DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Head Coach Laura Watten and the Wildcats welcome Jacksonville University to Sunnyland Park on Tuesday, April 30, as Bethune-Cookman Softball plays the regular season finale against the Dolphins in a nonconference midweek doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. It will be the first visit to Sunnyland Park for the Dolphins of JU since 2013.
 
THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, April 30
2 p.m. – Jacksonville | Watch | Live Stats
4 p.m. – Jacksonville | Watch | 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 finished the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) season with a record of 16-8, and enters the Tuesday contest against JU with an 18-28 overall record on the season.
▪ The Wildcats completed a SWAC series sweep of Mississippi Valley State over the weekend, outscoring the Delta Devilettes by a combined 23-9 advantage in the runs category.
▪ Essence Gibbs was tabbed as female Wildcat of the Week (April 22-28) as the right fielder was key at the plate in BCU's sweep of MVSU, batting 8-for-11 with three runs scored and three RBIs.
▪ Ciera Clark and Essence Gibbs were honored over the weekend with "Senior Appreciation Day".
▪ Clark currently leads the Wildcats in batting average, as she hits at a .368 clip and has one of the three home runs hit on the season by the Maroon and Gold.
▪ Freshman second baseman Jessica Alaan has a team-high 41 hits and team-high matching 10 doubles to go along with 26 RBIs.
▪ Halyne Gonzalez leads the BCU pitching staff with a 3.51 ERA and a record of 12-14 across the campaign.
▪ Sophomore Ajah Mallary and freshman Sofia Vallejos-Coleman have appeared in more games in the circle for the Cats recently.
▪ Alyssa Brady collected her first win of the season against MVSU, as the freshman from Virginia threw two-thirds of an inning with a hit allowed as BCU claimed an 8-7 come-from-behind victory.
 
QUOTES FROM COACH WATTEN
"It's always sad when you play your final homes games of the season. The season is always so fast, and it seems like yesterday that we were throwing out the first pitch over in Tampa. But we'll be ready for a tough Jacksonville team that is preparing for their own regular season finale this upcoming weekend."
 
"We want to try and play well against JU because it will be our final preparation for the SWAC Tournament in Gulfport, Mississippi, next week. It's important for us to have a good showing and get some confidence in ourselves against a very good opponent like JU."
 
"The weekend against a tough Mississippi Valley [State] team really was needed for us. It tested us in a number of different ways, but most importantly our patience and resolve. We played some good softball, and we were fortunate to come away with a series sweep at home – sending our seniors out on a high note as well."
 
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE (23-22, 13-8 ASUN)
Rankings: USA Today/NFCA Coaches – NR | ESPN.com/USA Softball – NR
Head Coach: Erica Ayers (7th season)
2024 Batting Average: .247; Runs Per Game: 4.2; Hits Per Game: 6.1; Slugging Percentage: .342
2024 ERA: 3.07; K/BB Ratio: 1.2; Opp. Batting Avg: .266
 
BCU VS. JACKSONVILLE SERIES
▪ Jacksonville leads the all-time series against Bethune-Cookman by an 18-7 margin dating back to 2003.
▪ The Dolphins have won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two sides, including a 6-1 decision last year in Jacksonville.
▪ Prior to last season, the two sides had not met since 2018, when the teams split a doubleheader in Jacksonville, as BCU collected the opener, 2-1, before dropping rh nightcap, 5-4 in eight innings.
▪ From 2003-07, BCU won four in a row in the series.
▪ This will be JU's first trip to Daytona Beach since 2013, when the Dolphins collected a hard-fought 1-0 win from the Wildcats in a single game.
▪ The series is tied 3-3 at Sunnyland Park, with the Dolphins having won all of the previous three visits.
 
JACKSONVILLE NOTES & STATS
▪ The Jacksonville Dolphins arrive to Daytona Beach having won three of their last four games, including a series win from conference opponent Lipscomb over the weekend in Nashville.
▪ The Dolphins have a record of 10-7 in true road games this year.
▪ Allison Bratek leads the batting for the Dolphins with a .288 average, sitting second on the team with 36 hits and eight doubles. She is tied atop the Dolphins squad with four home runs.
▪ Madison Bratek is just behind her sister with a .283 batting average, adding a .341 slugging percentage and leading the team with 20 stolen bases on the campaign.
▪ As a team, the Dolphins have stolen 68 bases, while holding opponents to just 47 steals and throwing them out on 12 occasions.
▪ The JU pitching staff is highlighted at the top by Shelby Harpe with a 2.46 ERA, as she owns a record of 6-7 on the season. She also has one save on the season.
▪ Skylar Waggoner has a record of 6-10 with a 3.25 ERA, adding a team-leading 60 strikeouts in 110 innings of work in the circle.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST JACKSONVILLE
Desirae Martinez tallied two hits as Bethune-Cookman fell to host Jacksonville by a count of 6-1 in nonconference softball action played at Pruitt Softball Complex in Jacksonville, Florida.
 
JU led 1-0 after three innings. But Bethune-Cookman would tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth, after catcher Jordyn Villanueva reached base on a fielding error charged to Madison Reynolds at shortstop, and later came around to score on a passed ball by catcher Madison Kennedy.
 
The Dolphins quickly responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame to reclaim the lead for good. Lindsey Chadwick scored Kari Holzrichter on a double down the left field line, before the first baseman eventually scored on a BCU error, giving her side the 3-1 advantage. JU would add three more runs in the bottom of the fifth.
 
The win was collected by Ashlee Harwood for JU, as she pitched seven innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits scattered, walking one and striking out nine. She raised her record to 3-1 on the season with the victory. Meanwhile, Halyne Gonzalez took the loss for Bethune-Cookman, lowering her record at 1-4 for the year. Gonzalez worked four innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits, one walk, and collecting one strikeout. Alyssa Lopez tossed the final inning for the Maroon and Gold, as she walked three and struck out three.
 
JU was led at the plate by Allison Bratek with three hits in three appearances, adding three RBIs and a run. BCU was led by Martinez at the dish, with the Wildcats second baseman collecting two hits in three at-bats.
 
UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman travels to Gulfport, Mississippi, as the Wildcats compete in the annual SWAC Tournament at Gulfport Sportsplex. The tournament runs May 7-11, with official seedings to be announced later this week by the league office in Birmingham, Alabama.
 
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