CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – A pair of heartbreaking losses concluded Bethune-Cookman's stay in this year's edition of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic taking place at Big League Dreams Complex. The Wildcats fell 3-0 in the day's opening game to Cal State Northridge, before suffering a late defeat at the hands of Loyola Marymount, 6-5.
 
CSUN 3, B-CU 0
Cal State Northridge pitcher Isabella Alonso went the distance in the circle, while Shaylan Whatman had a pair of hits for the Matadors on Saturday morning to earn a 3-0 win over Bethune-Cookman in softball action played at Big League Dreams Complex in Cathedral City, California.
 
Cal State Northridge (11-2) plated the game's opening run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
 
After a single from Shaylan Whatman and a double by Alexis Chavez, it was left fielder Mikayla Carman collecting an RBI ground out back to the circle scoring the CSUN third baseman and cracking the deadlock, 1-0.
 
In the home-half of the sixth, the Matadors added two insurance runs to make it 3-0.
 
Lulu Sanchez's double up the middle with one away put the Matadors' centerfielder into scoring position. Pinch runner Kennedy Gustin worked her way to second on a Bethune-Cookman error charged to Briana Velazquez at shortstop. Two plays later, Gizella Vargas Sando sent a ball back up the middle driving in Gustin and pinch runner Raegan Jackson, respectively.
 
Bethune-Cookman (1-12) put two base runners aboard in the top of the seventh as the Wildcats looked to rally.
 
Brooklyn Scott singled and Thais Uyema followed with her only hit of the game to put runners on the corners. But a strikeout would end the game and leave the runners stranded for the Maroon and Gold.
 
CSUN's Isabella Alonso pitched the complete game for the Matadors, scattering three hits in the shutout, while adding four strikeouts and zero (0) walks. With the win, she upped her record to 4-1 for the season. Angelina Badalament dropped to 0-3 on the season for the Wildcats as she collected the loss, pitching six innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits with two walks.
 
The CSUN offense was paced by Whatman with a 2-for-3 game and a run scored. Vargas Sando was 1-for-1 in a pinch hit effort, adding two RBIs as well.
 
B-CU got hits from each of Joyce Bloome, Brooklyn Scott and Thais Uyema on the day – each going 1-for-3, respectively.
 
LMU 6, B-CU 5
Despite scoring five runs in the first two innings, Bethune-Cookman couldn't hold on to the lead Saturday evening, as Loyola Marymount plated two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to record a 6-5 come-from-behind win from the Wildcats at Big League Dreams Complex in Cathedral City, California.
 
With Bethune-Cookman (1-13) up 2-0 in the top of the second following an RBI single from shortstop Briana Velazquez, the Wildcats plated another three runs to widen the lead. With the bases loaded, third baseman Kallie Earlington ripped a bases-clearing double to the wall in right-center, pushing the Maroon and Gold lead out to 5-0.
 
Loyola Marymount (5-9) got itself back into the game in the home-half of the third inning when the Lions scored a pair of runs with two outs, cutting the B-CU lead at 5-2.
 
The Lions added a run in the bottom of the fourth stemming from a leadoff triple. Another extra-base hit to begin the at-bat in the fifth would see the Lions narrow the deficit at 5-4, as a wild pitch and an error would score the runner.
 
With Bethune-Cookman leading 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth, Loyola Marymount tied things up with a squeeze bunt that scored the runner from third. LMU had runners on second and third to relief pitcher Sofia Vallejos-Coleman. A wild pitch on the ensuing batter allowed the runner to score from third and give the Lions their first lead of the evening, 6-5.
 
The loss was taken by B-CU starting pitcher Halyne Gonzalez, as she dropped her record for the season at 1-8.
 
For the Cats, they will look to snap what is now a 13-game losing skid after the season-opening win over Illinois State when they travel to Orlando next weekend for the Knights Classic hosted by UCF beginning Friday, March 1. B-CU will open against Princeton at noon.
 
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