DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman Softball hosts Memphis on Wednesday, April 23, as the Wildcats play their final midweek game of the 2025 season at Sunnyland Park. The game will be a single game beginning at 5 p.m. This will be just the fourth meeting all-time between the two schools, and the first-ever in Daytona Beach.
 


Wednesday, April 23
5 p.m. – vs. Memphis | 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 X/Twitter.
 


▪ Bethune-Cookman is coming off a series in which the Wildcats lost a pair of one-run games, including a walk-off defeat in the series finale at Florida A&M.
▪ Three different players are hitting .300 or better for the Wildcats – Joslynn Davis (.353), Emma Bradley-Tse (.350) and Shania Owens (.333).
▪ Halyne Gonzalez has a team-leading 89 strikeouts on the year.
▪ When registering more hits than their opponent, the Cats are 15-7 on the year.
▪ First baseman Kendall Macauley enters the midweek affair riding a six-game hitting streak, in addition to reaching base safely in her last 20 contests.
▪ Bradley-Tse leads the Wildcats with six (6) multiple- RBI games on the campaign.
 


▪ Memphis leads the all-time series, 3-0.
▪ The Tigers won the last encounter between the two sides by a 2-1 decision in 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida.
▪ The first meeting in the series occurred in 2008 in Tampa.
 

HEAD COACH LAURA WATTEN
"The season is coming to a close, and it's the business end of the table. We know what needs to be done, and it all starts on Wednesday. We want to close the nonconference schedule on a strong note. And it's a great challenge hosting a quality program like Memphis."
 
"We're going to see how we respond. It's all about a response. We had some things go against us last weekend, and now we have to put that behind us. That series is over. It's done. Gone. We have to move forward now, and we have to focus on what we can control. And that means locking in on Memphis in midweek."
 
"Memphis does a great job swinging the bat, and they're going to present some of the same problems for us as last weekend. Make no mistake about it, this is a very good team whose record doesn't indicate just how strong they really are in several areas. They're well-coached, well-disciplined and they play the game at a high level."
 

MEMPHIS TIGERS (16-30, 4-17 AAC)
Rankings: USA Today/NFCA Coaches – NR | ESPN.com/USA Softball – NR
Head Coach: Trena Prater (1st season)
2025 Batting Average: .271; Runs Per Game:5.0; Hits Per Game: 6.7; Slugging Percentage: .397
2025 ERA: 5.06; K/BB Ratio: 0.89; Opp. Batting Avg: .310
 

RECAPPING B-CU'S LAST GAME (at Mississippi Valley State)
Keeleigh Spooner's two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning propelled Florida A&M to a 4-3 walk-off win and series sweep of Bethune-Cookman in a pivotal SWAC Softball matchup for the visiting Wildcats at Veronica Wiggins Field.
 
Bethune-Cookman entered the weekend in second place of the SWAC Eastern Division, with the Wildcats needing a win on Sunday to avoid falling to the fourth place spot – with other weekend results around the league going against the Maroon and Gold.
 
Florida A&M trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Rattlers centerfield Ciara Maple catalyzed FAMU's decisive rally, leading off the final frame at the top of the order with her third hit of the day. Following a sacrifice bunt by Kiauna Watson and a groundout that advanced Maple to third, Amari Brown worked a two-out walk before being replaced by pinch-runner Braxtyn Battle.
 
B-CU reliever Halyne Gonzalez delivered to Keeleigh Spooner with two outs and a pair of runners in scoring position before the Rattlers designated player drove the game-winning hit through the right side between Jessica Alaan at second and first baseman Kendall Macauley, bringing home both Maple and Battle for the walk-off win. The visitors struck early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning when leadoff hitter and third baseman Shania Owens drew a walk, stole second and third, and ultimately scored on a Joslynn Davis RBI groundout. The Cats doubled their advantage at 2-0 in the top-half of the second inning as Alaan walked and later scored on Owens's fielder's choice.
 
FAMU responded with its first run of the contest in the third when Zoryana Hughes singled and scored on Amari Brown's base knock through the right side, trimming the deficit to 2-1. The Cats restored a two-run edge at 3-1 in the fourth when pinch-runner India Stokes crossed safely on Davis's single to left field – her second RBI of the afternoon.
 
The Rattlers chipped away at the lead again in the fifth when Watson reached on a single, advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Jamison Townsend, and scored following an error by the Wildcats infield.
 
Hughes (10-6) earned the win in the circle with 5.2 innings of strong relief work of starter Samantha Smith, allowing just one run on four hits while walking three batters. Bethune-Cookman's Gonzalez (9-17) accepted the loss after surrendering the decisive runs in the seventh, working 2.1 innings in relief of Alyssa Lopez who started the game in the circle for the Maroon and Gold. Maple paced FAMU's nine-hit attack with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, while Spooner finished with two hits and two RBIs. For B-CU, Davis and Joyce Bloome each collected two hits, with Davis driving in two runs as well.
 


The final SWAC series of the season takes place at Sunnyland Park when Jackson State visits Daytona Beach for a three-game series that will also represent "Senior Appreciation Day" beginning Friday, April 25, at 5 p.m.