Baseball opens 2024 Black College World Series against Miles College
The Wiley University baseball team will begin its run at the 2024 Tyson Foods Black College World Series against NCAA Division II institution Miles College at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala.
Live video will be available on the Black College Nines YouTube Channel. Live statistics will also be available. The links will be listed in the baseball schedule on wileyathletics.com.
The Wildcats (28-19) were initially the second seed in the four-team NAIA Bracket. After Jarvis Christian University and Xavier University of Louisiana declined invitationals, Black College Nines changed the tournament to one bracket with three NCAA Division II schools and three NAIA schools. After the change, Wiley became the fourth seed and Miles College earned the No. 5 seed.
The winner will play top seed Talladega College, which won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Baseball Championship at 9 a.m. Thursday. The No. 2 seed Bluefield State University will play the winner of No. 3 seed Edward Waters University and No. 6 seed Florida Memorial University at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. The tournament scheduled has not been finalized as of press time.
Wiley will make its second appearance in the Black College World Series and is seeking its first victory after coming up empty in two games last season. It is coming off a runner-up finish in the 2024 Hope Credit Union GCAC Baseball Championship. It won three games in the loser's bracket to reach the championship.
With 12 RBI, Ryan Ready became the GCAC leader with 64. He moved into second with a .389 batting average, 10 home runs and a .681 slugging percentage. Ivan Del Villar leads the conference with 12 home runs. Amir Mason put up eight hits, scored six runs and drove in six. Nick Rodriguez took over the conference lead in saves - after closing out victories over Dillard University and Rust College. He picked up his fifth win against Philander Smith University.
Miles (22-24) finished fifth in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. It lost both of its games to No. 4 seed Savannah State University, which advanced to the championship and No. 8 seed Kentucky State University. The Golden Bears are on a five-game losing streak with their last victory coming on April 20. Nick Copen leads the team with a .412 batting average. He has scored 25 runs and drove in 29. Fourteen of his 42 hits have gone for extra bases, including 11 doubles. Trey Rutledge and Brandon Leroy lead the Golden Bears with 33 RBI. Rutledge is hitting .350 with four home runs and 61 runs scored. Leroy is batting .312 with 13 doubles and 29 runs scored. Copen is also the team's top pitcher with a 4.82 ERA. He is 5-4 in 12 appearances and 11 starts with 43 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings. Trent Jones has a 6.66 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 50 innings.
Wednesday's game will mark the first time the Wildcats and Golden Bears have met on the diamond. This will also be the Wildcats first matchup against a school from the SIAC.
For more coverage on the Wildcats visit Baseball - Wiley University (wileyathletics.com)
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