complete coverage of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, please follow the SWAC on social media at @TheSWAC (Twitter), @TheSWAC (Facebook), and @TheSWAC (Instagram) or visit the official home of the Southwestern Athletic Conference at www.swac.org.