SU rides Spear, big fourth inning to 10-3 victory over PVAMU

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas — Taking the mound on an early-but-crucial Sunday afternoon in Southwestern Athletic Conference play, Southern pitcher James Spear made sure the Jaguars didn’t stumble. The senior right-hander gave Southern its third straight quality start to begin SWAC play, allowing three runs in seven innings. Better yet, the Jaguars’ batting order erupted for nine runs in the fourth inning to topple Prairie View, 10-3 — clinching the first conference series of the season for SU.

“James Spear threw a lot of strikes and got the job done for us today,” Southern coach Roger Cador said. “It makes me feel awful good that we had all three of our starting pitchers have a good outing here so early (in the season). ... We have some other guys who we’re going to look at. But for them to pitch, it’ll be in midweek games and in mop-up situations in SWAC series.”

The Southern offense, meanwhile, came alive in the top of the fourth, chasing off Prairie View starter Brandon Kendricks in the process. Trailing 2-0, the Jaguars sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine runs on five hits. SU drew three walks and took advantage of two Panthers errors in the inning.

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B-CU Beats FGCU 6-1 In Tournament Finale

By B-CU SID Mark Johnson

Freshman Lefty Starter Ali Simpson Pitches Solid Game -Now 2-0 on Season

Lefty starter Ali Simpson won on the second straight Sunday for B-CU pitching six innings of two hit ball allowing one run and striking out six for the win. The Campbell River, B.C. native freshman got the pitching win last Sunday vs. Southern University (10-4 win) in the MLB Urban Invitational in California.

"Ali was outstanding today," said B-CU Head Coach Meryvl Melendez. "He was throwing strikes and keeping them off balance, just like he did last week (vs. Southern University) last Sunday. I was proud of him and the way he pitched. We got timely hitting and scored early and put the opponent on their heals," said Melendez.

B-CU (4-4) led 5-1 after three innings, with run scoring hits from Alejandro Jimenez, Emmanuel Castro, and freshman catcher Peter O'Brien. O'Brien was 2-4 with 2 RBI and is B-CU's leading hitter through eight games with a .435 average (10-23). Freshman infielder Alejandro Sanchez was 3-4 with a RBI and sophomore Ryan Durrence was 2-4 with two runs scored.

"It was a good end to the tournament with a win and to get back on the winning track, " said Melendez. "We have been playing a lot of players, a lot of young players and they have played well for us against some tough competition." B-CU was 2-2 in the four games in Ft. Myers beating Towson University Thursday (12-4) and losing Friday to Boston College (10-5) and falling late Saturday night, 4-2 to Samford University.

Seniors Mark Brooks (2B) and Drew Clark (C) have been injured and will be day-today for the busy week ahead (6 games) for B-CU. DH/OF Chris Brown is nursing a hand injury and pitcher Rayan Gonzalez is injured as well in the early season.

The Wildcats next play Tuesday hosting Mercer, 6 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in a two-game series (game two - Wednesday at 6 p.m.). B-CU plays four games over the weekend in the Wildcat Tournament - Friday night vs. Xavier (7 p.m.), Saturday vs. Michigan State (7 p.m.) and again Sunday vs. the Spartans at noon. The tournament finale Sunday will face off Georgia State vs. the Wildcats, at 4 p.m.

Freshman lefty carries Bethune-Cookman past Southern University

Bethune - Cookman head baseball coach Mervyl Melendez

Simpson handles first college start well

COMPTON, Calif. -- Making your first collegiate start as a freshman pitcher is never an easy task. And when you're making that start more than 2,500 miles away from your school, in a high-profile tournament at MLB's Urban Youth Academy, it doesn't get any easier. But Bethune-Cookman left-hander Ali Simpson handled the pressure well, tossing 6 2/3 quality innings to lead the Wildcats to a 10-4 win over Southern University on Sunday in the final game of the second annual Urban Invitational at the Academy.

"He was definitely good today, and he gave us the edge," Bethune-Cookman head coach Mervyl Melendez. "He did a good job of keeping them off balance, and it gives some security to our hitters, because they know they don't have to do it all themselves." Simpson was admittedly a little bit nervous before his start, and it showed early, as he allowed the first three runners to reach base before Melendez came to the mound and talked to him.

"Coach calmed me down a little bit," Simpson said. "He told me it was the same game I've been playing all my life." Melendez's advice worked, as Simpson settled down and retired the next three batters. It gave him confidence, and he went on to allow just three runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings while striking out nine

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VIDEO • Highlights: San Diego 9, B-CU 6
VIDEO • Highlights: Southern 4, SDSU 2

Tournament Schedule/Results
2/20: San Diego State 6, Bethune-Cookman 3
Recap Box score Play-by-Play

2/20: San Diego 6, Southern 4
Box Score

2/21, San Diego 9, Bethune-Cookman 6
Box Score

2/21, Southern 4, San Diego State 2
Recap Box score Play-by-Play

2/22, Southern 4, Bethune-Cookman 10
Box Score B-CU 3 Game Cumulative Stats (1-2)

2/22, SDSU 3, USD (at USD) 0
Box score Play-by-Play

FAMU baseball heads into season with reloaded roster

FAMU Coach Robert Lucas cleans Rattlers house; only 12 players return from last year's squad

With less than half of the players from last year's roster returning to FAMU's baseball team, coach Robert Lucas has reloaded the Rattlers with a mix of transfers and walk-ons. At least two football players are expected to join the team along with transfer outfielders Stavone Martin and Tobi Adeyemi. Their presence should bolster the Rattlers offensively, said Lucas, who has shaken up his team's personnel after they were unable to carry late-season momentum into the MEAC tournament.

"We talked about last year and the disappointment we had in the tournament for one day," Lucas said. "There is no point in us belaboring the fact that we didn't do what we were supposed to do. I think not bringing it up is going to help us focus on the things we need to do fundamentally." FAMU will have a much different look when the season starts with a doubleheader against Jackson State on Feb. 20. Only 12 players, including infielder/pitcher Tim Schalch and MEAC MVP pitcher Jared Jefferies, will return from last year's squad.

Of the 14 players who won't return, only two were lost to graduation, Lucas said. "After a while, you have to make some decisions on education and athletics," he said, explaining the cuts that he's made. "I felt from what I didn't see in their abilities that it was time for them to work on their academics."

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Cubs to host Bethune-Cookman Invitational Games

The Daytona Cubs are excited to work together with Bethune-Cookman to bring exciting college baseball to the area. The Bethune-Cookman Invitational will bring teams from Georgia State University, Michigan State University, and Xavier University.

The Invitational will kick off with three games on Friday, March 6th and will end on Sunday, March 8th at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Game times will start at 11am, 3pm, and 7pm. Tickets for this exciting event will be $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for children, seniors, and students. Make sure to come support the local students and see if they have what it takes to become the next Daytona Cub!

The Daytona Cubs will also host the MEAC Tournament in May. Games will kick off on Friday, March 15th and will go through Sunday, March 17th. Check the Daytona Cubs website as more information unfolds!

Ed White pitcher signs with Bethune-Cookman

Athleticism comes easy for 18-year-old Spencer Johnson. Maybe it's the simple fact that it's a family affair. His father, Larry, played football for Jacksonville State University in Alabama and his mother, Phyllis, was on the tennis team for Miami University in Ohio. Both of his sisters, Megan, 19 (University of West Florida), and Emily, 20 (Howard University), earned full academic and athletic scholarships for softball. Now it's Spencer's turn. He received a scholarship to pitch for Bethune-Cookman University, becoming Ed White High School's first Division I signee in baseball in 15 years.

