GULFPORT, Miss. – Bethune-Cookman's Kendall Macauley batted 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs Thursday afternoon as the Wildcats defeated No. 1 seed (Western Division) Prairie View A&M, 3-2 in an elimination game of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Softball Tournament at Gulfport Sportsplex in Gulfport, Mississippi. For the Cats, it was the second time in three days they have defeated the top-seeded Panthers.
 
For the second time against the Panthers, Bethune-Cookman (23-30) got a stellar pitching performance from senior right-hander Alyssa Lopez, who went six complete innings in the start, and clutch hitting from senior first baseman Kendall Macauley, who drove in two runs on a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate.
 
Prairie View A&M (28-21) mounted a serious threat in the bottom of the seventh inning as the west's top side trailed, 3-0.
 
After Lopez allowed the first three batters to reach safely, B-CU veteran head coach Laura Watten turned to reliever Halyne Gonzalez, as the senior right-hander entered with the bases loaded and no outs. Prairie View's Kayla Zaid's sacrifice fly brought home Nya Brown for Prairie View's first run, cutting the deficit to 3-1. After Mia Nunez walked to load the bases for the second time in the frame, centerfielder Janaiya Thomas was hit by a pitch, forcing in Isabela Rodriguez to make it 3-2 with the bases still loaded.
 
However, Gonzalez would bounce back to strike out Reagan Green and Dyani McKinley in succession to earn her third save of the season and secure the Wildcats' victory.
 
After both teams were held scoreless through the first two innings, Bethune-Cookman broke through with a pair of runs in the top of the third.
 
Joslynn Davis, who reached base three times in the game, singled through the left side and advanced to second on the only error of the afternoon by either side. The Wildcats centerfielder later scored on Macauley's sacrifice fly to deep center. Junior left fielder Emma Bradley-Tse, who had reached on a fielder's choice and stole second base – her 30th steal of the campaign, came around to score on a Jessica Alaan squeeze bunt, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.
 
The Wildcats extended their advantage to 3-0 in the fourth frame when graduate catcher Thais Uyema singled to begin the frame. The Lima, Peru native came in for the score off the end of Macauley's third hit of the game, this one a single to straightaway center field.
 
Panthers starter Madalyne Martinez took the loss to drop her record at 3-6 for the season, allowing three runs (one earned) on seven hits in 3.1 innings of work. Halley Elizarraras provided 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, giving up just two hits while keeping the Panthers within striking distance, respectfully.
 
Lopez (12-6) dominated through six innings for the Maroon and Gold, scattering six hits while striking out four Panthers. She worked out of trouble multiple times, as Prairie View stranded 10 runners on base during the game. B-CU also stranded double-digit runners as the Cats had the bases loaded in the first and fourth innings, respectively.
 
For Prairie View A&M, Thomas and Zaid each drove in a run, while six different Panthers recorded one hit apiece.
 
For the Maroon and Gold, it was senior first baseman Macauley providing the 3-for-3 day with two RBIs, as previously mentioned, and classmate third baseman Aysiah Gonzalez (2-for-4) also had a multi-hit day for the Cats. Bethune-Cookman played errorless defense behind their pitchers for the second time in as many games against the Panthers, while Prairie View A&M committed one costly error that led to two unearned runs.
 
The Cats advance to play No. 1 seed (Eastern Division) Florida A&M on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) in another elimination game.
 
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