Bethune-Cookman baseball beat a ranked SEC team. If that headline feels familiar, that’s also because it happened last week.
The Wildcats took down No. 20 Florida 13-7 in Gainesville on April 14 to pick up their second ranked win over an SEC team in seven days. Bethune-Cookman defeated defending national champion and then-No. 24 LSU 10-7 on April 7.
The last and only instance the Wildcats beat the Gators was a 6-2 win on June 4, 2017, which was their last ranked win prior to last week’s LSU game.
“I think obviously the offense,” Bethune-Cookman head coach Johnny Hernandez said was the key to victory. “That’s the second midweek in a row, the second SEC team that we were able to put 10-plus runs up on the board. I think the offense just did a really good job putting themselves in good counts, owning the strike zone, taking advantage of the walks and hit-by-pitches from Florida’s pitching staff, who we all know is one of the best.”
B-CU uses big offensive day to beat Florida
B-CU was able to earn its second-ever triumph against the Gators, who are fourth in the NCAA’s RPI, with a seven-run seventh inning that broke a 5-5 tie. The two major scoring plays were an Andrey Martinez double and a Jorge Rodriguez single that each plated two runs.
Darryl Lee and Michael Rodriguez singled to pick up two additional RBIs, and Erick Almonte reached base on a throwing error that allowed Maikol Lucena, who walked at the beginning of the inning, to score.
Kyle Jones hit a sacrifice fly and Brendan Lawson doubled to drive two Gator runs to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Bethune-Cookman’s lead proved to be insurmountable.
Lee put a stamp on the Wildcats’ victory with a solo shot to right field in the top of the ninth inning, and Justin Morales shut the door in the bottom of the ninth.
Dawson Turner got the start and pitched 1⅔ innings with two earned runs. Anthony Anselmo pitched the next 3⅔ and also gave up two runs, followed by an inning from Jean Carlos Zambrano. Morales pitched a scoreless final 2⅔ innings and allowed just one hit.
“It speaks to the pitching depth where we’re able to roll out guys like Anselmo, Zambrano and Morales on a midweek game and we don’t have to use them over the course of the weekend,” Hernandez said.
Martinez and Lee were Bethune-Cookman’s primary catalysts in its consecutive win over a ranked SEC power. Both players finished 3 for 6 from the plate with a dinger to combine for seven RBIs — four from Martinez and three from Lee.
However, all nine players in the Wildcats’ batting order finished with at least one hit, and Jose Fernandez added a third homer to Bethune-Cookman’s night in the fourth inning.
“I think that it speaks to the type of caliber program that we have here at Bethune-Cookman that’s not just a SWAC perennial power, but we want to evolve this into a national brand across the board,” Hernandez said.
What B-CU baseball win means for rest of 2026 season
The win further legitimizes the Wildcats’ record of 26-11, which now includes four wins over top-100 teams in the RPI — Florida, LSU and a pair against South Florida. They’ll have an opportunity to add to that with a home series against Alabama A&M from April 17-19.
“I think what it does also, it gives belief to every one of our players in that locker room that it can be done, right?” Hernandez said. “That’s something that a lot of people would say, ‘There’s no way a SWAC team should beat an SEC team, let alone two ranked teams and one of them being the defending national champion.'”
“So I think what that does is it build confidence, and that’s the biggest thing when we play these games is just having our guys have the confidence to compete at a high level.”
(This story was updated to add more information.)
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Bethune-Cookman baseball beats No. 20 Florida for another ranked win
Reporting by Zach Allen, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
