Skipper Jason Beverlin

MEAC regular season co-divisional champions @CookmanBaseball (35-23) and Savannah State (32-21) will square off on Sunday afternoon in the finals of the 2013 MEAC Baseball Championship.

The Cats and Tigers shared identical conference records (17-7) and split their six head-to-head matchups during the regular season.

SSU, who was awarded with the Southern Division’s top seed based on the conference’s fourth tiebreaker (head-to-head record against common divisional opponent), enters the finals from the winner’s bracket.  The Tigers are 3-0 in the tournament and have scored an average of 12.6 runs per contest during the three game stretch.

In additional to scoring a plethora of runs, Savannah State will have the services of the MEAC’s top pitcher, Kyle McGowin (11-1) on Sunday.  McGowin allowed just 1 earned run in a complete game effort against Maryland Eastern Shores in his last outing.  McGowin’s lone defeat this season was suffered at the hands of Bethune-Cookman on May 5th in Savannah.

BCU, who dropped an opening round MEAC tournament contest for the first time since 2005, have won four consecutive tournament games eliminating Delaware State, North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T, and Coppin State in the process.

The Wildcat’s Ace, Montana Durapau, will likely toe the rubber for BCU in the championship game scheduled for 1:00.  Durapau pitched 8 2/3rds in the Cats’ 5-1 victory over Delaware State on Thursday night.

The MEAC Baseball Championship is a double elimination tournament therefore the Wildcats will have to defeat SSU twice on Sunday if they hope to retain their crown.  If the Wildcats can hold in the 1:00 contest, a second winner-take-all championship game will begin 35 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

Bethune-Cookman is looking to secure its eighth consecutive MEAC crown.

You can follow the championship action on BCU’s official Twitter feeds at @BCUathletics or @Cookmanbaseball.

Credits: BCU Athletics

The opening pitch of the 2013 MEAC Baseball Tournament is already underway and for the first time in nearly two full recruiting cycles, the Bethune-Cookman baseball team does not have a tournament 1 seed.

The Wildcats ended the regular season in a tie for first place with Savannah State in the MEAC’s Southern Division but it was the Tigers who earned the Southern Division’s top seed based on conference tiebreaker rules.  SSU joins Delaware State (who earned the top seed in the Northern Division) as the tournament’s #1 seeds. 

Despite the seeding, MEAC fans should not dismiss this year’s BCU squad or presume that this team’s demise is at hand.  The Wildcats are the only MEAC team with an RPI ranking in the Top 100 nationally (peaked at 78) and BCU has enjoyed victories over nationally ranked Arizona State, Miami, Central Florida, and South Florida.   Additionally, the Cats have also defeated quality non-conference foes Stetson, Florida International, Central Michigan, Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville University.

Perhaps the greatest indication of the vitality and prowess of this year’s squad can be found in the team’s torrid record in the second half of the season.  The Maroon and Gold enjoyed a .667 winning percentage in the second half of the year included in which was a 16-4, 20 game stretch from the beginning of April through the first week in May. 

Duct Tape and Glue

Skipper Jason Beverlin’s leadership and influence on this year’s squad has been amazing and deserves celebration.  BCU loss 4 players to Tommy John surgery before the season even began.  Amongst those loss to surgery was the 2013 MEAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, Gabby Hernandez.  To add to Beverlin’s challenges, 4 of BCU’s 5 new everyday starting position players had never played an inning of Division-1 baseball before this season.  Despite his team’s youth and injury woes, coach Beverlin still lead his squad to a 30 win season, a share of the regular season divisional crown, and the impressive list of out-of-conference victories mentioned above.

The expectations that surround BCU baseball will likely deny Beverlin MEAC coach of the year honors but you would be hard-pressed to find another manager in this league who has done a better job with his club than Bethune-Cookman’s second year skipper.

Challenged and Setting a Tone

There was a definitive turnaround in the Wildcats 2013 campaigned and it coincided directly with the first series against Savannah State.  The Tigers visited Jackie Robinson ballpark for a three game set on the weekend of May 30^th.  SSU swept the first two games of the series but the most significant moment of that weekend (and the 2013 season perhaps) was the on-field skirmish in the second game that led to the ejection of three players: BCU’s Anthony Stokes and Savannah State’s Mendez Elder and Jason Wynn.

