(NORFOLK, Va. - May 21, 2006)  With outstanding pitching and superb hitting, top-seeded Bethune-Cookman wasted little time reclaiming their dominance in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), pounding out a 14-0 championship game victory Sunday over fourth seed Maryland-Eastern Shore at Marty L. Miller Stadium here. It was the Wildcats' tenth title in school history and seventh in the last eight years.

The final game was won on the arm of left-hander Francisco Rodriguez (9-1) and the bats of a host of Wildcats' sluggers capped off by an eighth inning grand slam from freshman Alejandro Jimenez. Jose Ortiz-Rivera and Colin Irvine also homered for the 'Cats. Rodriguez had a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished with a three-hit shutout.

"I felt good out there today, and this was my ball game," Rodriguez said afterwards. "I knew our guys were hitting well, and I knew UMES had been hitting well. I wanted to put it on my shoulders, and if we got the lead, then I wasn't going to allow it to slip away. I wanted this one, and I know coach wanted it too."

With the title game win, B-CC became the first team in MEAC history to go 15-0 and win the baseball title in three straight games with shutouts coming in the last two. In fact, B-CC (30-25) held their opponents scoreless for the final 20 innings of tournament play. They will advance to the NCAA Baseball Regional via the MEAC's automatic bid. UMES (17-34-1) finished 2006 with the best mark since its 1995 season when they posted a 25-28 record.

"This was what the guys talked about all season long," expressed B-CC head coach Mervyl Melendez after being drenched with a water bath by the players. "They said right from the start, they wanted to be the first team to go to undefeated and win the conference tournament unscathed, and they did that. 

"After last year, my staff and I knew we had to do something because everyone was saying that B-CC had lost their dominance over the conference. We wanted to prove this year, and the guys too, that everyone has a bad year once in a while. That's just sports. But we wanted to make sure we came back and showed that we are still capable of winning the tournament."

The Wildcats dominated by winning three games by a combined score of 35-5. Only defending champion North Carolina A&T managed to score against B-CC's dominating pitching. A&T lost 9-5 in a first round match. The 'Cats then got five-hit shutout pitching from Dustin Blackwell in a 12-0 victory over Delaware State.

Ortiz-Rivera collected MVP honors for the tournament after going 7-of-12 (.583) with six RBIs and one home run.

Panthers take SWAC in dramatic fashion

(PEARL, Ms., May 21, 2006) -- Wester Division regular season champion Prairie View A&M overcome a two-run deficit and got a strong pitching performance from Wrandal Taylor and Josh Terrell to defeat Alcorn State 3-2 in the championship game of the 2006 Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball tournament here Sunday at Trustmark Park.

The 3-2 win was Prairie View's third dramatic one-run victory of the tournament and clinches the first-ever SWAC title for the Panthers (33-18) and a spot in the upcoming NCAA Baseball Regional Tournaments.

"I'm still trying to take it in right now," said head coach Michael Robertson. "This is something that we started working on last year when we lost in the championship game. This is a result of all the hard work, dedication and effort from the players and coaching staff. Everyone stayed committed to getting the job done. We hope that this is just the start of something big."

In a stark contrast to the previous high-scoring games in the tournament, defense ruled the day in the championship game as both teams remained scoreless through four innings of play. Alcorn State (26-20) finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth to go up 2-0.

Prairie View finally got the best of ASU starter Darryl Jordan in the sixth frame. Rightfielder Eugene Edwards opened the inning with a double to right and was driven in on a two-out single by catcher Brandon Whitby. Leftfielder Johnny Giles followed with a single which set up the game-tying RBI single from first baseman Roshard Shorter.

With the game tied at 2, the contest turned into a pitcher's duel as Taylor, the PVAMU starter and ASU reliever Matthew Chatwin responded with scoreless performances in the sixth and seventh innings.

In the eighth inning, Prairie View again came up with another big play with two outs as centerfielder Calvin Lester recorded the go-ahead RBI to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead. Terrell, who recorded two wins and a save in tourney play, relieved Taylor and shut the Braves down in the eighth and ninth innings in order. Terrell was named the tourney's oustanding player.

Taylor picked up his 10th win of the season for the Panthers while Edwards led the way on offense with a 3-for-5 performance with one run.

Edwards also had a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Prairie View a close 11-10 victory over Alabama State in an opening round game Thursday. Edwards had a home run and Calvin Lester had four hits and four RBIs in a 16-7 win over Texas Southern on Friday. The Panthers got their third one-run victory and eliminated Southern 9-8 Saturday when Whitby singled home Paul Johnson who had opened the bottom of the tenth inning with a triple.