Bethune-Cookman baseball saw its 2025 season come to a close Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats fell 4-3 to No. 19 Northeastern in an elimination game of the Tallahassee Regional at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium.
Northeastern (49-10) scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to break a 2-2 deadlock after eight innings of play.
Gregory Bozzo laced a two-out solo home run to left centerfield – the first of the season for the catcher, pushing the second-seeded Huskies in front, 3-2.
After an error by Jeter Polledo at short off the end of a Jack Doyle liner to shortstop allowed him to reach safely, the third baseman worked his way into scoring position with a balk called on Bethune-Cookman reliever Yoansell Diaz.
Ryan Gerety immediately singled to third base at the top of the lineup on the ensuing play to drive in Doyle for the 4-2 Huskies lead.
Tie game in Tally 👀
Andrey Martinez DOUBLES to knot us at 1️⃣-1️⃣
📺 https://t.co/RnWwyTGLZ3
📻 1380 WELE
🎧 https://t.co/mKPYzeOnXr
📊 https://t.co/ZT0bLFC4Ds#𝙃𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙨 | #𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙮𝙏𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 pic.twitter.com/tUOterBArG— ⚾️Bethune-Cookman Baseball (@BCUDiamondCats) May 31, 2025
Bethune-Cookman (37-23) didn’t go away quietly in the home-half of the ninth.
The Wildcats used back-to-back walks from Northeastern relief pitcher Brett Dunham, issued to catcher Irvin Escobar and Michael Rodriguez, to put two aboard to begin the at-bat. A Sergio Rivera sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base, setting the stage for Daniel Figueroa to reach safely via an error charged to the Northeastern infield, and moving across pinch runner Pablo Torres.
With B-CU down 4-3 – and a steal of second by Figueroa, junior Andrey Martinez stepped to the plate for the Maroon and Gold with both the game-tying and winning runs in scoring position. However, the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Co-Hitter of the Year would go down on strikes to close the ballgame.
Northeastern kicked things off with a leadoff double from Ryan Gerety in the opening frame, followed by the right fielder advancing to third through a failed pickoff attempt from B-CU starter Edwin Sanchez. Harrison Feinberg drove him in for the 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to center field.
After stranding runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings, the Wildcats finally broke through in the home half of the fifth when Figueroa and left fielder Darryl Lee were hit by a pitch on back-to-back plays. Martinez then delivered a run-scoring single down the left field line that plated Figueroa and knotted the contest at 1-1.
With the game tied at 1-1 in the top of the sixth inning, Northeastern used a Jack Goodman single past the glove of Polledo at short to drive across Feinberg and push the Huskies back on top, 2-1.
The Cats once again responded in the bottom of the eighth as Lee began the at-bat with a leadoff double, only to come in two plays later courtesy of a Jorge Rodriguez sac fly to deep left field, tying the game at 2-2.
The win went to Huskies reliever Charlie Walker (4-0) as he worked three innings out of the bullpen, allowing one run on two hits and registering five strikeouts. Dunham collected the save despite giving up a run on two walks and a strikeout. The loss was tagged to B-CU’s Diaz (5-5) with an inning worked and two runs given up on two hits and one strikeout.
The Northeastern bats were paced by Gerety with his 2-for-4 afternoon, adding an RBI and a run scored.
B-CU looked towards Martinez with a 2-for-5 showing at the dish, an RBI, and Polledo with a 2-for-4 effort offensively.
Courtesy: Bethune-Cookman Athletics
