Box Score l Notes l Photo Gallery
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Top-seeded Bethune-Cookman scored five times in the sixth and seventh innings to break open a one-run game and wrap up its sixth consecutive MEAC baseball title with a 9-3 win over No. 4 seed Norfolk State on Saturday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Park.
Peter O'Brien went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in to earn MEAC Tournament Most Outstanding Performer honors for the Wildcats (35-22), who secured the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament next month. John Rasberry went 2-for-5 with a double and a solo homer for NSU (24-29). He was one of four Spartans on the all-tournament team.
Rasberry got NSU on the board in the top of the first with a solo home run down the left-field line. It was Rasberry's fourth homer of the season. But the Wildcats took the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. O'Brien hit an RBI double to tie the game. Alejandro Sanchez, who reached on a bunt single and went to third on O'Brien's hit, scored when NSU had to throw down to first base to complete a strikeout. Sanchez slid in safely just ahead of Spartan first baseman Brandon Hairston's throw home.
The Wildcats added another run in the second without benefit of a hit. Brashad Johnson, who was hit by a pitch, eventually scored from third on a two-out NSU error to make it 3-1.
Two infield singles accounted for another Wildcat run in the third, with Nick Johnson's bleeder enabling O'Brien to score from third with B-CU's fourth run.
NSU crept back within 4-3 in the top of the fifth. James Taylor was hit by a pitch and went to third on a John Lynch single. Both runners scored on a two-out, two-run single by Hairston to cut the Spartans' deficit to one.
But the Wildcats tallied three more in the bottom of the sixth to pull away. Sanchez, O'Brien and Leonard hit run-scoring singles to extend their lead to 7-3. Brandon Turner hit an RBI triple and Matt Wright added a sacrifice fly for B-CU in the seventh to close out the scoring.
Jordan Egan (3-3) was the tough-luck loser for NSU. He allowed six hits and six runs, five earned, in 5.1 innings pitched. Only three of the hits allowed by Egan left the infield. Egan walked five and struck out six, increasing his team-leading total to 81.
Patrick Goelz (8-3) earned the win. He pitched six innings and allowed six hits and three runs (all earned) while walking two and striking out five.
Rasberry and TiQuan Griffin had two hits each for the Spartans. O'Brien, Sanchez and D.J. Leonard did likewise for the Wildcats. Rasberry was joined by Taylor, Hairston and pitcher Ryan Shook as NSU players voted to the all-tournament team.
NOTES
♦ John Lynch, who became NSU's all-time career hits leader during the year, finished his Spartan career with 258 hits. Chris Joyce, who also broke Andrew Dixon's previous NSU record of 226 hits, will depart NSU ranked No. 2 behind Lynch with 236. Brandon Hairston, who joined the 200+ hit club as well, finishes sixth with 207 hits.
♦ Lynch also leaves NSU ranked first in career runs (182), games played (198), singles (200), total bases (351) and at-bats (789), tied for third in stolen bases (78), tied for eighth in triples (18) and 11th in RBI (114). He batted .327 over his career.
♦ Joyce leaves NSU as the school's all-time leader in career doubles (60) and holds the school record with his 23 doubles in a season set last year. He is also second in career RBI (164), is second behind Lynch in games played (196) and at-bats (756), and is fourth in total bases (329). He hit .314 over his career.
♦ Hairston departs NSU tied for second in career doubles (45), fourth in games played (183), fifth in at-bats (630) and total bases (309) and eighth in RBI (123). He batted .329 over his four-year career.
♦ John Rasberry concluded his two-year NSU career with a .339 batting average, highest for any Spartan in the Division I era since Ernie Banks hit .349 from 2005-07.
♦ Hairston, Rasberry and James Taylor were all named to the All-MEAC team for their regular-season performance as well as being named to the all-tournament team.
♦ The Spartans' pitchers, which broke the previous single-season school record for strikeouts by a staff earlier this month, ended the year with 372 punch-outs. The previous record was 305 set in 2001.
♦ Jordan Egan and Ryan Shook finished second and third in the MEAC in strikeouts, with 81 and 79, respectively. Egan ended the season ranked first in the MEAC in strikeouts per nine innings (10.5).
♦ The Spartans won 24 games, marking their sixth straight year winning at least 20. The four-year members of NSU's senior class won 92 games over the last four seasons.
