LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman Softball bounced back with two emphatic victories Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats defeated Stetson, 15-5 before coming back in the late afternoon to defeat Quinnipiac, 10-5 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The games were a part of day two action at the Disney Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom Invite.
 
BCU 15, STETSON 5 (5 innings)
Bethune-Cookman scored 12 runs in the fifth inning to erase an early 5-0 deficit in order to defeat fellow Volusia County opponent Stetson by a score of 15-5 in the Wildcats' first game of day two action of the Disney Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom Invite at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
 
Bethune-Cookman (3-5) trailed 4-0 after the opening inning as Stetson sent all nine batters to the plate to open the Hatters' batting in the contest.
 
In the top of the second, BCU used an Alexis Bermudez sacrifice fly to left in order to score Brianna Sanders from third, cutting into the deficit, 4-1.
 
Stetson (2-5) added to its lead in the home-half of the frame when third baseman Ashly Smith's RBI single to center field scored Kasey Fava after she singled and stole second to begin the Hatters at-bat.
 
Bermudez delivered her first collegiate home run in the top-half of the fourth on the strength of a two-run scoring shot clear the wall in left center that also pushed across Sanders. That allowed the Maroon and Gold to pull within 5-3.
 
In the top of the fifth, the Wildcats sent 16 batters to the plate and scored a season-high 12 runs to grab control of the game.
 
Senior center fielder Mariah Davis began the inning with a double to left center, followed by a base on balls and a hit batter to load the bases for BCU with no outs. Davis scored on a fielder's choice from catcher Kailey Richard, while the tying run would be plated by Sanders with a hit by a pitch, allowing Cheyenne Smith to score on the play and knot the game at 5-all.
 
Stetson reliever Chelsea Hostetler entered the game in the circle at that point, but she abruptly hit BCU senior first baseman Iesha Waters, allowing Ryan Jackson to score for the 6-5 go-ahead run.
 
Bermudez would register her third RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly, and pinch hitter Kaiya Epps-Lee pushed across a run with a single to center, bumping the BCU lead at 8-5. Jackson would later register a RBI single that drove in Jacki Smith, before the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Player of the Year stole home on a double steal – the second of the weekend for Bethune-Cookman, alongside Richard. Richard would later advance home for the second time in the inning on a wild pitch from starting pitcher Jaime Tino who re-entered the game midway through the BCU at-bat.
 
Bermudez would secure the win in the circle as the game was concluded after five innings on the run-rule.
 
Bermudez (1-0) went all five innings in the circle for the Maroon and Gold in picking up the win, allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits, four walks allowed and two strikeouts. The loss went to the Hatters Tino (1-2) who went 4.2 innings in the circle in being tagged for 10 runs (seven earned) on four hits, four walks and six strikeouts.
 
The BCU offensive attack was paced at the plate by Davis from the leadoff spot as she went 3-for-4 with two runs. Bermudez picked up a game-high four RBIs on a 1-for-1 outing at the plate.
 
BCU 10, QUINNIPIAC 5
Victoria Guzman and Destiny Enriquez were the winning in the combination in the pitcher's circle, and it was Bryanna Campos and Jacki Smith as the scoring combination at the plate to help propel Bethune-Cookman past Quinnipiac, 10-5 and complete a 2-0 day in the Wildcats' nightcap of the Disney Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom Invite at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
 
Bethune-Cookman (4-5) scored runs in the first and second inning, respectfully, to open a 2-0 lead early-on.
 
Sophomore right fielder Ryan Jackson secured a run-scoring double to the wall in left, and senior first baseman and captain Iesha Waters scored an unearned run off the strength of a Quinnipiac (1-3) error in the second inning.
 
The Bobcats of Quinnipiac would take a brief 4-2 lead in the top of the third inning when Miranda Magana produced a run-scoring double down the line in right, followed by Rebecca Drake's two-run home run to center field.
 
The Wildcats quickly answered with five runs in the bottom-half of the third.
 
With two outs and the bases full of Wildcats, Alexis Bermudez tallied a RBI single to past the glove of Quinnipiac shortstop Magana. A batter later, senior third baseman Bryanna Campos pushed across a pair of scores with her single back up the middle, putting BCU back on top, 5-4.
 
Shortstop Jacki Smith followed with a two-run scoring single of her own, scoring Campo and Bermudez, respectfully, and giving BCU the 7-4 advantage.
 
After the Bobcats pulled a run back in the top of the fifth, the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman pulled away for good with three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
Waters delivered the inning's first run with a single up the middle. She would come around to score two plays later alongside Brianna Sanders on a throwing error charged to the Quinnipiac infield. That produced the final 10-5 score line.
 
The win went to Victoria Guzman, upping her record for the year at 2-3. The reigning MEAC Co-Pitcher and Rookie of the Week worked four innings in the circle, allowing five runs (one earned) on five hits and two strikeouts. Sophomore Destiny Enriquez earned her first save of the year with three innings pitched, allowing just one hit and striking out one.
 
The offensive attack for the Maroon and Gold was highlighted by Ryan Jackson's 3-for-4 effort at the plate, adding a RBI in the process. Waters finished up 2-for-3 with three runs and a RBI. And it was Campos and Jacki Smith combining for four hits and four RBIs in the contest.
 
Bethune-Cookman concludes the Citrus Blossom Invite on Sunday when the Wildcats take on Northern Iowa at 11:30 a.m.
 
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