Preview: Florida Gulf Coast Eagles at Bethune-Cookman Wildcats

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Interstat) — Two of the early season’s hottest teams meet Saturday when the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles visit the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in non-conference baseball action.

The Eagles (10-3) and Wildcats (9-4) will continue their weekend series at Bethune-Cookman Baseball Field after opening it Friday. Both squads are looking to bounce back from midweek road losses to in-state power conference foes.

Florida Gulf Coast fell 12-5 at UCF on Wednesday, while Bethune-Cookman dropped a 5-2 decision at Miami. Despite those results, both clubs have shown strength, particularly in weekend series. The Eagles took two of three from Boston College last weekend, and the Wildcats swept a four-game set from Delaware State.

A key player to watch for FGCU is reliever Sebastian Lippman. The right-hander has been dominant, allowing just one hit over his last 9 1/3 innings across four appearances. In the loss to UCF, he struck out four in 2 2/3 hitless innings. His season ERA is 3.38 with 11 strikeouts.

Bethune-Cookman will counter with its own bullpen weapon in David Morrissey. The left-hander has not allowed a hit in his last five innings of work over three outings, including three scoreless frames at Miami. He has been a reliable option for the Wildcats, posting a 1.80 ERA in five appearances.

Offensively, FGCU’s Javier Gorostola looks to stay hot after hitting a home run against UCF. The Eagles have scored 10 or more runs in four games this season. Bethune-Cookman’s offense erupted for 14 runs in each of its three wins over Delaware State.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, this contest projects to be a high-scoring affair, with a predicted final score of Florida Gulf Coast 8, Bethune-Cookman 7.

The series concludes Sunday before both teams turn their attention to Tuesday midweek matchups. Florida Gulf Coast travels to Florida International, while Bethune-Cookman heads to North Florida.