GULFPORT, Miss. – A five-run fifth inning proved to be the difference Tuesday morning, as No. 2 seed Bethune-Cookman (Eastern Division) opened the 2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference Softball Tournament with a 6-0 shutout win over No. 3 seed Texas Southern (Western Division) at Gulfport Sportsplex.
 
In what was a pitcher's dual from the start, Bethune-Cookman (18-29) finally got to Texas Southern starter Lailah Bell in the bottom of the fifth inning.
 
After catcher Jordyn Villanueva walked and Kayla Traylor laid down a sacrifice bunt to move her to second, Carrington Robinson and Joslynn Davis walked to load the bases with one out. After a 20-minute weather delay, play resumed to see designated player Essence Gibbs hit by a pitch to bring home pinch runner Katelynn Perez for the 1-0 run.
 
In the home-half of the sixth, the Wildcats finally opened the game up with five runs scoring in the frame.
 
Ciera Clark led off the at-bat with a single through the right side, while pinch runner Shania Owens entered the game and stole second on the ensuing play. Owens would make it 2-0 when Kallie Earlington laid down a sacrifice bunt, but the throw to first was wide of the bag by Texas Southern (15-24) third baseman Haley Castro.
 
A Parks single to short with one out and bases loaded pushed across Robinson, Traylor and Villanueva – aided by an error charged to the Tigers infield, making the score 5-0.
 
A David RBI groundout to second drove in Parks, putting the Cats up 6-0 heading into the top of the seventh.
 
All-SWAC First Team member pitcher Halyne Gonzalez went two-thirds of the way in the seventh, before relief pitcher graduate Victoria Guzman toed the rubber and got the final out for the Maroon and Gold.
 
Gonzalez picked up the win, her 15th of the season, as she worked 6.2 innings in the circle for the Wildcats, scattering four hits, two walks and striking out seven batters. The loss went to TSU's Bell in a complete-game performance, dropping her to 6-8 on the year, as she was tagged for six runs (one earned) on three hits, six walks and one strikeout.
 
Texas Southern was led offensively by right fielder Pam Richardson who was 2-for-4 at the dish.
 
Bethune-Cookman was led at the plate by Parks with two hits, while Clark had the other hit for the Cats, with RBIs coming from Parks, Davis and Gibbs, respectively.
 
The Wildcats now await the winner of No. 1 seed Prairie View A&M (Western Division) and No. 4 seed Jackson State (Eastern Division) on Wednesday, May 10, at 3 p.m. CT.
 
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