"They saw what I was capable of," Johnson said. After the historically black university took note of his 90-mph fastball, it offered him a full academic and athletic scholarship. His parents are proud that all three of their kids have full rides to college. "After seeing our daughters succeed," Larry said, "it's truly been a blessing to see Spence get a shot at it." It was an uphill battle for the senior, however. Standing next to the 6-foot-2, 215-pound man (who benches close to 300 pounds), you wouldn't have a clue that his health was once a challenge. By the time he was 11, Johnson was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, the same illness that affects Jaguars quarterback David Garrard.

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Florida home to many successful programs

Except:

We take an inside look at the state of Florida's programs.

8. BETHUNE-COOKMAN

It's not often that a team out of the MEAC causes headaches for opposing teams, but Bethune-Cookman certainly is the exception. The Wildcats haven't been able to make a huge splash on the national stage, but have caused some waves inside the state of Florida. Long-time coach Mervyl Melendez has done a tremendous job at BCC, and the Wildcats continued their winning ways last season by going 17-1 in conference, 36-22 overall.

13. FLORIDA A&M

There's no question Florida A&M has the worst program in the state of Florida. The Rattlers consistently finish near the top of the MEAC, but that obviously doesn't mean much considering they've finished the last two seasons with overall records of 20-22 and 16-36. FAMU should look at Bethune-Cookman as a perfect example.

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Pair should give boost to Jaguars baseball program

Two of Southern’s latest baseball signees checked in with school beginning this week.

Terrell Stringer, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-handed pitcher originally from Phenix City, Ala., was the 1,264th pick (42nd round) by the New York Mets in 2006, when he was a Class 6A All-State honorable mention at Smiths Station High.

Shortstop/second baseman D.J. Henderson (6-2, 175) of Southeastern High School in Detroit was picked in the 30th round, with the 916th overall pick, by the Philadelphia Phillies. Stringer further bolsters a pitching staff, while Henderson can help fill in at second base. “Terrell was the one we had to have,” Cador said. “We tried to recruit him out of high school, and we got him two years later. We needed that one big arm.”

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B-CU freshman pitcher shines in summer league

ORLANDO — Bethune-Cookman University freshman pitcher Joseph Munoz recently was named the Most Valuable Pitcher for the Orlando Suns during the Florida Collegiate Summer League (FCSL). Munoz finished the summer with a perfect 6-0 record and an ERA of just 1.33 through 40.2 innings of action. He also posted 34 strikeouts and had three saves out of the bullpen, though seeing most his action as a starter for the Suns.

The Suns finished in fifth place for the year. Munoz was a three-time FCSL Pitcher of the Week for the Suns, as well as being the only Suns player to hold a perfect record as a starter. He finished his freshman season at B-CU with 20 strikeouts collected in 25 innings on the bump for the Maroon and Gold.

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Bethune-Cookman University Marching Wildcats

B-CU baseball loses 4 recruits to pros

Bethune-Cookman's 2008 baseball signing class has become less crowded since last week's major league draft. Of five Wildcat recruits who were drafted, four have signed or have agreed to sign with their teams, B-CU coach Mervyl Melendez said Thursday.

Bethune-Cookman shortstop Jose Lozada, drafted in the 17th round by the Nationals, has signed and will be a teammate of Pruitt's with Vermont. Pitcher Joseph Gautier, taken in the 19th round by Arizona, has not yet signed. The B-CU recruit rated highest going into the draft, right-hander Ryan Gonzalez, who was selected in the 18th round (544 overall) by the Oakland Athletics, will likely be at school this fall, Melendez said.

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Carver’s Coleman signs with North Carolina Central

Carver baseball standout Cedric Coleman has played more baseball games than anyone he knows at Carver. As a matter of fact, he finished his prep career second on the all-time list of games played at CHS.

“He’s played in just about every game,” said Carver head baseball coach Melvin Palmer. “He’s been a tremendous impact player for us for four years. Anytime you lose a four-year starter it’s big. He impacted the team in every game. We’re also losing a leader. He’s the type of guy that motivated other players to play hard.”

