Former Miami Hurricane, Maryland Terrapin charged with Florida murder
Avantae Williams, who played football at Miami and Maryland, was in a Volusia County Jail after DeLand police charged him in a fatal May 3 shooting.
- Stetson defeated Bethune-Cookman 6-5 in extra innings after a late-game rally.
- Both Stetson and Bethune-Cookman have strong records in their respective conferences and are aiming for NCAA Tournament berths.
- Stetson’s Jonathan Gonzalez has been a key pitcher with a 1.90 ERA, while Bethune-Cookman’s offense is a strength, hitting 66 home runs this season.
DELAND — In its final midweek matchup of the college baseball season, Stetson pulled off a surprising ninth-inning rally against cross-county rival Bethune-Cookman and capped it off with heroics in extras.
Juan De La Cruz knocked in the winning run with a single into left field, and the Hatters walked off with a 6-5 victory Tuesday night at Melching Field. Down to its final out, Stetson overcame a 5-2 deficit in the final frame against four Wildcats relievers with Jordan Taylor delivering the game-tying, two-run hit.
Isaiah Barkett reached base five times for Stetson, and Ty Van Dyke picked up his fourth win with a scoreless inning of relief. Daniel Figueroa went 2 for 4 with a double, three RBIs and two stolen bases for Bethune-Cookman, and Isaias Duccasse tossed three scoreless innings in his first start of the campaign.
Both of Volusia County’s Division I mid-major baseball squads enter May with their NCAA Tournament goals very much intact, registering identical 20-4 records in their respective conferences. They will need to secure the automatic bids awarded to champions of the SWAC and ASUN tournaments.
Baseball America placed B-CU into the Tallahassee Regional as a No. 4 seed in its April 30 projection for the 64-team field. Stetson is currently on the outside looking in, but could bump Austin Peay off the 3-line in the Athens (Georgia) Regional.
Here is a detailed look at the Hatters and the Wildcats following their lone head-to-head matchup.
Stetson Hatters (33-17, 20-4 ASUN)
Stetson withstood injuries to each member of its experienced infield over the course of the season, including a season-ender for Yohann Dessureault (hamstring) suffered in the Puerto Rico Challenge. Lorenzo Meola has missed the last six games with a thumb injury, but Hatters coach Steve Trimper said he could be available as early as this weekend.
The Hatters check in 77th in the NCAA’s Division I RPI rankings — 23 spots higher than any other ASUN team. Their résumé includes a home-and-home sweep against South Florida, neutral-site victories over UConn and Penn State and a nine-run road win over Miami.
Barkett extended his hitting streak to 14 games. The junior, playing shortstop in Meola’s absence, leads the team in batting average (.393), OPS (.949) and runs scored (45) while contributing 24 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.
“He’s a terror, offensively. He’s one of the hardest guys to play against if you’re on the other team,” Hatters coach Steve Trimper said. “He is a 1980s throwback — George Brett, Don Mattingly, do whatever it takes to get on base, play hard, every game, every second, all the time.”
De La Cruz and Nelphie Lopez plugged the gaps in the infield, and both Taylor and freshman Foster Apple have occupied everyday roles since February. Florida transfer Landon Russell is the only Hatter to play and start all 50 games, patrolling center field.
Senior left-hander Jonathan Gonzalez anchors the weekend rotation, sitting fourth in the nation for ERA (1.90) and 22nd in strikeouts (87 in 75⅔ innings). He has fanned at least 10 batters in four of his last five outings and surrendered just seven earned runs across eight ASUN starts.
“Jonny’s been the man. He’s been Mr. Reliable,” Barkett said. “Last year was my first year here, and I stood in the box with him when his elbow was blown up and he knew he had no shot (to pitch). But he tried to get on the mound in the fall, and he was in tears throwing. Just to know how much he cares about pitching and being out here with us meant the world.
“Now, to see him recover fully and work his butt off to get back where he’s at, it’s just a testament to the person he is and to his work ethic and everything he’s accomplished. I really hope he gets a chance at the next level because he deserves it.”
Redshirt freshman right-hander James Hays persevered through an injury-plagued first half to post a 4-0 record with a 3.79 ERA, and Van Dyke has seven saves and a 1.30 ERA as the Hatters’ high-leverage workhorse.
Stetson hosts Jacksonville this weekend, holding a four-game lead over the Dolphins in the ASUN’s Graphite Division. Austin Peay has a 21-3 ASUN record, six games clear of the field in the Gold Division behind an offense that has launched 94 home runs.
“I led a team meeting after (our road trip to) BYU, when we were struggling a bit. I told the guys, ’25 conference wins.’ That was right before conference play, and we’re damn close,” Barkett said. “That’s been our goal all year, and I think we’re going to get to that point.
“Once the tournament comes, you’ve got to win one game at a time. You can’t look too far ahead. You can’t think, ‘Austin Peay this, or Lipscomb this, or (Jacksonville) this.’ You’ve just got to win one game at a time, let the chips fall where they may, line up our best versus their best and let’s go to work. … All I want to do is dogpile one more time.”
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (29-20, 20-4 SWAC)
Aiming to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference for the first time since joining in 2021, Bethune-Cookman has won 12 of its last 16 games — highlighted by home sweeps of Florida A&M and Alabama State, two of the league’s top four teams in the standings.
In between, however, the Wildcats lost their top arm in the rotation. Senior right-hander Tanner Boccabello (7-1, 4.52 ERA) suffered a season-ending wrist injury on a comebacker against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, head coach Jonathan Hernandez said.
Joel Core (4-1, 5.05) and Edwin Sanchez (7-1, 3.76) will be counted upon for the heavy lifting down the stretch; they have combined for 124 strikeouts and 45 walks in 109⅔ innings.
“And then it’s going to take a total team effort,” Hernandez said. “(Last) weekend, the pitching staff did a really good job of keeping Alabama State at bay. It’s a next-man-up mentality, and you also put Core and Sanchez in a situation where they need to step up. They’ve had a good year so far.”
Meanwhile, B-CU’s batters are bludgeoning the SWAC’s pitching staffs. The Wildcats have cracked 66 home runs — six more than the previous two seasons combined and good for 44th in Division I.
Junior outfielder Andrey Martinez (14), junior infielder Jesus Vanegas (12) and senior catcher Jorge Rodriguez (11) each surpassed double digits in home run totals. The Wildcats have added 107 doubles and 21 triples, resulting in a SWAC-leading .521 slugging percentage.
Darryl Lee — added in the offseason from Coastal Alabama Community College — has chipped in eight homers, 38 RBIs, 20 stolen bases and a 1.025 OPS.
“Now, we can go double-double-home run where, in years past, it was more like single and trying to move guys over. Not that we want to lose the fundamentals of baseball, but it does feel good that every opportunity when a guy steps up to the plate that he can slug,” Hernandez said. “That was the idea for us and the identity we wanted for this team. The numbers have shown that we’ve been able to do that.”
B-CU faces another tough conference test this week with three games at Grambling State, the SWAC’s defending champion and the preseason media pick to repeat. The Wildcats close with the last of their three trips to Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium the following weekend when Texas Southern visits.
Entering the final stretch, B-CU holds a two-game advantage on Florida A&M for the SWAC’s top seed.
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