Florida downs Bethune-Cookman, 7-3

Coach Mervyl Melendez and the Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats fall to 1-19 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.

Gainesville, FL -- Freshman right-hander Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) notched a career-high 10 strikeouts over 7.1 innings as top-seeded Florida (43-15) defeated fourth-seeded Bethune-Cookman (35-21), 7-3, on Friday night at McKethan Stadium. In his NCAA Regional debut, the rookie (8-3) did not allow a hit until the fifth inning in picking up his sixth-straight victory. The fourth-ranked Gators will meet third-seeded Oregon State (32-22) in a winner’s bracket game at 7 p.m. tomorrow live on Sun Sports, while the Wildcats face second-seeded Florida Atlantic (35-23) in an elimination game at 1 p.m. The Beavers edged the Owls, 6-4, earlier this afternoon.

“Hudson Randall was outstanding on the mound,” third-year head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We knew Bethune-Cookman would be a tough opponent. We jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but like we expected, they battled and gave it everything they had. It was hard to pull away from them. Bethune is always tough and they proved it again tonight.” The Wildcats used a two-out RBI single by sophomore Alejandro Sanchez (2-for-4) to narrow the gap to 4-1 in the fifth. Leonard had come through with Bethune-Cookman’s first hit with a one-out double just out of the reach of senior center fielder Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). Although Randall had junior Emmanuel Castro fly out, Sanchez lined a single into left field that eluded a diving Pigott to score Leonard.

READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.

Bethune-Cookman draws Florida Gators in NCAA Regionals

B-CU draws UF in regionals

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Just as the NCAA baseball selection show was coming on Monday afternoon, the satellite dish at the local restaurant went on the blink due to a weather disturbance. "Don't they know that's the reason we're here," Bethune-Cookman coach Mervyl Melendez joked. But the satellite reception resumed just as the Gainesville Regional teams were being announced and the Wildcats lifted their heads from their conversations and meals long enough to find out their first regional opponent will be the Florida Gators for the second year in row.

Then they returned to their chicken wings and fries. No hoots, no cheers no applause. "We're used to it by now," senior pitcher Andrew Tilka said. "We expect to be someplace watching it every year. And we knew we'd be going to either Florida or Miami." The Wildcats will be playing in the regionals for the fifth straight year and for the 11th time in the past 12 years, but they are still looking for their first win over a No. 1 seed. They've never come closer than last year when they led 7-5 going into the bottom of the ninth where the Gators scored three runs to stave off the upset with an 8-7 win.

Gainesville Regional team capsules

Bethune-Cookman University, 2010 record: 35-20

Players to watch: C Peter O'Brien, 1B Ryan Durrence, OF DJ Leonard, P Roman Lacara

Of note: Sophomore ace Ali Simpson (6-1, 4.66 ERA) was suspended three games by the MEAC in the semifinals vs. North Carolina A&T for an in-game shoving incident. If the suspension holds, Simpson isn't eligible to pitch until game three of the regional as he sat out one game (the MEAC final).

Quotable: O'Sullivan on B-CU — "Obviously, we're real familiar with Bethune. We got rained out against them this year and they gave us everything we could handle last year (in the Gainesville Regional). They're very, very well coached and they're a good club and we'll have to play well (to beat the Wildcats Friday)."

Of note: This is Florida's 26th NCAA Regional appearance and the Gators have claimed seven titles. Five of those titles came while hosting in Gainesville. The Gators are a combined 37-6 all-time against FAU and Bethune-Cookman, including a 23-0 record against B-CU. If Oregon State and Florida meet, it will be the first time the two programs have played against each other.

Quotable: Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan: "We figured we'd be one of the eight (national seeds). That was the goal from the beginning of the season so we can host regionals, super regionals. It's awfully nice to play at home.“

READ MORE, CLICK EACH TITLE.

UF Gators Volleyball rolls FAMU Rattlers in NCAA first round

Friday night at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center had the feeling of a battle of the bands, when all of a sudden a good volleyball match broke out. UF defended its home court in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, knocking out Florida A&M 25-20, 25-21, 25-15. The Gators hit a gaudy .451, led by freshman Cassandra Anderson’s 10 kills on 11 swings. The team percentage was the best ever by a Gator squad in an NCAA match. “As a team, I feel like we passed well,” Anderson said. “Connecting with the setters helped a lot to get kills around the block. As a team, we brought it all together.”

FAMU kept things competitive on the court and off, with members of its Marching 100 band drawing cheers from the 1,550 fans in attendance during timeouts. The roars at times rivaled the sound during the game. Both bands stuck around 30 minutes after the match, volleying turns to work the crowd up. The Gators (26-3) got a scare early in the match, trailing 3-0 to start the first set and battling all the way through an 18-all tie. Despite 11 ties and three lead changes, Florida closed the set out by scoring seven of the final nine points.

The Rattlers (14-13) got six kills in the set from Samara Ferraz, who finished with a match-high 15 (.290 hitting).

Photo Gallery
Boxscore
Pre-Game Notes
Post-Game Notes

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Gators too much for FAMU
Reed, Starling lift B-CU
Jones secures Lady Rattlers' win
Bethune-Cookman beats Florida A&M 63-46

Gators out-defense FAMU Lady Rattlers

Photo: Denise Tate #40, 6-1 junior forward from Cleveland, Ohio Glenville High School grabbed seven rebounds against the Florida Lady Gators. Tate is a FAMU Pharmacy major.

Gainesville, FL - Junior center Aneika Henry (Coconut Grove, Fla.) grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and blocked a personal-best six shots to lead a defensive charge that sparked the University of Florida women’s basketball team to a 71-51 win over Florida A&M at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Wednesday evening.

Junior guard Stephanie Foster led FAMU with 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting, while senior guard Q’Vaunda Curry and junior forward Denise Tate shared the team lead with seven rebounds apiece. Junior guard Evette Young dished out five assists to pace the Lady Rattlers.

“It was our first game since the break and we were not in sync," said FAMU coach Debra Clark, whose team was playing its first game in 16 days. "It was not a good game for us. Florida was much bigger and seemed more comfortable on the court.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, VIEW PHOTO GALLERY AND GAME STATS BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE ABOVE.

The Lady Rattlers record falls to 9-2 on the season with Florida A&M scheduled to face the Savannah State University Tigers at Gaither Gym on January 4, 2008, at 7:00 p.m.