College baseball’s June Madness came to Gainesville on Sunday night as the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats shocked the Florida Gators 6-2 to force a deciding game in the Gainesville Regional. BCU made it to the championship round by eliminating the South Florida Bulls 6-4 on Sunday afternoon.
After Bethune-Cookman starter Donte Lindsay gave way to T.J. Densmore one out into the second inning and two runs across, the Wildcats bullpen was stingy for the rest of the night.
Densmore and Anthony Maldonado combined to hold the Gators scoreless over the next 7-plus innings. Meanwhile, BCU took lead in the sixth, and earned some breathing room with a three-run eighth.
Both teams will have some time to get ready for Monday’s winner-take-all contest. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at McKethan Stadium.
In Tallahassee, Florida State stayed alive by eliminating Tennessee Tech, 5-3, then defeated Auburn 8-7 in 10 innings to force a third and deciding game. The winning run scored for FSU when J.C. Flowers was hit by a pitch on an 0-2 count with the bases loaded to force in the winning run..
In the Chapel Hill Regional, North Carolina, the number two national seed, ended Florida Gulf Coast’s run with a 10-1 romp. The Tar Heels went on to lose to fourth-seeded Davidson Sunday night.
Gator fans had something to cheer about on Sunday. The Florida women’s softball team advanced to the Women’s College World Series Final on Sunday with a 5-2 win over Washington. They will face defending national champion Oklahoma in a best-of-three final beginning Monday night.