Coleman played rather well for the Yellowjackets too. He finished with a .410 batting average. Coleman had a .640 slugging percentage, to go along with a .450 on base percentage. He also finished with 37 RBIs, 12 triples, 32 doubles, 54 runs scored, 24 steals and 22 strikeouts in four years. Those numbers, as well as a few other things helped Coleman get a scholarship to play baseball for North Carolina Central University. He signed his letter of intent in front of family and friends last Friday — one day before graduating from Carver.

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Freshman Golden Lion and SU Jaguar Named Louisville Slugger All-American

PINE BLUFF -- University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff freshman third baseman Matt Pace was named Wednesday to the "Louisville Slugger" All-America Baseball Team. He joins Southern University standout freshman Fraizer Hall, who was named to the team.

Pace, a former Warren High School standout, hit .369 with 5 home runs and a team-high 40 runs batted in during his freshman season with the Golden Lions. He was also among the nation's leaders in doubles with 23.

In addition to his recent All-American accolade, Pace was also named "Freshman of the Year" in the Southwestern Athletic Conference last month.

Southern University's Frazier Hall also earned a spot on the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team. Hall, used at catcher, first base and as a designated hitter, hit .393 with three homers, nine doubles and 33 RBIs. Hall was one of three catchers on the team.

The SU Jaguars' Hall and UAPB's Pace were the only players named to the team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference. No player was named from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference or the HBCU Independents.

View Complete List: Louisville Slugger's Freshman All-American Baseball Team

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SSU baseball coach reinstated

Savannah State baseball head coach Carlton Hardy has been reinstated after being suspended from April 18 until May 23 while he was the focus of an internal investigation, SSU communications director Loretta Heyward said.

"Mr. Carlton Hardy returned to work on May 23," Heyward said of SSU's third-year coach, who was suspended from the Tigers' final 12 games. SSU was 3-9 without Hardy, and finished the season 20-25.

Because the case is a personnel matter, Heyward said she could not provide further information.

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A new color barrier?

Photo: Bethune Cookman University 2008 Baseball Team.

Baseball seeing fewer black athletes on deck.

Central High School junior Johnny Gray has never played organized baseball, although his friends have attempted to talk him into giving it a try. "They tell me I'd be good at it," said Gray, who plays basketball and runs track at Central. "But I'm so busy with basketball, I don't really have time."

Besides, Gray said, baseball just doesn't do anything for him. "It's kind of boring to me," he said. Gray's view seems typical of many young black athletes who dream of earning a college athletic scholarship. Baseball probably isn't their ticket. The number of black players in college baseball continues to decline, with black players comprising only 2.6 of the NCAA Division I total in 2006, the latest NCAA report.

That's down from 6 percent in a 2004 report by Richard Lapchick, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports. Lapchick isn't pointing fingers at the college game or its coaches. He said the dwindling number of blacks in baseball is an across-the-board problem.

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New Orleans eliminates TSU in NCAA baseball

BATON ROUGE, La. — Texas Southern entered the NCAA Tournament with the worst record in the 48-team field. Accordingly, the Tigers didn’t last long, dispatched Saturday from the Baton Rouge Regional by the University of New Orleans, 18-5.

SWAC-champion TSU, crushed by host LSU 12-1 on Friday, ended its season 16-34. The Tigers were kept in check by UNO’s Jim McGonigle, a sophomore right-hander from Houston’s Second Baptist High School who improved to 2-2 as he kept the Privateers (43-20) alive for a 1 p.m. Sunday game against the loser of Saturday’s later game between LSU and Southern Miss.

Texas Southern learned a hard lesson that playing in the NCAAs is no SWAC picnic when you are undermanned in pitching talent.

“We didn’t play as well as I expected to play, but we played hard each game,” said TSU coach Candy Robinson, who finished his 19th season at the helm with his ninth losing season in a row.

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What's right with this picture? Ninth losing season in a row and getting stomped 30-6 in two NCAA games for a 0-2 Tournament record. TSU's Candy needs to be canned!

