Bethune-Cookman holds off Columbia 6-5 in NCAA Regional

CORAL GABLES, Florida  -- Matt Noble was 2 for 3 with three RBIs and Bethune Cookman withstood a late Columbia rally to beat the Lions 6-5 on Saturday in an elimination game at the Coral Gables regional.

Noble hit his 13th double of the season in the seventh inning to give the Wildcats a 6-0 lead. The Lions also committed two errors in the inning.

 

Keith Zuniga (8-4) scattered three hits over six innings while walking two.

 

Columbia's Kevin Roy (6-5) gave up a home run to John Johnson on the second pitch of the game.

 

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Forest Whitaker Is Producing A Scripted Drama On HBCU Hazing & I’m All For It

HOLLYWOOD, California --  Forest Whitaker is bringing a hush-hush issue that happens at historically Black colleges and universities to the big screen. According to reports, the famed filmmaker is teaming up with Django Unchained producer Reginald Hudlin to write and direct a new feature film that sheds light on extreme hazing on Black campuses. The drama, titled “Underground,” will center around a student enduring harsh hazing conditions while trying to pledge a fraternity at a HBCU campus. The project is bound to spark a good debate, and as a Black college alum and member of a Black Greek Letter Organization, I think this topic deserves the attention of a national stage now more than ever.



MUST READ: Ex-FAMU Band Member Sentenced To A Year In Jail For Role In Hazing Death

According to the StopHazing research campaign, the practice is defined as “any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them regardless of a person’s willingness to participate.” Although hazing is not exclusive to HBCUs, it’s became a custom of acceptable violence on Black campus as right of passage or way to gain respect in almost every kind of group, including fraternities and sororities, marching bands, athletic teams, academic clubs and resident advisors.

I say, it’s about damn time ...

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Former Wagner forward Mario Moody transfers to Bethune-Cookman

STATEN ISLAND, New York  -- Bethune-Cookman has reportedly adding a big man with one year of eligibility remaining for the 2015-2016 season.

Wagner junior forward Mario Moody, along with another teammate, received their releases from the program five weeks ago. According to a report from Cormac Gordon of SILive.com, Moody will play the last year of his collegiate career at Bethune-Cookman.



“At the end of the day, the decision became mutual,” Wagner head coach Bashir Mason told Gordon. “Mario is a great kid, and there aren’t any hard feelings. This is just something he wanted to do, and maybe he’ll benefit from sitting out a year in terms of gaining maturity and working on his game.”

The 6-foot-7 Moody averaged 8.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game for the Seahawks, who finished second in the Northeast Conference before being upset in the conference tournament semifinals.

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Jackson State stuns No. 1 Louisiana-Lafayette to open NCAA Regional

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana  -- Jackson State grinded out a 1-0 win over No.1 ranked (USA Today/ESPN Poll) Louisiana to open the 2014 NCAA Baseball Tournament on Friday in the Lafayette Regional at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.

JSU (32-23), winners of back-to-back SWAC championships, picked up its first win in NCAA postseason handing ULL (53-8) its first shut-out loss on the year. The Tigers become the third team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference to earn a victory in the regionals since the 64-team expansion. The last team from the league to pull out a win in postseason play was Texas Southern in 2004 defeating top-seeded Rice, 4-3.



Vincent Anthonia (4-0) earned the win serving six innings with a pair of strikeouts and 51 strikes.

Alex Juday picked up his fourth save of the season. He closed out the final three innings with two strikeouts including one in the final frame against Blake Trahan who was 3-for-3 at the plate prior to striking out swinging. In the eighth he faced the gauntlet of ULL's lineup with runners on second and third. He worked out of the jam and struck out Kyle Clement to end the inning.

JSU posted the eventual game winning run after Melvin Rodriguez singled up the middle with two outs scoring Desmond Russell. Russell doubled down the left field line with one out to get on base and hand the Tigers their only run of the evening.

The Ragin Cajuns finished 0-7 with runners in scoring position as Austin Robichaux (7-3) picked up the loss throwing six strikeouts. He sat in the top of the ninth after allowing two to reach base. Relief pitcher Matt Plitt threw one strikeout as the inning ended on a double play line out to shortstop and second base.

