DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Interstat) — Jose Fernandez’s grand slam ignited a comeback from an eight-run deficit and Michael Rodriguez’s two-run, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth capped it Sunday, as Bethune-Cookman stunned Florida Gulf Coast 9-8 to avoid a series sweep.

The Wildcats, who had dropped the first two games of the weekend set by a combined score of 24-10, trailed 8-0 after just an inning and a half before mounting a relentless charge against the Eagles’ bullpen.

The most important sequence of the game came in the bottom of the third inning. After the first two Wildcats reached, Florida Gulf Coast starter Hunter Possehl loaded the bases with a walk. Following a strikeout, Fernandez stepped in. The first baseman, who was hitless in Saturday’s loss, turned on a pitch and launched it over the left-field fence for a grand slam, instantly cutting the deficit in half and injecting life into the home team.

Florida Gulf Coast’s offense, which exploded early, was silenced by a stellar effort from the Bethune-Cookman bullpen. After the Eagles scored eight runs on nine hits against starter Tanner Boccabello and David Morrissey in the first 1 1/3 innings, relievers Anthony Anselmo, Andris Barroso and Pablo Torres combined for 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just six hits.

Anselmo was first, throwing 3 1/3 innings of four-hit ball with four strikeouts. Barroso followed with 3 2/3 perfect innings, striking out two, before Torres worked a hitless ninth.

The Wildcats chipped away with a solo homer from Darryl Lee in the fifth and another from Ruben Zuany in the sixth, making it 8-6.

Florida Gulf Coast’s Sebastian Lippman provided three hitless innings of relief with five strikeouts after the grand slam, but the Wildcats broke through in the ninth against Ashton Pocol and Elliot Cadieux-Lanoue.

Erick Almonte led off with a double and scored on Jeter Polledo’s RBI single. After a walk reloaded the bases with one out, Rodriguez lined a single to right field, scoring Polledo and Lee to trigger the celebration.

Evan Dempsey led the Eagles’ early onslaught, going 3 for 5 with two doubles and four RBIs. Jeremy Comer added two hits and two RBIs. Cole Lasher had four of Florida Gulf Coast’s 13 hits.

Fernandez finished 2 for 4 with the four RBIs from his third-inning blast, the key performance in the comeback. Lee went 2 for 4 with a homer, and Rodriguez delivered the final blow.

The loss dropped Florida Gulf Coast to 12-4 overall, while Bethune-Cookman improved to 10-6. The Eagles travel to face Florida International on Tuesday. The Wildcats visit North Florida the same day.