NCAA Baseball Regionals: Ole Miss 14, Bethune-Cookman 1

CORAL GABLES, FL - Michael Guerrero homered twice in one inning as Mississippi eliminated Bethune Cookman 14-1 in the Coral Gables Regional Saturday afternoon.

Guerrero's home runs highlighted a 10-run sixth inning. The Rebels sent 14 batters to the plate against Wildcats starter Joseph Gautier and two relievers.

Guerrero drove Gautier's 2-2 pitch over the fence in left field for his ninth home run of the year and a 6-1 lead. His second homer of the inning, a two-run shot, put Mississippi ahead 13-1.

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Top-seeded Miami Defeats Bethune-Cookman, 7-4 in NCAA Regional Opener

Coral Gables, Fla. - Blake Tekotte had a big two-run single in the seventh inning to help top-seeded University of Miami--the nation's top-ranked team, win a 7-4 contest against Bethune-Cookman University in the NCAA Coral Gables Regional opener at Mark Light Stadium.

Leading 5-4 in the seventh inning, the Hurricanes (48-8) Ryan Jackson was hit by a pitch to start off the at-bat. He then advanced to second on a passed ball before Dave DiNatale and Adan Severino took back-to-back walks to load the bases. That's when Blake Tekotte stepped up and delivered a bloop single to centerfield that squeezed between B-CU (36-21) second baseman Mark Brooks and centerfielder José Ortiz.

The single scored two runs to push the Hurricanes lead out to 7-4 ... thus the final score. "I was just trying to put it in play," Tekotte said. "We knew we had our work cut out for us. This was the best fourth-seeded team in the nation."

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Southern Cook-ing

Esparto, California star headed to Division I Southern University on baseball scholarship

Sometimes, finding a Division I baseball scholarship can be a long, arduous process. Other times, it can be as lucky as stumbling upon an ESPN broadcast. Possessing a left arm that throws in the high 80's also helps. In late April, Suavae Cook signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball at Southern University, but months earlier it hardly seemed possible.

On Feb. 29, a Friday night, Esparto High School baseball coach Dennis Huitt was watching ESPN's telecast of the Urban Invitational at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles. During the broadcast of UCLA's game against Southern University - a historically black school in Baton Rouge, La. - analyst Tim Kurjian mused about the lack of African American baseball players at the Major League level.

During the next night's telecast, when Southern played USC, the broadcasters were talking up Southern coach Roger Cador, who has won 13 SWAC Coach of the Year awards, and how in his 23 years as the Jaguars coach they had won 13 Southwestern Athletic Conference titles, when it struck a chord with Huitt.

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LSU Baseball Handles TSU, 12-1

BATON ROUGE -- LSU sophomore designated hitter Blake Dean homered twice and drove in four runs to lead the top-seeded Tigers to their 21st straight win with a 12-1 victory over Texas Southern in the opening game of the 2008 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional in front of 6,536 fans on Friday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium.

The Tigers, champions of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, improved to 44-16-1 on the year and 19-0 in NCAA regional opening games. LSU set the single-season school record for consecutive victories in its last outing and has not lost a contest since April 19.

Texas Southern dropped to 16-33 on the season. LSU advances to play the winner of tonight’s contest between Southern Miss and UNO at 6 p.m. Saturday. Texas Southern takes on the loser of tonight’s game at 1 p.m. Saturday.

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TSU top defending champ Prairie View for SWAC title

Candy Robinson spent most of a disappointing 2008 baseball season trying to convince Texas Southern it could be a good team.

On Monday the Tigers proved they’ve been listening to their longtime coach.

Texas Southern capped an improbable run through the 2008 SWAC tournament with an improbable victory against Prairie View A&M, claiming the championship with a 12-11 triumph at Lee-Hines Field.

The Tigers (16-32) will be the SWAC’s representative in the NCAA tournament after scoring five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to erase an 11-7 deficit.

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