That dust-up seemed to give BCU the wake-up call they needed.  The Wildcats have played much more consistent baseball since that incident and the players have seemed to take much more ownership for the success of the squad.

When asked about the event recently coach Beverlin stated: “Savannah State is a good baseball team and they challenged us as a team.”  “We talked to our guys about setting a tone.  We get to face all of the teams in our division twice so we have an opportunity to set a tone the second time through our schedule that (our opponents) are going to remember come tournament time.  I think our guys really took hold of that and they have been trying to set that tone going into the tournament and in the second half of the season.”  “Starting in April, our team got on a hot streak and we have been playing good baseball ever since.”

Expectations

When asked about his expectations for his team in the MEAC tournament, the skipper stated “this is the most fun part of the season and I am excited to see what the (MEAC) tournament will bring.”

“This is what you work hard for in the offseason and I fully expect us to be successful.” 

“All of the early morning and Fall workouts, all of the time you put in is to reward yourself with an opportunity to play for a conference championship and to give yourself a shot at regionals and the College World Series.”

BCU will begin pursuit of their 8^th consecutive MEAC title when they take on Coppin State at 7:30 P.M. on Tuesday night in first round tournament action. 

The Championship finale is set for Sunday, May 19^th at 1 P.M. 

All games are scheduled to be played at Marty L. Miller field on the campus of Norfolk State University.

Former BCU quarterback Matt Johnson passed for two (2) touchdown passes and helped lead the Kiel Hurricanes to a 26-15 victory over the Berlin Adlers in his German Football debut. Johnson completed 7 of his 16 pass attempts for a 103 yards and gained 74 rushing yards on the ground on 10 attempts.

Back State-Side, T.T. Toliver set two franchise records for the Orlando Predators and he tied a third in his team’s 83-82 win over the Spokane Shock. Toliver broke Arena Football Hall of Famer Barry Wagner’s 17 year old record for receiving yards with 251. He also broke the team record for receptions in a game with 18. The mark he tied was the single-game franchise record for receiving touchdowns with 6.

Toliver’s final stat line from Saturday night; 18 catches, 251 yards, and 6 touchdowns.

Credits Kiel Hurricanes GFL

Matthew McKnight

Andrea Orozco

Congratulations to BCU’s Men’s and Women’s golf teams for sweeping the 2013 PGA Minority National Titles in Port St. Lucie, Florida this past weekend.

The men’s squad erased a four-stroke deficit on Sunday afternoon to claim a one shot victory over Texas-Pan American.  On the women’s side of the draw, BCU held off a strong charge from Texas-Pan American on the back nine and claimed the title after the first playoff hole.

The Wildcats also enjoyed a clean sweep in the individual awards with Andrea Orozco claiming top honors on the women’s side and Matthew McKnight placing first amongst the men.

Keith “KJ” Stroud

Former Bethune-Cookman receiver KJ Stroud has officially signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets of the National Football League.

Stroud, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior wide receiver from Brooklyn, N.Y., becomes the first B-CU player to ink a free agency agreement with an NFL team following this year’s NFL Draft. He arrived to the Wildcats program in 2011 after transferring from Rutgers where he spent the 2009 and 2010 campaigns.

Read on: http://www.bcuathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=659168&SPID=104202&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=207461060&DB_OEM_ID=23910.

BETHUNE-COOKMAN OFFICIAL STATEMENT from LYNN W. THOMPSON (Director of Athletics)…

“Our student-athlete handbook states ‘Student-athletes are highly visible representatives of the university and are expected to uphold the values and responsibilities of the institution while meeting all requirements set forth by the MEAC, NCAA, B-CU and the B-CU intercollegiate athletics program.’

The university reserves the right to prohibit, reduce and otherwise sanction the participation of any student-athlete who falls short of or compromises any of these standards.

The student-athlete was a repeat offender of university and team policies. He was and is fully aware of those policies and understands our stance and subsequent disciplinary actions imposed on him. In addition to the sanctions imposed by the university, which limit him to only academic related activities, the department of athletics also imposed additional penalties. While we have imposed these sanctions on him we also stand with him and will continue to provide the resources which will support him in his ultimate quest to graduate from our institution this spring.

