Bethune-Cookman left no doubt en route to a SWAC regular-season championship.
The Wildcats pounded out 11 hits in a 12-1 run-rule win over Grambling State on Saturday.
Title-clinching start
The game was effectively decided in the opening inning, when Bethune-Cookman sent 11 batters to the plate and scored nine runs on six hits, while also taking advantage of walks, hit batters, and aggressive baserunning.
Darryl Lee sparked the rally with a double, and Andrey Martinez followed with a single, and the Wildcats kept stacking productive at-bats until the inning turned into a runaway. By the time the first frame ended, B-CU had turned a close game into a celebration.
Bethune-Cookman, which finished the regular season with a program record 37 wins, tallied 16 hits, led by Darryl Lee’s three-hit night and multi-hit efforts from Andrey Martinez, Erick Almonte and Sergio Rivera.
Lee drove in two runs, while Almonte added two RBIs and Martinez scored twice to help keep the pressure on Grambling throughout the night. Michael Rodriguez also reached base repeatedly and scored twice as part of the Wildcats’ balanced attack.
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The Wildcats added a run in the second and another in the fourth to keep the lead out of reach. Even when the scoring slowed, B-CU kept putting runners on base and forcing Grambling to defend long innings.
B-CU pitching shutdown Tigers
Bethune-Cookman’s pitchers limited Grambling to one run and kept the Tigers from ever building momentum after the early deficit. Grambling managed 11 hits, but the Wildcats got key outs in traffic and worked out of threats before they could grow larger. The Tigers’ lone run came in the fourth inning, and they never seriously threatened the margin after that.