JSU finished with four hits with Rodriguez going 2-for-4 at the plate while Russell and Charles Tillery posted one hit apiece. UL, carrying the nation's longest win streak at 10 games, collected eight hits but left 11 stranded on base.

JSU's win sets up an all Mississippi showdown with Mississippi State on Saturday. The first pitch is slated for 6 p.m. in the double-elimination tournament. The Bulldogs defeated San Diego State earlier in the day 5-2.

Box Score / Photo Gallery

Notes:
-The Tigers recorded a 1-0 victory for the first time since beating Texas Southern in the fifth game of the 1981 season.
-JSU recorded its first postseason win in program history.
-The win is the first 1-0 victory for the Tigers under head coach Omar Johnson.
-Vincent Anthonia picked up his fourth win of the season.

JSU Post-game Quotes:
Jackson State Head Coach Omar Johnson Opening Statement:
It was a tough game. That is an outstanding team. Both teams battled nine innings and the crowd got their money’s worth.

Vincent Anthonia on where the performance ranks among his pitching performances:
Not sure, but I can tell you it wasn’t easy. We knew coming in that they were a really good hitting team. As far as where it ranks, I’m not sure.

Vincent Anthonia on his approach dealing with an offense that didn’t appear to have any weaknesses:
I had to trust my changeup because that’s basically all I threw the whole game. I knew that I had to keep the ball down because if not they would have kept hitting home runs. I wouldn’t say that I faced a lot of pressure, because you can when the crowd is pumped up, I was fortunate to avoid it.

Vincent Anthonia on at what point you felt you could close out the victory:
We never really thought of that because that team can switch the momentum at any point. We knew every time we went out on the field we had to get three outs quickly.

Melvin Rodriguez on the importance of getting the run across because it would be a low-scoring game:
That situation was similar to the whole season. I was looking for fastball to drive in a run and the second pitch was a fastball down the middle and I was able to turn on it.

Vincent Anthonia on not being in awe of No. 1 ranked team:
I have to give credit to my team. Last night we had a meeting and we told each other to have fun. There was really nothing to lose so just come in and play the game that we love.

Melvin Rodriguez on what it means to produce first NCAA regional win in school history:
This is amazing, what we’ve been able to accomplish. It’s something special. I respect the other team. My teammates, we battled and fought the whole year and when you do good things happen.

Omar Johnson on choosing Vincent Anthonia to start the contest:
His last start was against Alabama when they were eighth in the country and he basically shut them out through six innings. He’s pitched in the Little League World series, too, so being on TV and feeling pressure is not a big deal. That’s an outstanding team. We played them close last year (in Baton Rouge Regional) where they had an unbelievable inning and aside from that it was blow-for-blow through the first five or six innings. They’re an overly aggressive team which plays into the changeup so that’s all we did. It’s not rocket science…it was playing against what they try and do best. Being overly aggressive, they chase pitches out of the zone and off the end of the bat comes a lot of fly balls. We made some good decisions in the game and their kid battled hard allowing only one run.

Omar Johnson on what it means to be able to share this moment with his team:
We have a lot of seniors and they won a lot of games especially some of the guys who have been around for four years and redshirts who have five years. I felt that wouldn’t be rattled by this situation. There were nearly 15,000 last year at LSU so they’d seen the atmosphere before. You play against the ball and if you do everything you need to against the ball it doesn’t make a difference who’s on the other end.

Omar Johnson on Vincent Anthonia’s ability to contain the Ragin’ Cajuns:
As long as he made his pitches I knew we were going to keep guys off balance. He knew if he messed up what could possibly happen…those guys are dangerous. They drove two balls into the gap that we had to catch at the warning track. You have to respect your opponent, that’s half the battle. If you respect your opponent it keeps you from walking into a situation blind.

COURTESY JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Ninth-Inning Heartbreak for B-CU in 1-0 Walk-Off Miami Loss in Regional Opener

CORAL GABLES, Florida  --  A pair of ninth-inning miscues made all the difference in the Coral Gables NCAA Baseball Regional on Friday night, as the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (26-32) dropped a heartbreaker to host Miami (FL) (42-17) to open play at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. Despite battling the Hurricanes to the brink through eight scoreless innings, the chess match ended on a 1-0 walk-off loss.

