MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Bethune-Cookman's Geena Capitini was perfect at the plate, but it was not enough as the Wildcats fell to Army, 11-9, in the second game of the day at the Charleston Challenge taking place at Patriots point in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
After falling behind early-on, Bethune-Cookman (0-4) tacked on three runs in the second inning and one in the third to take the lead.
A furious two-out rally began with freshman Bryanna Campos working a walk, followed by sophomore Kaitlin Alamprese reaching on an error charged to the Army infield. That allowed Santa Fe State transfer Geena Capitini to produce the team's first home run of the season, tying the game at 3-3.
In the home-half of the third, senior left fielder Calesha Shelley tripled to start off the Wildcats at-bat, coming home two plays later off the strength of Nereyda Gutierrez's single to left center.
That pushed B-CU in front, 4-3.
Army (1-3) answered back immediately in the top-half of the fourth.
Starting pitcher Aja Brechtel doubled to right center, bringing in Rachael Dehlinger, while Hailey Megge singled on the next play to score Gladys Esparza-Gallegos.
That drew the Black Knights back out in front, 5-4.
Army added to its lead later in the inning when third baseman Kasey McCravey lined a shot up the middle to bring in Brechtel from third, giving the team a 6-4 advantage.
The Wildcats would score two runs in the fifth, knotting the game at 6-all.
Sophia Ortega's double to right center allowed freshman Mariah Davis to score from first, while Nereyda Gutierrez supplied a RBI single through the left side to plate Ortega from third.
With the game tied at six heading into extra innings, Army broke out for five scores in the top-half of the eighth.
Already leading 8-6 with two outs, the Black Knights got a three-run scoring triple from designated player Emily Gray to supply the big shot that allowed Army to push itself out to a sizeable 11-6 advantage.
However, B-CU did not go away quietly in the home-half of the frame.
Campos delivered a triple to left to score Gutierrez, followed by Capitini's two-out RBI single to cross Campos. The Cats added a third run in the form of Shelley staking an RBI single to score pinch runner Ciera Banks, cutting the lead at 11-9.
That is as close as the Cats would come to sending the game into the ninth inning, as Army collected the final out with Davis being robbed of a hit on a line drive to left, as Hailey Megge made the catch for the Black Knights.
Capitini, Gutierrez and Shelley mustered up multi-hit games for Bethune-Cookman. Capitini, a junior from Boynton Beach, Florida, finished 2-for-2 at the plate with four RBI and a walk. Gutierrez added two RBI as well in a 2-for-4 effort with the bat.
Army had four players with a multi-hat afternoon, most notably the 2-for-5 effort from Gray who also supplied three RBI.
The win went to the Black Knights' Kristen West who earned her first decision of the year out of the bullpen, while the loss dropped B-CU reliever Sabrina Anguiano to 0-4 on the season. Anguiano, a sophomore from Hacienda Heights, California, tossed eight complete frames, allowing eight runs (three earned) on 11 hits and striking out five.
Bethune-Cookman will wrap-up play at the Charleston Challenge on Sunday when the Wildcats face host College of Charleston at 1:30 p.m. The game is set to take place at Patriots Point.
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