DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a game that had a little bit of everything, it was only fitting for Norfolk State's first-round MEAC Baseball Tournament game with Bethune-Cookman to end unconventionally.
In the conclusion of a game suspended from Wednesday, the Spartans (19-28) recorded a walk-off win Thursday morning when a passed ball following a strikeout on what would have been the final out of the ninth inning allowed
Alsander Womack to score the winning run.
The victory, NSU's first over the Wildcats (20-33) since 2005, moved the MEAC North No. 2 seed Spartans to a winner's bracket game later Thursday afternoon against Southern Division No. 1 North Carolina A&T, which had a first-round bye.
NSU's first win over B-CU in 30 tries – which included 12 straight MEAC tournament defeats – was not decided until more than 20 hours after it began. Two rain delays totaling 5 hours, 38 minutes ultimately forced the game's conclusion to be pushed back from Wednesday night to Thursday morning. Prior to the second stoppage,
Justin Hayes and Womack walked to begin the bottom of the ninth inning. When the game resumed Thursday,
Tony Leite also drew a walk, the third allowed by B-CU reliever Ivan Couthino (3-4).
Couthino rallied, striking out
Stephen Baughan for the first out. NSU then attempted a suicide squeeze but failed, and Hayes was tagged out at home for the second out. Couthino nearly got out of trouble, notching a strikeout of
Syeed Mahdi for what would have been the final out of the inning. But the third-strike pitch was mishandled and got away from the catcher, allowing Mahdi to reach first safely and Womack to score the winning run from third base.
Baughan was 2-for-4 with four runs batted in to lead the Spartans. His three-run homer and
Ismael Herrera's solo shot staked NSU to a 4-0 lead in the first inning Wednesday. The Wildcats struck for three straight runs, two on a second-inning single by Adonis Lao, to bring the Wildcats within 4-3.
Baughan, however, hit an RBI single in the third and NSU scored twice more in the fourth, thanks to a Womack sacrifice fly and a wild pitch that allowed
Mikey Delgado to score, to extend the NSU lead to 7-3.
The first rain delay, which lasted 1:42 Wednesday, came in the sixth inning. After play resumed, the Wildcats added an RBI double by Danny Rodriguez in the seventh before tying the game with three two-out ninth-inning runs. Michael Deeb hit an RBI single and Jameel Edney a two-run double as the Wildcats, down to their final out, tied the game.
Hayes and Womack walked before storms again hit the area Wednesday evening, resulting in a delay of nearly four hours before tournament officials suspended the game.
Jonathan Mahoney (7-4) earned the win for the Spartans, allowing three runs and striking out three in three innings of relief work.
Chase Anderson surrendered four runs, three earned, over six-plus innings while fanning five in a no-decision.
Baughan, Herrera, Hayes and Womack all had two hits for the Spartans. Womack scored three runs and notched his team-leading 13th double of the year.