“No question, they’re disappointed and rightly so. I’m disappointed, but I’m definitely not disappointed in the way they played,” Head Coach Jason Beverlin at the postgame press conference. “That’s the way I want them to play, and I’m very proud of the way they went about their business and played the game. We just didn’t get a big hit when we needed it, but that’s baseball.”

From the onset, the pitcher’s duel was brewing, as Bethune-Cookman’s Montana Durapau matched up inning-for-inning with Miami’s Andrew Suarez, as the starters squared off for seven scoreless innings.

Making his 16th start of the season and fourth of his career versus the Hurricanes, Durapau carried the Wildcats with a three-hitter through seven frames, striking out five before yielding to classmate Scott Garner, who promptly delivered three consecutive swinging strikeouts in the eighth.

On the rubber for the Hurricanes, Suarez went a full nine innings for Miami, allowing the Wildcats to put a runner on third in each of the first three frames, but limiting B-CU to only seven hits, while striking out a season-high 10 batters in a nine-inning season-long outing.

In the bottom of the ninth, UM first baseman David Thompson reached base as a hit batter with one out. The junior reached second on shortstop Brandon Lopez’ single to right with two outs, and advanced to third despite freezing in the basepath, as right fielder Josh Johnson overplayed the ball.

Facing Johnny Ruiz, a Garner pitch slipped underneath catcher Zach Olszewski and the Wildcats’ shutout ended in a walk-off wild pitch as Thompson slid underneath the play at the plate and the Hurricanes rushed the field in the 1-0 B-CU loss.

After throwing one and two-thirds innings with three strikeouts, Garner (1-4) takes the loss for the Wildcats. Suarez (6-3) earned the win for the Hurricanes.

Throwing 109 pitches in the outing, Durapau struck out five. Unlikely to see additional action in this weekend’s Regional play, the senior ends the day with 103 strikeouts on the year in 117 1/3 innings, ranking him fourth among B-CU’s season strikeout leaders with the most innings pitched in a season, overcoming Francisco Rodriguez (110 2/3, 2007) in the first inning against UM. Durapau also ties Helpiz Moises (2002) for most wins in a season with an 11-1 record.

“I’ll put him up against anybody’s number one,” Beverlin said of his senior ace. “He’s pitched that way no matter where we go; we could go play Washington, Miami, or all the teams in our league, it doesn’t matter. He’s the same guy and he deals, that’s what he does. And that’s the bottom line, it doesn’t matter what conference, what team—he pitches the same way, and it’s good.”

At the plate, the Wildcats outhit the Hurricanes 7-4, led by Shortstop Shaun McCarty, who batted 2-for-3, while Johnson and Matt Noble each batted 2-for-4.

The Wildcats return to action on Saturday afternoon in a 2 p.m. matchup against the Columbia Lions in the elimination game. The Ivy League champion, Columbia (29-19), also dropped a heartbreaker on Friday, falling to Texas Tech, 3-2, on a ninth-inning walk-off double.

For all the latest information on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, follow the official Twitter feeds, @CookmanBaseball or @BCUathletics, or "Like Us" on Facebook at BCUathletics.

To join the conversation on social media, be sure to tag your B-CU-related posts with the official hashtag of B-CU Athletics, #HailWildcats.

BOX SCORE

PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

COURTESY BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/05/31/4148315/miami-hurricanes-win-regional.html#storylink=cpy

Six More Commit to Ford, TSU Basketball

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  --  On Friday, Tennessee State men’s basketball coach Dana Ford announced the signing of six more players to add to his recruiting class. Keron Deshields, Zachary Lee, Christian Mekowulu, Marcus Roper, Rodney Simeon and Charles Tucker all signed letters of intent and will be on next year’s roster.

“We are excited to add these fine young men to our basketball program here at Tennessee State University. They all possess the abilities to perform at a high level both in the classroom and on the floor. They are the future of Big Blue basketball and we couldn’t be happier about that,” Ford said.

Keron Deshields is a guard originally from Baltimore Maryland, but played the last three seasons at the University of Montana. Deshields played a big role in the Grizzlies clawing to a 17-13 mark this past season, averaging 11.8 points per contest and leading the team with 36 steals. Deshields was Honorable Mention All-Big Sky Conference a year ago and was a part of two NCAA Tournament teams during his freshman and junior seasons. He will have to sit out 2014-15 due to transfer rules.

