TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman's return to Tallahassee for a NCAA Softball Regional saw the Wildcats drop an 8-0 decision to defending National Champion Florida State Friday.

Seeded fourth overall in the tournament, Florida State (52-8) used three home runs and a pair of three-run innings to send the Wildcats (26-30) to face South Carolina, who lost 3-2 to South Florida, in an elimination game Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Kaira Cabato got the lone BCU hit off Makinzy Herzog with a two-out single in the fourth.

Alexis Bermudez (15-21) gave up six runs on seven hits and walked one in four innings. Destiny Enriquez worked the fifth after the game was delayed over two hours due to lightning.

The Wildcats were making their first post-season appearance in Tallahassee since 2004.

HEAD COACH LAURA WATTEN:
"Well, we were just talking about how we just didn't play our game and our tempo and that's kind of what happened today - we got away from who we are."

On the preparation coming into a Regional, and what the key to sending South Carolina home tomorrow will be:
"Well, we've got to take care of our process. Honestly, they hit the ball well; they're going to be a tough team to play. They've got good pitching, they've got good hitting. They're an all-around strong team. We've just got to take care of our process, put the ball in play, and make things happen at our pace. That's all; we really have just got to take care of ourselves."

On facing Florida State's lineup:
"It is tough. That's why you can't give up, we can't walk batters, we can't get behind on batters. We've got to spin our pitches, we've got to keep 'em off balance, we've got to keep them guessing. You know everybody's got a hole in their swing - everybody does - and you've just got to find it. You've got to stay in their heads and try to make sure they're not going to guess the right pitch you're going to throw. But yeah, of course, they're all good hitters and we were playing deeper, ready to track balls down – we've been practicing and working on that - we just need to make the plays on defense that we were getting, and we had to really keep batters off balance and not get behind in counts. That was key."

ALEXIS BERMUDEZ:
On what was and wasn't working for her on the mound throughout the game:

"Keeping the ball low and hitting the corners is what really worked with me. That last inning, the ball started to come up, I started to throw balls higher in the zone and they're taught: 'If it's low- let it go, if it's high- let it fly,' so I think it was important for me to keep the ball down. If I kept the ball down it would've lasted a little bit longer."

NOTES: The game marked Watten's 24th post-season game as BCU's Head Coach and moved her past former Baseball Coach Mervyl Melendez (23) for most NCAA tournament games for a BCU coach … Coach Watten's pup, Sebastian, got ESPNU airtime during the game, a photo op with the broadcast crew  and joined Watten, Bermudez and Cheyenne Smith on the podium for the post-game press conference.