DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A key battle for sole possession of first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Eastern Division standings midway through the season takes place this weekend when Bethune-Cookman welcomes Florida A&M to Sunnyland Park for a three-game series. The series begins Friday, March 29, at 3 p.m.
 
Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M enter the weekend tied atop the eastern division with equal 8-1 league records. The Wildcats swept Alabama A&M on the road last weekend, while the Rattlers posted a series win away to Jackson State.
 
THE SCHEDULE
Friday, March 29
3 p.m. – Florida A&M | Live Stats
 
Saturday, March 30
1 p.m. – Florida A&M | Live Stats
3 p.m. – Florida A&M | Live Stats
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Bethune-Cookman Softball this season by following the Wildcats social media platforms. You can follow @BCUSoftball on Instagram and @BCUSoftball on Twitter.
 
STATS & NOTES
▪ Bethune-Cookman arrives to the weekend having won five of its last six contests, including a three-game sweep of SWAC opponent Alabama A&M last weekend in Huntsville, Alabama.
▪ The Wildcats are tied alongside FAMU atop the SWAC Eastern Division with an 8-1 league record coming into the weekend.
▪ Last weekend, BCU outscored AAMU, 32-9.
▪ Joslynn Davis led BCU last weekend with a .583 batting average in the AAMU series with a 7-for-12 showing at the plate with eight runs and five RBIs. In the finale, the Madera, California, native went 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and a season-best four runs driven in.
▪ Halyne Gonzalez recorded a complete-game shutout of AAMU in the series opener with four hits scattered, seven strikeouts and one walk in the seven-inning affair.
▪ Kallie Earlington enters the series having reached base safely in her last 11 games consecutively.
▪ Shortstop Briana Velazquez owns a team-leading eight-game hitting streak, followed by outfielder Essence Gibbs with a seven-game streak of her own for the Maroon and Gold. Joslynn Davis also has a seven-game hitting streak intact.
▪ Newcomers Jessica Alaan and Thais Uyema each have tallied six multi-hit performances across the season.
▪ Junior pitcher Angelina Badalament leads the squad with a 2.73 ERA in 51.1 innings tossed across 14 games played.
 
QUOTES FROM COACH WATTEN
"This is the weekend. Two teams that have won numerous titles. Two teams with similar styles. Two teams with history. When Bethune-Cookman and FAMU play – it's a rivalry. Sunnyland is going to be rocking. They're going to have their fans. We are going to pack our side as well. It's a rivalry with so much tradition and history involved. I say it again – it's a rivalry."
 
"They recently named the field after a coach I have a tremendous amount of respect for and have a ton of history coaching against going back to our days in the MEAC [Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference]. Veronica Wiggins is a legend at FAMU and pioneer in HBCU Softball. That was an honor well-deserved for her, and probably, if I'm being honest, a long time overdue."
 
"I think we are starting to gel as a team. We are finally clicking, and last weekend at Alabama A&M was easily our best three-game stretch of the season. The hitters are doing what the coaching staff is asking, and it's all coming together at the right time."
 
"This weekend is another tough test, and with all due respect to every opponent on our schedule, one of the toughest we'll face in the SWAC. They're pitching has been solid, and they're bats are hot. They're disciplined at the plate; pitchers attack the zone; and they don't make mistakes on the base path. If we aren't locked in from the very first pitch of each game, then it won't end well – and the staff and I are reiterating that every day at practice. You have to be prepared and focused from the opening pitch until the last against this opponent."
 
SCOUTING FLORIDA A&M (12-14, 8-1 SWAC)
Rankings: USA Today/NFCA Coaches – NR | ESPN.com/USA Softball – NR
Head Coach: Camise Patterson (2nd season)
2024 Batting Average: .291; Runs Per Game: 4.2; Hits Per Game: 7.1; Slugging Percentage: .376
2024 ERA: 5.31; K/BB Ratio: 0.8; Opp. Batting Avg: .271
 
BCU VS. FLORIDA A&M SERIES
▪ In the longest-running series on the Bethune-Cookman schedule, the Wildcats lead the series against their counterparts from Tallahassee with a 78-53 advantage in records that date back to 1995.
▪ Since joining the SWAC, BCU has won six of the nine meetings between the two sides.
▪ From 2015-19, BCU and FAMU met each year in the championship of the MEAC Tournament in Ormond Beach, Florida.
▪ Last season, BCU won both series, including an 8-0 aggregate score line over the last two games.
 
