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NORFOLK, Va. – Bryant Munoz's three-run double in the second inning put Bethune-Cookman ahead to stay and three Wildcat pitchers held Norfolk State scoreless after the third inning in the Wildcats' 4-2 MEAC Baseball Tournament championship victory over the Spartans on Monday afternoon at Marty L. Miller Field.

Bethune-Cookman (26-31) won its 14th MEAC baseball title in the last 16 years and will represent the conference in the NCAA Division I baseball regionals, which begin the weekend of May 30.

The Spartans (23-26) saw their season – and three-day run through the elimination bracket – end in disappointing fashion, though they had their chances against B-CU.

For the fourth time in six games during the tournament, the Spartans scored a first-inning run. Andre' Moore beat out an infield single to start the game. After a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch, Cameron Day singled to right field to bring Moore home.

The Wildcats tied the game with a run in the bottom of the first. Josh Johnson walked to lead off the game and scored on Eric Sams' RBI double.

The big blow came in the second inning. NSU starter Justin Bhatti walked Austin Garcia and Eros Modena to put two on with no outs. Bhatti retired the next two batters, then intentionally walked Johnson with first base open to load the bases. Munoz then hit against NSU's outfield shift and cleared the bases with a three-run double into the left-center field gap, making it 4-2.

NSU had its chances to get back into the game, none better than in the top of the sixth. Cody Ellis led off with a single and Justin Burrell reached when Wildcat reliever Chris Waltermire threw high to first on a sacrifice bunt attempt. Omar Hotusing then placed a perfect bunt down the third-base line which BCU third baseman Jordan Robinson waited to roll foul. It stayed fair all the way down the third-base line, resulting in an infield single and loading the bases.

But Waltermire got Killian Strenn to pop out to second, struck out Moore and got Justin Lee to fly out to end the threat.

The B-CU bullpen did the rest. Wildcat relievers Waltermire and John Sever tossed five scoreless innings between them in relief of starter Gabriel Hernandez, who pitched the first four innings. Waltermire pitched the fifth and sixth to earn the win and improve to 2-5 on the year. Sever pitched the final three innings for the save, his third of the season. Sever did not allow a hit and struck out three. He allowed just one baserunner on a walk to Day in the seventh.

Johnson went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and two walks for the Wildcats. Six different Wildcats accounted for the team's six hits.

Day was 2-for-3 and Ellis went 2-for-4 for the Spartans, who left 10 men on base. Bhatti (2-6) was charged with the loss, allowing four runs on two hits and four walks in two innings. Relievers Jeff Di Fulgo and Stephen Butt both tossed three scoreless innings in relief to keep the Spartans in it.

NSU pitchers Matt Outman and Josh Vales and outfielder/first baseman Ross Cardwell were all selected to the MEAC All-Tournament Team. Outman was 2-0 with a 0.63 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 14.1 innings, including a complete-game shutout of Savannah State on Sunday. Vales fanned 12 in 7.1 innings of work in the win over FAMU and Cardwell batted .400 (8-for-20) with three doubles, three RBI and four runs scored combined in NSU's six tourney games.