Baseball ends historic 2024 season at Black College World Series
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season champion Wiley University baseball team closes its historic 2024 season with its second berth in the Black College World Series. The Wildcats fell 3-0 against No. 6 seed Florida Memorial University in an elimination game in the 2024 Black College World Series at Riverwalk Stadium.
Wiley finished the season 29-21, which is its highest win total under head coach Kendrick Biggs and the most victories in program history since before 2007. The Wildcats concluded the season with a winning record for the first time since 2010. Their .580 winning percentage is their highest since 2010 when they won 24 of 35 games for a .686 winning percentage.
"I'm extremely proud of the guys on the season," Biggs said. "They faced adversity all year and played right through it. I think our biggest goal is that we believe we are a good team and can play with anyone. We will look to continue to build a powerhouse for baseball."
The game was delayed to 8 p.m. Thursday after the previous game between Edward Waters University and Miles College went 12 innings. With lightning in the area, the game was suspended in the bottom of the sixth at 9:45 p.m. It resumed at 9 a.m. Friday.
Isaac Burciaga made his second postseason start. He limited the Lions to one run on six hits in five innings. Burciaga struck out four batters with three looking. He held Florida Memorial scoreless through four innings. Nick Rodriguez pitched the final three innings. He allowed two batters to reach in the seventh but got a popup and strikeout to end the inning. Rodriguez struck out two.
The Lions (21-25) got on the board with two hits and a walk in the fifth inning. They added two runs on four hits in the eighth. Wiley was out-hit 12-6. Only one of their hits went for extra bases when Ajari Camp tripled with two outs in the third.
In the fourth inning, Amir Mason tried to start a two-out rally with a single. He stole second and advanced to third on a single by Jhan Carlos Javier. A groundout ended the inning. Javier led off the seventh with a single and Kai Woodard was hit by a pitch with one out. The next two batters flew out and struck out. Javier went 3-for-4. Jacob Perez got an infield single in the eighth inning. The Wildcats only got one hit in 13 at-bats with runners on base.
Caidin Franklin, Albert Thurston II and Donovan Rice wrapped up their playing careers. The Wildcats are expected to return all of their starters and starting pitchers - including GCAC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year Keyon Guillory, Javier - a two-time First Team All-GCAC selection, Del Villar - a two-time First Team All-GCAC selection, Ready - GCAC Newcomer of the Year and Second Team All-GCAC selection, GCAC All-Tournament pitcher Nick Rodriguez and team captain Perez.
"I'm excited that most of these players will be back," Biggs said. "We have already recruited some great talent to go with them. I'm very excited about next season."
For more coverage on the Wildcats visit Baseball - Wiley University (wileyathletics.com)
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