DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A three-run sixth inning allowed Bethune-Cookman Softball to win its home opener Wednesday afternoon as the Wildcats defeated North Dakota 4-1 in a single nonconference game at Sunnyland Park.
 
With a pitcher's duel occurring between Bethune-Cookman's Halyne Gonzalez and North Dakota's Camryn Lasota, the Wildcats finally got to the Fighting Hawks' right-hander in the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
Bethune-Cookman (2-16) right fielder Essence Gibbs delivered her first triple of the season with a ball to the wall in left field with one out. On the ensuing play, right fielder Joyce Bloome hit a hard ground ball to North Dakota third baseman Taya Castaneda, but her throw to first was wide of the glove of Katelyn Neumayer, allowing Gibbs to come home from third and give BCU a 2-1 lead.
 
Freshman left fielder Brooklyn Scott put a single through the right side past Angie Dumlao at second, giving the Wildcats runners on the corners. Kendall Macauley, a junior transfer from Fayetteville, North Carolina, followed with a sacrifice fly to shallow left, pushing across Bloome from third for the 3-1 advantage. The lead increased to 4-1 for the Cats when catcher Thais Uyema's single down the line in right just in front of outfielder Mariah Peters brought around Scott for the score.
 
BCU took the lead first in the home-half of the second inning as second baseman Jessica Alaan singled to right field in order to plate Uyema and put the Cats ahead, 1-0.
 
North Dakota (5-18) would score its lone run of the contest and knot the score at 1-1 in the top of the third.
 
Leadoff hitter Katie Joten was hit by a Gonzalez pitch with two outs at the top of the order, and Izzy Haslett immediately followed with a single to center field, allowing the speedy Joten to score from first and tie the game at 1-all.
 
The Fighting Hawks threatened in the top-half of the fifth with runners on the corners and two away. Joten stole her seventh base of the season in swiping second before Gonzalez settled down to get Haslett to line out to Macauley at third and retire the side.
 
The win went to Gonzalez as she worked the entire game in the pitcher's circle, registering six strikeouts, and allowing just one run on two hits scattered in the seven-inning affair. With the win, she upped her record to 2-8 for the season. The loss was awarded to Lasota of North Dakota, dropping her record to 1-8 for the year, as she also went the distance in the circle allowing four runs (one earned) on four hits, one walk and five strikeouts.
 
The Fighting Hawks got hits from Joten and Haslett on the day to lead the offense.
 
Meanwhile, BCU had four hits from four different batters, including a 1-for-2 performance from Uyema as she also added a run and an RBI. Gibbs was 1-for-3 with a run and her triple.
 
Bethune-Cookman opens Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play Sunday, March 10, as the Wildcats travel to Mississippi Valley State for a three-game series in Itta Bena, Mississippi. The Sunday series-opening doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. CT.
 
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