DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Shanel Tolbert threw her first collegiate no-hitter Sunday as Bethune-Cookman concluded a series sweep of South Carolina State with an 8-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Southern Division run-rule victory at Sunnyland Park.

The junior from Los Angeles walked one and struck out two, giving up a leadoff walk in the first and an error in the second while the Wildcat (11-28 overall, 5-0 MEAC) offense quickened things with a five-run third and three-run fourth.

Tolbert won all three games in the series and also had a strong non-conference performance against Jacksonville earlier in the week, giving up one unearned run against a Dolphins teams ranked 42 in the NCAA's RPI.

“I've been working toward getting [a no-hitter] and it came through today,” Tolbert said. “I just was more composed and taking it one pitch at a time. My dropball and off speed curve were really working.”

“She was really hitting her spots,” B-CU head coach Chris Cochran said of Tolbert. “She was ready to go and had a good mentality.”

The Wildcats blew the game open in the third as Michelle Banuelos-Smith launched a three-run homer after Aurelia Gamch and Simone Ceasar  produces RBIs with a sacrifice fly and single, respectively. In the fourth,  Gamch led off with her second double of the game and scored on a throwing error while Melissa Berouty and Sophia Ortega each had an RBI single.

All nine Wildcat batters had at least one hit in B-CU's 12-hit attack.

B-CU plays at North Florida Wednesday. The Wildcats, who lead the MEAC Southern Division by 1.5 games over Florida A&M and Savannah state,  resume MEAC play April 20-21 with a three-game home series against North Carolina A&T.