FLORIDA A&M NOTES & STATS
▪ Florida A&M is tied atop the SWAC Eastern Division with Bethune-Cookman with an 8-1 league record. The Rattlers defeated Jackson State last weekend in a series collecting the final two games after dropping the opener.
▪ The Rattlers have won nine of their last 10 games, with the lone loss being the series opening setback at Jackson State.
▪ FAMU has outscored its league foes by a combined 67-18 scoreline this season including three shutouts.
▪ Zoryana Hughes leads the Rattlers in the pitcher's circle with a 6-2 overall record. She owns a 2.63 ERA across 64 innings pitched, accounting for a team-leading 62 strikeouts against 27 walks.
▪ Samantha Smith is second on the team in ERA (5.46) with a record 6-7 overall and 29 strikeouts on the season.
▪ The Rattlers are paced offensively by Nyomi Jones with a .385 batting average, registering a team-high 25 hits, four doubles and a home run. Nyah Morgan owns a .354 batting average with 13 RBIs to lead the team in that department.
▪ Amaya Gainer joins Morgan with a perfect mark on the base path with four stolen bases in four attempts.
▪ FAMU has four players with at least a triple, using Brianna Duggins and Gainer with two each, respectively.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST FLORIDA A&M
Bethune-Cookman scored three runs in the home-half of the sixth inning to claim a 3-0 win from Florida A&M as the Wildcats collected a series win in the rubber game of a three-game Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) set at Sunnyland Park. FAMU won the series opener, only to see BCU storm back to collect back-to-back shutouts in games two and three, respectfully. It took until the sixth inning for Bethune-Cookman to finally get to Florida A&M starting pitcher Lauryn Peppers, with catcher Jordyn Villanueva collecting a single to right as the first baserunner of the afternoon for the Wildcats. On the ensuing play, pinch runner Shania Owens stole second, but a collision at the bag with FAMU second baseman Kiauna Watson saw the Rattlers infielder leave the game with a back injury. The substitution saw Nadia Zenteno enter the circle for the Rattlers, moving Peppers to second as a defensive replacement for Watson.
 
BCU immediately went to work on Zenteno, as Haley Parks lined a run-scoring single to center field that plated Owens for the game's opening score. Centerfielder Joslynn Davis reached safely in the next at-bat on a fielding error charged to the Florida A&M, allowing Parks to score from second and give the Cats a 2-0 advantage. The lead jumped to 3-0 in favor of the hosts when sixth-year Kayla Traylor knocked a run-scoring single to center field in order to push across Davis.
 
In a relief role, Halyne Gonzalez worked the final four innings for the Wildcats and grabbed the win to bump her record to 12-13 for the campaign. She scattered five hits and struck out one batter. Victoria Guzman, one of five BCU Wildcats celebrating "Senior Appreciation Day" on Sunday, began the game with three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, one walk and collecting one strikeout. FAMU's Peppers was credited with the loss despite allowing just one baserunner in 5.1 innings of work, hit for one run and collecting a pair of strikeouts. She dropped her record to 6-8 for the season. Zenteno allowed two runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning of relief action.
 
FAMU was led at the plate by designated player Neriah Lee with a 2-for-3 afternoon. BCU was paced by Parks with a hit and an RBI. Traylor had a hit and an RBI as well.
 
UP NEXT
The Wildcats head back on the road next weekend for another key SWAC series at Jackson State in Mississippi. The series takes place April 5-6, on the campus of JSU. The series will be the lone meeting between the two eastern division programs in the 2024 regular season.
 
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