SAVANNAH, Ga. – Bethune-Cookman Softball opened its 2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) slate with a doubleheader sweep of Savannah State on Saturday, picking up the first two of three in a series at Tiger Softball Field. BCU collected the first game with a 9-1 score in six innings. The Cats took the nightcap with a 12-3 score in five innings.
 
GAME ONE: BCU 9, SAVANNAH STATE 1
The Bethune-Cookman bats were hot early-on, while senior pitcher Sabrina Anguiano went the distance in the pitcher's circle to help the Wildcats take game one of a doubleheader at Savannah State, 9-1 in six innings on Saturday afternoon at Tiger Softball Field in Savannah, Georgia.
 
After a scoreless first inning, the Bethune-Cookman (10-23, 1-0 MEAC) offense got rolling in the top-half of the second inning.
 
Freshman right fielder Ryan Jackson kicked things off with a double to center field, only to steal home two plays later along with a double steal with teammate Kaitlin Alamprese. The senior left fielder Alamprese came in to score off a RBI ground out from rookie Kaiya Epps-Lee, giving BCU the 2-0 advantage.
 
Wildcats second baseman Kailey Richard would plate two additional runs with a double to center, scoring Taylor Sherritt and Yvonne Siordia to vault the lead up to 4-0. The final two runs of the BCU at-bat scored when first baseman Iesha Waters bagged a two-run double to center field, plating Jacki Smith and Richard on the play.
 
The Cats added a run in the top of the fourth as Jackson doubled for the second time in the game, this time scoring Richard.
 
BCU put the run-rule decision into play during the top-half of the sixth inning.
 
The first two batters reached safely to start the Wildcats' at-bat when Smith walked and Waters was hit by a pitch. Alamprese would collect a pair of RBIs when she registered a two-run sacrifice fly to center, allowing Waters and Smith each to score on the play.
 
With BCU up 9-0 heading into the home-half of the sixth, Savannah State (0-22, 0-1 MEAC) would bring a run back off the bat of pitcher/designated player Faith Dickerson when she scored second baseman Brianna Harris to create the final 9-1 score line.
 
The win went to Anguiano in the circle, with the Hacienda Heights, California native going all six innings, allowing just one run on two hits, two walks and two strikeouts. With the win, she improved her record at 5-6 on the year.
 
Meanwhile, the loss went to SSU's Dickerson (0-11), as she went just 1.2 innings, tagged for six runs (two earned) on six hits and a strikeout.
 
The BCU offense was paced by Jackson's 2-for-4 effort, adding a run and a RBI. Seven other Wildcats collected hits in the game, including the two-run double from Alamprese.
 
GAME TWO: BCU 12, SAVANNAH STATE 3
Freshman pitcher Destiny Enriquez picked up her first win of the year, while Bethune-Cookman used 12 unanswered runs across the fourth and fifth innings, respectively, to complete a doubleheader sweep of Savannah State courtesy a 12-3 win in the second leg on Saturday evening at Tiger Softball Field in Savannah, Georgia. The run-rule decision was put into place after five innings.
 
Savannah State (0-23, 0-2 MEAC) jumped ahead early-on, 3-0 in the third inning. The Tigers used a two-run triple from Alexis Singleton to highlight the scoring, bringing across teammates Amanda McDowell and Allye Sneed.
 
Bethune-Cookman (11-23, 2-0 MEAC) battled back into the game with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning.
 
First baseman Iesha Waters drove in the first run for the Wildcats when she singled through the left side, plating second baseman Jacki Smith. The second run crossed off the bat of shortstop Brianna Sanders to score junior centerfielder Mariah Davis.
 
BCU jumped ahead for good with 10 runs in the top-half of the fifth inning, producing the eventual final score of 12-3.
 
The half-inning was highlighted by a grand slam from Sanders, collecting her second round-tripper of the season.
 
Enriquez, a freshman from Norwalk, California, improved to 1-12 in collecting her first career collegiate win on the day. The right-hander went five innings in the circle, allowing three runs on four hits, a pair of walks and one strikeout.
 
The loss went to Amanda McDowell of Savannah State, dropping her record for the year at 0-9. She tossed four innings on the rubber, giving up five runs on nine hits, two walks and a strikeout.
 
Leading Bethune-Cookman on offense were five (5) players with two hits each. Sanders finished 2-for-3 with five RBIs, while Alamprese and Richard each went 2-for-4 with a RBI apiece. Jackson and Waters each provided two hits as well.
 
The Wildcats will look to sweep the series Sunday when the teams meet in the series finale at noon.
 
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