DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman Softball sent nine seniors out in dramatic fashion Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats split a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) doubleheader at home to visiting Jackson State at Sunnyland Park. The Wildcats dropped the opening game by a 6-1 score line, before coming back to walk off the Tigers in the nightcap, 10-9.
 
GAME ONE: JSU 6, B-CU 1
Emma Bradley-Tse and Briana Velazquez combined for four hits for Bethune-Cookman as the Wildcats dropped a 6-1 decision in the first game of a SWAC Softball doubleheader against Jackson State on Saturday afternoon at Sunnyland Park in Daytona Beach, Florida.
 
Jackson State (24-21, 14-8 SWAC) opened the scoring in the second inning when Valerie Joaquin reached on an error by the Bethune-Cookman infield and eventually made her way around to score on another miscue by the Cats infield B-CU committed three errors throughout the first game.
 
The Tigers extended their lead to 2-0 in the third frame when third baseman Jace Jackson doubled and later scored on Beija Allen's RBI single. Jackson figured prominently in the Tigers' two-run fifth inning as well, delivering a two-run double that brought home Ka'Liyah Gipson and Hermariya Stephens to push the advantage to 4-0.
 
Bethune-Cookman (20-28, 13-9 SWAC) finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Senior third baseman Shania Owens reached on an error by JSU starting pitcher Jorgina Gant, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout, before the speedy Inglewood, California native raced in off Emma Bradley-Tse's infield single to cut the deficit to 4-1.
 
However, the Tigers responded immediately with two more runs in the sixth to push the lead out to 6-1.
 
Mackenzie Barney, who pinch-ran for catcher Kristina Carlson, scored on a throwing error by the Wildcats, and Ka'Liyah Gipson came home on Hermariya Stephens' RBI single to provide the final margin of victory.
 
The Wildcats threatened in several innings but could not deliver the timely hit against Gant. In the second inning, Bethune-Cookman put runners at second and third with one out but failed to score. They also stranded runners in the third, fourth, and sixth innings, respectively.
 
Gant (7-5) was efficient throughout her seven-inning performance, scattering eight hits and allowing just one unearned run while walking one and striking out three. Senior right-hander Alyssa Lopez (9-6) accepted the loss for the Wildcats despite striking out 10 Tigers in her complete-game effort. The Fontana, California native was charged with six runs, though only four were earned, as she allowed 11 hits and walked three.
 
At the top of the JSU lineup it was Gipson going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases to increase her season total to 45. Stephens contributed two hits, an RBI, and two stolen bases from the second spot in the order.
 
For B-CU, Bradley-Tse led the offense with a 2-for-4 showing at the plate that included an RBI and her 28th stolen base of the season. Velazquez added two hits, including a double, and swiped her eighth bag of the year, respectfully.
 
GAME TWO: B-CU 10, JSU 9
In a dramatic finish in the home finale for the 2025 the Bethune-Cookman softball team, the Wildcats completed a seventh-inning rally to edge Jackson State 10-9 in the second game of their SWAC Softball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Sunnyland Park in Daytona Beach, Florida.
 
With the game tied at 9-9 in the bottom of the ninth, rallied to win the series against the visitors from Jackson, Mississippi. The two teams both split the pair of series between them on the year, with the home teams holding serve at their respective ball fields, respectfully.
 
Senior shortstop Briana Velazquez led off the Bethune-Cookman (21-28, 14-9 SWAC) at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with a double to center field, her third hit of the contest. Pinch hitter India Stokes laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Velazquez to third.
 
Jackson State (24-22, 14-9 SWAC) brought in reliever Jorgina Gant – who gathered the win in the day's opening contest, who promptly uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Velazquez to scamper home for the winning run on the 10-9 score line in favor of the Maroon and Gold.
 
"That's the kind of game that shows the character of this team," said an elated Wildcats head coach Laura Watten, whose squad overcame an early deficit and multiple Jackson State rallies. "We never stopped believing, even when we were down by three runs multiple times."
 
The game began with Jackson State seizing an early advantage, plating three runs in the top of the first inning when left fielder Gabrielle Willis delivered a bases-clearing double to left-center field, though she was thrown out attempting to stretch it into a triple.
 
The Wildcats answered with three runs of their own in the home-half of the second.
 
Senior first baseman Kendall Macauley drew a leadoff walk and Jessica Alaan followed with another free pass from Jackson State (24-22, 14-9 SWAC) starting pitcher Madison McDowell. B-CU designated player Molly Blackwood's single drove in Macauley, and after Velazquez laid down a bunt single to load the bases, graduate catcher Thais Uyema grounded into a fielder's choice that brought home both Alaan and Blackwood, knotting the score at 3-3.
 
The seesaw battle continued when the Tigers regained the lead in the third, scoring three more times.
 
After Jace Jackson walked and Meah Almaraz singled, a throwing error by the B-CU infield allowed two runs to score. Beija Allen also came around on the play, pushing the Jackson State advantage to 6-3.
 
B-CU chipped away with a run in the bottom half when senior centerfielder Joslynn Davis walked, stole second, and came home on Macauley's single to right field, cutting the deficit, 6-4.
 
The visitors extended their lead to 8-4 in the top of the fourth.
 
Shortstop Ariana Murillo singled and advanced to third on an error before scoring on Hermariya Stephens' double. Jackson followed with a single, and Stephens later scored on an error by the Cats infield.
 
Once again, the Maroon and Gold responded with two runs in the home half of the fourth.
 
Uyema advanced to third on Joyce Bloome's single. Owens grounded out to short, but not before bringing home Uyema on the play. Bloome later scored on Davis' infield single to second, cutting the deficit to 8-6.
 
After the Tigers added another run in the fifth when Mackenzie Barney scored on Murillo's single, B-CU reliever Alyssa Lopez entered the game for senior starter Halyne Gonzalez and silenced the Jackson State offense. The senior would not allow a hit over the final 2.1 innings while striking out three.
 
Lopez's stellar relief work set the stage for the Wildcats' comeback.
 
In the sixth, the Cats scored three runs to tie the game at 9-9.
 
Bloome walked, Owens singled, and both ultimately scored on Davis' single up the middle that dribbled into the outfield. Davis advanced to third on Emma Bradley-Tse's single and scored the tying run when Alaan reached on an error by Barney at second base.
 
The wild finish concluded a game that saw the lead change hands multiple times, with Jackson State leading 3-0, then Bethune-Cookman tying it at 3-3, followed by JSU pulling ahead 6-3, 8-4, and 9-6 before the Wildcats' late rally.
 
Halyne Gonzalez worked 4.2 innings, allowing nine runs (five earned) on eight hits in her final start at Sunnyland Park. JSU used three pitchers, with McDowell lasting just one inning in her start before giving way to left-hander Brooklyn Morris, who worked 5.0 innings before Jorgina Gant entered for the fateful final out.
 
Lopez took the win to improve to 10-6, while Morris fell to 6-7 in the loss.
 
The Tigers offense was paced by Willis, who drove in three runs with her first inning double. Murillo collected two hits and an RBI, while Stephens added a double and an RBI of her own.
 
Playing in her final game at Sunnyland Park, Davis led B-CU's 11-hit attack, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two stolen bases. Velazquez finished her final game at Sunnyland Park 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Joyce Bloome reached base three times and scored twice in what was also her final game in Daytona Beach.
 
The Cats now wait for the SWAC Tournament seedings which are set to be announced following the weekend. The SWAC Tournament takes place May 6-9, in Gulfport, Mississippi.
 
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