DeLAND, Fla. – Designated player Adrienne Nardone's RBI double to left helped Colgate walk off Bethune-Cookman 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning in nonconference softball action taking place at Patricia Wilson Field on Friday afternoon. The game was the second of the day for the Wildcats in this year's Hatter Classic hosted by Stetson.
 
Trailing 2-0 after three innings in the books, Bethune-Cookman (1-6) kicked off a two-out rally with Kallie Earlington working a walk from Colgate pitcher Alexa Acker. Joslynn Davis would reach safely as the next batter with a throwing error charged to Raiders third baseman Elizabeth Nitka. On the ensuing play, Essence Gibbs struck out, but eventually reach first safely courtesy a throwing error from catcher Quinn Livesay.
 
The error allowed both Earlington and Davis to score on the play and knot the game at 2-2 for the Wildcats.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Colgate (2-4) used a single up the middle from Kiley Shelton to begin the at-bat, followed immediately by Kara Fusco being hit by an Angelina Badalament pitch, allowing Shelton to make her way into scoring position with nobody out.
 
Adrienne Nardone would turn on the first pitch she saw from the BCU junior right-hander Badalament in delivering a run-scoring, walk-off double to left field that pushed across Shelton for the 3-2 game-winning run.
 
The Raiders began the game with two runs off Wildcats starting pitcher Sofia Vallejos-Coleman in the bottom-half of the opening inning.
 
With the first three Raiders reaching safely to begin the at-bat, first baseman Fusco tallied an RBI fielder's choice which scored leadoff hitter Rachel Carney for the game's opening run. The Raiders added their second run of the frame when left fielder Nora Megenity drew a bases-loaded walk from Vallejos-Coleman, allowing teammate Shelton to trot in from third for the score.
 
Colgate was charged offensively by Nardone's 2-for-3 performance and RBI in the contest.
 
Meanwhile, BCU used two hits in three appearances at the plate from catcher Thais Uyema to lead the Maroon and Gold.
 
The win was collected by the Raiders' Acker as she went the distance in the circle, giving up two unearned runs on three hits, four walks and pair of strikeouts. With the win, she evened her record for the season at 1-1.
 
The loss went to Bethune-Cookman reliever Badalament as she fell to 0-2 for the season, relieving Vallejos-Coleman with five innings worked out of the bullpen, giving up just one run on five hits, two walks and registering three strikeouts. Vallejos-Coleman went one inning in the circle for the Wildcats in a starting role, failing to factor into the decision with two runs allowed on four walks and two strikeouts.
 
Bethune-Cookman continues play at the Hatter Classic on Saturday when the Wildcats take on Colgate at 8 a.m., followed by a scheduled matchup with host Stetson at 3 p.m. However, heavy rains are expected to enter the Volusia County area Saturday afternoon, possibly affecting all afternoon/evening games in DeLand.
 
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