(Baseball) Wildcats look to remain atop MEAC standings

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Jackie Robinson Stadium

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 4th 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 9th).  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 5th 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 .

BCU (baseball) defeats Miami Hurricanes

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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 8th and held the Hurricanes scoreless through the final 2 frames earning him his 5th 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 5th 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.

(Basketball) BCU upsets Norfolk in MEAC tourney

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Courtesy of BCU Athletics

Courtesy of BCU Athletics

Norfolk — The Bethune-Cookman basketball team pulled out a dramatic 70-68 upset victory over regular season MEAC champions Norfolk State on Wednesday night in the Conference Tournament.

The Spartans, who played the role of Cinderella in the first round of last year’s NCAA tournament by defeating the #3 ranked Missouri Tigers, finished the MEAC’s regular season with an unblemished conference record.  The Wildcats came closes to defeating NSU during the regular season but came up 1 point short (61-62) when the two teams squared off eleven (11) days ago in Norfolk. Interestingly, the last four contests between the Wildcats and Spartans have come down to the final possession.  The Spartans prevailed in the previous three (3) contests but Wednesday night belonged to Bethune-Cookman.

Gravelle Craigs’ squad trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half and seemed unable to overcome the hostile, pro-NSU crowd or the regular season champs.  But a second half energy boost from senior Paul Scotland and a bit of sharp shooting from the entire squad helped the Wildcats erase the double-digit halftime deficit and force the game into overtime. 

BCU shot 59% from the field in the second half and 50% in the overtime session.  The Cats are now two games away from making their first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament

Full story to be updated soon.

BCU to hold Annual Spring Game on April 13th

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SBethune-Cookman football will hold its first spring practice of the year on Saturday, March 23 to begin a 13-session schedule that culminates with the Spring Showcase to be held Saturday, April 13. The location for the Spring Showcase will be announced at a later date.

The Wildcats will pull on the pads under head coach Brian Jenkins for the fourth time and again hold practices on campus at the Wildcat Practice Field.

B-CU is scheduled to work out four times a week beginning March 23, with practices taking place every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. All practices are closed to the public.

During spring practice, only head coach Brian Jenkins and assistant coaches will be made available to the media. Student-athletes will speak with the media after the Spring Showcase.

Read on: http://www.bcuathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23910&ATCLID=206647160

(Baseball) Wildcats sweep FAMU

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Let's Go Wildcats

Scott Gardner

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (6-6, 3-0 MEAC) completed their first series sweep of the 2013 season, taking down in-state rivals Florida A&M Rattlers  (0-11, 0-3 MEAC) in a three game set at Jackie Robinson ballpark.

The Wildcats used a pair of bottom of the 8th inning comebacks in games one (8-6 final) and  three (3-2 final); and a complete game shutout by junior right-hander Scott Gardner in game two (7-0) to secure the weekend sweep. 

Gardner pitched all 7 innings in the second game of Saturday’s double-header and registered 3 strikeouts, 1 base on balls, 4 hits, and no runs.  Other standouts this weekend included closer Jordan Dailey who saw action in games one and three recording a win and save respectively; and third baseman Matt Noble who had a hit in each of the 3 contests batting .455 (5 for 11) with 5 RBIs in the process.

BCU’s record now stands at 6-6 on the year with wins over perennial power Arizona State and last year NCAA Regionals participant UCF.

The Cats conclude their seven (7) game homestand with a couple of midweek matchups against Central Michigan on Tuesday and Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m.

BCU to play Florida State in 2013

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DSC_0006It was announced on Monday that the Bethune-Cookman football team will faceoff against perennial ACC power Florida State on September 21st in historic Doak Campbell Stadium.

This will be the first ever football matchup between the two universities.

The Wildcats were originally slated to play Central Florida on September 28th; however, UCF opted to withdraw from the game and faceoff against Penn State instead. 

BCU athletic director Lynn Thompson stated he received several invites to fulfill the vacant date.  Included among those was an invitation to play in the 2013 Circle City Classic, but a suitable Division I opponent could not be found.

The 2013 campaign kicks off Labor Day Weekend in the John Merritt Classic in Nashville against Tennessee State.  The Cats return for their home opener on September 7th vs Virginia Union just before facing off against FBS opponents Florida International (Miami, 09/14)  and Florida State (Tallahassee, 09/21).

After a bye-week, the Wildcats will begin MEAC play in Dover against Delaware State (10/5) followed by a showdown with Howard in DC on October 12th. 

4 of their next 5 contests will be held in the friendly confines of Municipal Stadium (Savannah State – 10/19, South Carolina State – 10/26 {homecoming}, Norfolk 11/9, and Hampton 11/16).

Sandwiched in between homecoming and the game with Norfolk is a November 2nd matchup with North Carolina Central in Durham.

As always, the regular season will wrap-up in Orlando in the Florida Classic.

NFL Draft Zone Spotlight: David Blackwell

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David BlackwellDraft Zone Spotlight: David Blackwell, QB/WR, Bethune-Cookman University

When you think of complete football players, if you don’t have David Blackwell in that list then you missed a player.  Blackwell originally signed with Iowa out of school, but would eventually play for Iowa Western a JUCO school.  He was a triple threat for the school and would play WR, QB and LB.  David rushed 33 times for 188 yards and one TD while throwing for 132 yards and one score for Iowa Western which would eventually land him on Bethune Cookman’s roster in Daytona Beach. David played a couple games last year at QB for Bethune and he was a beast at the helm. He threw for a total of 409 yards with three touchdowns on 22-of-38 passing, with only one interception on the year. Last year David played wide out as well.  Keep an eye on this athlete, because he could be a huge asset to some team looking for a dual threat player.

How many teams were recruiting you coming out of high school and how did you make your decision?

I had about 20 offers like LSU, Syracuse, Iowa, UCF, Arkansas, Ole Miss

Who was your favorite NFL team growing up, and did you have a player you rooted for?

It was St. Louis Rams. Player: Torry Holt

At your position, how do you break down film, please inform our readers what you look for when breaking down film?

I peak at pre-snap and post-snap coverage and also look for different techniques and tendencies to determine play.

Continue Reading: http://nfldraftzone.com/?s=david+blackwell