A dropped ball by the catcher on a tag attempt at the plate allowed Bethune-Cookman to defeat Lehigh 7-6 in 10 innings on Saturday evening in nonconference baseball action inside venerable Jackie Robinson Ballpark. With the win, the Wildcats even the series with the Mountain Hawks at a game apiece.
Jorge Braceras singled to start the at-bat for Bethune-Cookman (1-1) in the bottom of the 10th, before eventually moving to third on a wild pitch by Lehigh reliever Cole Leaman. That set the stage for Colton Olasin, who laid down a grounder to shortstop with Lehigh’s Tyler Young making a direct throw to the plate. However, the tag was mishandled by catcher Andrew Nole, allowing Braceras to score the game-winning run.
It would be Lehigh (1-1) taking the lead first in back-to-back contests, as the Mountain Hawks used a rare inside the park home run by starting catcher Justin Butler to open the scoring in the top of the second inning. Butler would eventually be replaced behind the dish by Nole when Butler tried to stop a wild pitch from Lehigh starting pitcher Luke Rettig, as Butler seemed to pull something in his back.
Bethune-Cookman answered in the bottom of the inning with a pair of runs.
With Rettig walking the bases loaded and two outs, Olasin slapped a two-run scoring single into left to plate teammates Robert Moya and Boris Peña, respectively.
With BCU up 2-1 midway through the third, the Wildcats added to their lead in the home-half of the inning when Braceras singled to short in order to plate left fielder Garret Chun from third, allowing the Cats a 3-1 lead.
The Maroon and Gold added two more runs in the fourth after Moya’s RBI single scored Chun, and Jason Hodges drew a bases-loaded walk from Mountain Hawks reliever Ben Christian.
BCU carried a 5-1 lead into the sixth inning.
Lehigh would cut the deficit at 5-2 in the sixth courtesy a Nole run-scoring double down the line in left, bringing around Casey Rother from first.
But in the eighth inning, the Mountain Hawks registered their fourth home run of the series when Andrew Kohl powered out his first homer of the weekend – a three-run shot clear the wall in left center that scored three and tied the game at 5-all.
Bethune-Cookman rallied in the bottom of the inning, as Derek Cintron worked his way aboard when a dropped fly ball skied to second fell in play. With Cintron bunted over safely to third and one out, Luis Tuero netted himself a RBI single from the top of the order on a lined shot past a diving Rafe Perich at third, putting the Maroon and Gold back on top 6-5.
However, Lehigh would once again answer the call in the top of the ninth.
With a man aboard and two away, Gerard Sweeney singled up the middle to score Jake Whitlinger and knot the game again, this time at 6-6.
The win was collected on the mound by relief pitcher Joan Gonzalez, giving him a 1-0 record on the year. He pitched 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on five hits, one walk and collecting nine strikeouts. The loss went to Lehigh’s Leaman who fell to 0-1 for the season, as he pitched two frames, allowing one run on just one hit.
BCU starter Nolan Santos went 5.1 innings without factoring into the decision, as he struck out 11 batters. As a team, BCU fanned 21 Mountain Hawks against just six (6) walks.
Lehigh was led at the plate by Kohl, as the right fielder finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Designated hitter Joe Gorla was 2-for-5 with a run scored.
As for the Cats, they were sparked at the plate by three (3) players each going 2-for-4 – Chun, Moya and Braceras.
The rubber game of the series is scheduled for Sunday at 9:30 a.m., with a 1 p.m. curfew being enforced due to travel concerns for Lehigh and the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach.