BOX SCORE

Daytona Beach, FL - Bethune-Cookman (7-9) defeated Wagner (1-7) 14-9 in the second game of the day for the Seahawks in the Wildcat Invitational at Jackie Robinson Park. The Wildcats scored 14-straight runs after the Green & White took a 3-0 third-inning lead.

Junior Jon Lucas (Hackettstown, NJ / Hackettstown) paced the offense, going 2-4 with a two-run home run and a two-run double while driving in four of Wagner's nine runs. Senior Damian Csakai (Freehold Township, NJ / Freehold Township) reached base safely in his first two plate appearances (HBP, walk) while pushing his streak of reaching safely to nine straight at-bats before striking out in the fourth. The speedy center fielder then singled and walked in his last two plate appearances. He has now reached safely in 10 of his last 11 plate appearances (5 hits, 5 walks, 1 HBP), spanning the last three games. His plunking in the first inning was the 32nd time in Csakai's career that he had been hit, matching Jack Scholz's 17-year record.

The Seahawks took a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Csakai led off with a walk. Sophomore Jared Gruccio (Landisville, NJ / Buena Regional) then hit a line drive that was snared with a diving grab by Emmanuel Castro, who got Csakai at second. Lucas followed with a mammoth two-run home run to right center. Senior Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ / CBA) made it back-to-back home runs with a blast that cleared the left field fence by 25 feet while bouncing off the batting cages and bouncing into the river. He now has four of Wagner's five home runs on the year and has also driven in 15 of the Green & White's RBI while slugging .794.

BCU immediately responded in the bottom of the fourth. After Wagner starter RHP Matt Watson (Howell, NJ / Howell) recorded the first out of the frame, the reigning NEC Pitcher of the Year loaded the bases. Wildcat clean-up hitter Ryan Durrence made Watson pay with a grand slam to deep left field, giving BCU a 4-3 lead they would not surrender.

The WIldcats added a run in the fourth inning before breaking the game open with five runs in the fifth inning. BCU batted around while pushing the lead out to 11-3. The Wildcats concluded their scoring with one in the sixth and three in the seventh in opening up their largest lead of the game at 14-3.

Wagner's bats woke up in the eighth inning, scoring five runs while sending nine men to the plate. Lucas provided the big blow with a two-run line-drive double down the right field line. The Seahawks would close the scoring in the top of the ninth inning with a single run. Sophomore Hayden Hunter (Santa Monica, CA / Notre Dame) led off with a triple and scored on a Nick Alfano (Fr., Coral Springs, FL / North Broward Prep) ground out.

Durrence went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and three runs, pacing a 13-hit Wildcat offense.

Julio Morales (1-1) struck out seven while yielding three runs on five hits and a walk over 6.0 innings for BCU in collecting the win. Watson (0-1) took the loss, yielding 10 runs, seven earned, over 4.2 innings of work.

For the five-game Florida trip, McDonnell batted a team-best .529 (7-19) with four runs, three doubles and five RBI. Csakai hit .429 (6-14) with five runs and reached base at a .667 clip.

Wagner is next in action on Friday at 3:00 pm when the Seahawks head to Richmond in the first of three games against the Spiders.