Sanford, FL – Five years ago, it was the top HBCU baseball rivalry in the MEAC. Now it has returned to the peak of relevance in the SWAC. When Bethune-Cookman University and Florida A&M University (FAMU) face off in baseball, it has had a significant impact on conference standings for the last 20 years.
This past weekend was no different. The Wildcats and Rattlers were sitting atop the SWAC baseball standings, with a weekend series being crucial to winning the regular season title, as just a month remained before the SWAC Championship tournament.
Bethune-Cookman’s offense was relentless on a “chamber of commerce” weekend in Sanford, FL, just a few miles from Daytona Beach. Historic Sanford Stadium is a pristine park where legendary Jackie Robinson once played, before heading to Daytona Beach.
Sweep with Style
B-CU made a clean sweep of the Rattlers and did it with flair. The bats for the Wildcats would batter FAMU pitching. Bethune rattled off wins of 8-2, 5-2, and 9-2 to glide away from the Rattlers atop the conference.
B-CU head coach Johnny Hernandez feels his team is playing really well right now, in this critical time heading into the SWAC tournament. “Overall, it was a good complete series for our guys. I think this is the first series in the entire year where we had pitching, defense, and the offense executed in different ways,” Hernandez said. “With the long ball, with situational hitting, and with two-out hitting. Just proud of our guys for the grit to complete the sweep over FAMU.”
The Rattlers and Wildcats entered the series with only two conference losses, both having identical conference records of 13-2. B-CU now sits atop alone at 16-2 while the Rattlers slip into a tie for second place at 13-5 with Texas Southern and Grambling. The Alabama State Hornets sit just one game behind them with a 12-5 conference record.
There is about a month remaining in the HBCU baseball regular season before SWAC teams head to Birmingham, Ala. For the 2025 SWAC Championship Tournament. The tournament is scheduled for May 21-25 at Rickwood Field. Historic Rickwood Field is said to be America’s oldest ballpark and was one of the parks used in the Negro League.