We will issue no further statements on this matter and will consider it closed.”

Lynn W. Thompson
Director of Athletics

Jackie Robinson Stadium

Daytona Beach – A quick glance at the MEAC’s Southern division standings reflects Bethune-Cookman in a familiar position atop the table.  However, a closer look at the standings reveals a more telling story.  Two games in the loss column is all that separates first place BCU from 4^th place North Carolina A&T.  Savannah State is a game better than the Wildcats in the conference loss column (but the Tigers have a lower winning percentage against conference foes) and North Carolina Central is just a single game behind the Cats.

Jason Beverlin’s squad will look to cushion their lead and maintain their stranglehold on the conference when they take on North Carolina Central in a three-game set beginning today at 1:00 PM at Historic Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Daytona Beach’s City Island. 

BCU (20-17, 10-5 MEAC) has won a season high six consecutive games with five of those victories occurring on the road.  Anthony Stokes has paced the Wildcats offensively over the winning streak logging three home runs and 11 RBIs during the run.  

The Wildcats defeated Jacksonville University 5-3 in their last outing (on Tuesday, April 9^th).  David Lee recorded three RBIs in the win for the Cats.
 
NCCU (21-15, 9-6 MEAC), who enters the weekend just a game behind the Wildcats in the MEAC’s Southern Division, are 1-2 against BCU this season and 2-6 against the Wildcats since re-joining the MEAC.  NCCU dropped 2 of 3 games against rival NCA&T last weekend.

The pitching matchups are slated as follows: 

Game One:  NCCU’s Junior righty Terry McNabb  vs. B-CU righty Scott Garner (3-4, 5.33 ERA)   Garner is coming off a complete game, 4-1 victory over Florida A&M in his last outing.
 
Game Two (doubleheader 7 inning contest):  righty Glenn Frye (3-3) against BCU lefty Ali Simpson (3-4, 5.77 ERA).  Simpson also pitched solidly in his last outing allowing no runs in seven innings of work against FAMU.  BCU won that contest 4-0. 
 
Game Three (Sunday): Michael Romano (2-5, 5.43 ERA) vs. BCU right hander Montana Durapau (5-3, 4.07 ERA).  Durapau earned his 5^th win of the year in his last outing against cross-county rival Stetson.
 
Live Stats will be available from the link.  Also, NCCU will provide live audio coverage of this weekend’s matchups on the  NCCU Sports Network .

Photo Credits: BCU Athletics

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (15-17) traveled to South Florida for the first of their two trips to Coral Gables this season and exited Wednesday night’s contest with a 5-3 victory over perennial power the University of Miami (20-12).Junior right hander Montana Durapau had another strong outing on the hill yielding just 2 earned runs and striking out 7 in seven innings of work for BCU.

Jordan Dailey entered the contest in the 8^th and held the Hurricanes scoreless through the final 2 frames earning him his 5^th save of the season.

BCU never trailed in the contest and plated all five of its runs in the middle innings:  two each in the fourth and fifth and another in the sixth.

Eric Sams’ RBI single in the fourth brought home the Wildcats first two runs of the contest.

Shaun McCarty added an RBI in the 5^th on a sharply hit double deep into the right field corner.  McCarty scored on a Brandon Turner fielder’s choice later in the inning and pushed the BCU lead to 4-0

Miami responded with an Alex Hernandez RBI single through the left side to put the Hurricanes on the board, narrowing the lead to 4-1.

Freshman catcher Chris Biocic’s RBI single in the sixth capped the Wildcats’ scoring at 5.

Michael Broad launched a monster two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Wildcat lead to 5-3, but the Canes could get no closer.

BCU’s 5-3 victory adds Miami to an impressive list of out of conference foes Jason Beverlins’ squad has defeated this season.  Arizona State, Miami, Central Florida, Central Michigan, Florida International, South Florida and Jacksonville University have all suffered defeat at the hands of the Wildcats in 2013.

The Cats return to MEAC play and will travel to Tallahassee on Friday for a three game weekend series against Florida A&M.