Ford went all the way to New Mexico to snag Zachary Lee, who suited up for Eldorado HS in Albuquerque last year. Rated as the fifth-best prospect in the state by Full Court Press, Lee proved he could defend almost anyone while playing small forward, tallying 4.2 blocks per game. The 6-foot-8 wing also averaged 11 points and eight rebounds in both of his varsity years for coach Roy Sanchez, earning him All-State honors as a senior. Lee also attended Elev8 Sports Institute.

Christian Mekowulu

Christian Mekowulu is a power forward from Nigeria, but played high school basketball in Marietta, Ga. for Covenant Christian Ministries Academy. At 6-foot-8, Mekowulu will provide size to TSU’s front court and his ability to crash the glass (11 rebounds per game) will fit Ford’s defense-first style. Mekowulu can also score, as he improved his average from 10 points to 12.8 per contest from his junior to senior seasons. He was the 14^th best forward and 36^th best overall player from Ga. according to maxpreps.com.

 

Marcus Roper will transfer into the Tennessee State program after playing two years at New Mexico Military Institute JUCO. Last season, he averaged 15.8 points per contest while leading the team in blocks per game (1.2). The wing also shot 39 percent from beyond the three-point line and had nine 20-plus point games. One of those games was a 33 point and 10 rebound effort against Frank Phillips College. Roper played a significant role in NMMI increasing its win total by eight games between his freshman and sophomore campaigns.

As senior at Boyd Anderson HS in Florida last season, Rodeny Simeon averaged 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while captaining a team that went 25-6 including a 7-1 district mark. Simeon also led his team to a Final Four appearance in the 7A State Playoffs and No. 15 ranking in Fla.

 

Charles Tucker is a point guard from Lansing, Mich. that was rated a two-star recruit by ESPN and Rivals. He was selected to the 2011-12 USA Men's Developmental National Team comprised of the nation's top under-16 talents. As a junior at Montrose Christian in Rockville, Md., Tucker was selected to maxpreps.com’s 2013 Honor Roll after leading his team to a 19-5 record. Tucker played last season at ABCD Prep, a postgraduate school in Urbandale, Iowa.

 

The six signed on Friday plus previously inked Darreon Reddick, Xavier Richards and Christian Crockett give TSU nine incoming players for next season.




COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Five from Xavier are selected ITA NAIA All-America

Nour Abbes

Kourtney Howell

Brion Flowers

NEW ORLEANS -- Five from Xavier University of Louisiana, including a school-record four from the women's team, have been named Intercollegiate Tennis Association NAIA All-Americans for the 2013-14 season.

Freshman Nour Abbes, sophomores Simone-Alyse Ewell and Brion Flowers and senior Kourtney Howell are the Gold Nuggets' All-Americans. Selected from the men's team was sophomore Kyle Montrel.  All five qualified for All-America by being top 20 in singles or top 10 in doubles in the ITA's postseason individual rankings.

Flowers, Howell and Montrel are repeat All-America selections. Howell was honored for the third consecutive year.

For the second straight year, the Gold Nuggets set program records for highest postseason national rankings. Abbes is No. 2 in singles, and Howell and Flowers are No. 2 in doubles. The previous postseason highs were No. 6 in singles by Howell and No. 3 in doubles by Howell and Flowers.

Kyle Montrel

Simone-Alyse Ewell

Howell is 13th in singles, and Abbes and Ewell are ninth in doubles. Also ranked nationally in singles are Nikita Soifer of the Gold Rush (26th) and Flowers (35th). Montrel and Soifer are 14th in doubles.

Abbes is from Tunis, Tunisia, and a graduate of Lycée Sportif d'El Menzah. Ewell is from Detroit and a graduate of The Roeper School. Flowers is from Lafayette, La., and a graduate of St. Thomas More High School. Howell is from Cypress, Texas, and a graduate of Cypress Woods High School. Montrel is from Atlanta and a graduate of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. Soifer is a junior from Beer Sheva, Israel, and a graduate of Hof Sasharon.

Xavier's women were 17-7 in 2014, reached the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship for the second consecutive year and ranked third in the postseason coaches poll. The men were 13-12, reached the national quarterfinals for the third straight year and ranked eighth.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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