Gulfport, Miss. – In a year full of new challenges for Bethune-Cookman softball, the Wildcats persevered, securing the No. 1 seed in the SWAC's eastern division. The Wildcats quest towards a title begins Tuesday night, as B-CU gets set to take on the Southern in the first round of the 2022 SWAC Softball tournament.
 
Game Information
 
Tuesday, May 10
Opponent: Southern (14-32, 11-13 SWAC)
Time: 6 p.m. CST | 7 p.m. EST
Location: Gullfport, Miss. | Gulfport Sportsplex
Live Stats: TBA
Watch: SWAC Digital Network
 
A Season in Review
 
The Wildcats had every excuse in the book to turn to this season: The program took a year off due to COVID-19, the team entered its first season in a new conference, the roster consists of only four upperclassmen, four sophomores, and a whopping 14 freshmen.
 
The only issue was, the Wildcats did not need any excuses.
 
The Wildcats under head coach Laura Watten opened the season with four grueling tournaments on the road, taking on the likes of Louisville, Ohio State, No. 17 Missouri, Arizona, and countless other solid programs. The Wildcats did not play their first home game for nearly one month, and understandably opened their season with a 5-15 record.
 
Then, The Wildcats came home, SWAC conference play started, and things changed. The Wildcats took care of business at Sunnyland Park with an 11-4 home record and steamrolled their way to wins in 17 of their final 24 games and nine of their final ten.
 
In the process, Watten reached some significant career coaching marks. On April 22, she became Bethune-Cookman's all-time leader in wins as a head coach – across the entire athletic department. On April 30, she reached win number 750 in her illustrious coaching career.
 
Should all go well for Watten and the Wildcats she will look to notch her eighth conference championship – her first in the SWAC.
 
Scouting the Jaguars

Southern is the first obstacle for B-CU on the way to a SWAC title. The Jaguars finished their season 14-32 with an 11-13 conference record – good for the fourth seed in the SWAC's western division.
 
A late-season resurgence kept the Jaguars in the hunt for a tournament spot. In mid-April, Southern dropped eight straight games, but rebounded to take their final four – including a three-game sweep of UAPB – to stay alive and crack the postseason.
 
The Jaguars are batting .234 as a team with 133 RBI and 69 extra-base hits. Infielder Alana Mark leads her team with a .328 average, .962 OPS, 23 RBI, and 7 homers.
Southern pitchers have combined for a 7.53 ERA this season. Their go-to starter this season has been Raquel Latta, who finished the season with a 6.09 ERA in 128.2 innings. Opponents are hitting .315 against her. Julia York also contributed 87.1 innings for the Jaguars – she allowed a 7.11 ERA, and opponents hit .297 against her.
 
The Jaguars have made 78 errors as a team. They have swiped 55 bases on 74 attempts.
 
Notes

• This season marks the 12^th postseason appearance for Watten – her ninth at B-CU.
• In the MEAC, Watten finished with a 46-16 record in tournament play.
• The Wildcats finished the season with a SWAC-leading 2.68 ERA – opponents hit only .251 against B-CU arms. Hannah Ortega and Halyne Gonzalez made up two of the top three arms in the conference statistically.
• The Wildcats were the third-best fielding team in the conference with a .951 fielding percentage.
• Carrington Robinson finished the season with a B-CU best .351 average – the ninth-highest mark in the SWAC – she finished the season on a nine-game hitting streak.

All-Time Series
Bethune-Cookman's first foray into SWAC postseason play sees them face a Southern team that the Wildcats have never faced in program history. B-CU will hope to open the all-time series 1-0.

Who's Next?

Should the Wildcats emerge victorious from their first-round matchup, they would then be scheduled to take on the winner of Prairie View A&M and Florida A&M. That second-round matchup is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11 at 7 p.m. EST.

If the Wildcats drop their first-round game, they will instead take on the loser of PVAMU and FAMU. That game would be scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST.
 
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