Courtesy of the Southwestern Athletic Conference
ATLANTA, Ga. – No. 2 seed (East) Bethune-Cookman went on a sizzling three-inning run for all its scoring in a 10-6 win over No. 3 seed (West) Southern to advance in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament at Russ Chandler Stadium. The Wildcats had two in the sixth, five in the seventh and three in the eighth against Southern’s bullpen. This was after trailing 3-0.
“We struggled at times in the regular season with situational hitting. But in the championship innings – six through nine – we outscored Southern 10-3. We just have to continue to be who we are and control what we can control,” B-CU baseball head coach Jonathan Hernandez said.
This was the second time the Wildcats and Jaguars met in the tournament. On the opening day, Southern defeated B-CU 4-2.
In the rematch, B-CU first baseman Manny Souffrain and shortstop Jeremy Garcia were the catalysts for their team. Both infielders went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI. Souffrain added two runs to his line on the stats sheet.
B-CU reliever Yoansell Diaz earned the win. He had four strikeouts in three innings out of the pen.
Southern second baseman Jah’li Hendricks went 3 for 3. Teammate Jaylen Armstrong also had a good showing at the plate. The centerfielder went 3 for 6. Both Jaguars had two runs scored.
Bethune-Cookman next faces No. 1 seed (West) Grambling State. With this loss, Southern is eliminated from the tournament.
