Florida A&M defeated Bethune-Cookman 15-13 following a late comeback at Moore-Kittles Stadium, according to an April 26 announcement. The game featured several lead changes and high offensive output from both teams.
The matchup saw Bethune-Cookman take an early lead in the first inning with a two-run home run by Andrey Martinez after Darryl Lee drew a leadoff walk. Florida A&M responded quickly in the bottom of the first, stringing together three hits including a two-RBI double by Ethan Miller and a two-RBI single from Alex Monile to move ahead 4-2.
Florida A&M extended its advantage in the second inning with Jay Campbell delivering an RBI triple followed by Jackson McKenzie’s two-run home run, pushing their lead to 7-2. Bethune-Cookman narrowed the gap over the next innings, capitalizing on defensive errors and RBI hits from Jorge Rodriguez and Darryl Lee to bring the score to 8-7 by the fourth inning.
After Florida A&M scored twice more in the sixth for a 10-7 lead, Bethune-Cookman mounted its biggest rally of the day in the seventh inning. The Wildcats scored six runs—highlighted by Jose Fernandez’s two-RBI single—to take a temporary 13-10 advantage. However, Florida A&M answered with five runs in the eighth inning fueled by William Brown’s three-RBI double and another RBI double from Campbell to retake control at 15-13.
Bethune-Cookman could not come back again in their final at-bat as Florida A&M secured victory. Cody Williams earned relief pitching honors for Florida A&M while Pablo Torres took the loss for Bethune-Cookman.
Martinez reached his milestone of hitting his fiftieth career home run during this game. Lee led all Wildcats players with three runs batted in, while Christopher Watson and Erick Almonte each recorded two hits. Despite being out-hit overall—13 hits for Florida A&M versus ten for Bethune-Cookman—the Wildcats only struck out once as a team during this contest.
Bethune-Cookman’s next game will be against FIU Panthers in Miami on Tuesday evening.
