Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning gave Bethune-Cookman a sweep of the Norfolk State softball team Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats won Game 1, 7-1, before earning the 2-1 victory in Game 2 at Sunnyland Park in the conference opener for both teams.

Junior Danielle Wright doubled in the top of the seventh to tie Game 2 before Bethune-Cookman won it in the bottom of the frame. In Game 1, the Wildcats used a five-run third inning to pull out the win as they ended the day 14-20 overall and 2-0 in conference play. NSU fell to 7-15, 0-2.

Freshman Jamie Schulle (1-6) pitched well in the second game, giving up two earned runs on 10 hits in 6.1 innings. Allison Garcia (9-7) earned the win in both games, throwing six innings and giving up one unearned run on five hits in Game 1 and pitching all seven innings in Game 2. Garcia allowed just the one earned run on five hits in the nightcap.

Junior Casey Pomeroy (3-4) suffered the loss in the first game, giving up five runs, three earned, on three hits in 2.1 innings. Junior Elizabeth Castaneda pitched 3.2 innings in relief, allowing two earned runs on four hits. Wright had three hits to lead the NSU offense.

Garcia had four RBI and scored a pair of runs on the day, while shortstop Aurelia Gamch scored a pair of runs in the first game. Center fielder Ashton Hinds scored both of Bethune-Cookman's runs in the second game.

NSU missed several opportunities early on in Game 1 to push a run across the plate first. Senior Jeanette Sauceda and junior Whitney Holland hit back-to-back singles with two outs in the first inning before getting stranded one batter later when Garcia struck out Pomeroy. NSU had runners again on first and second with two outs in the second, but again Garcia got out of the jam with a strikeout.

She worked out of yet another jam in the top of the third, as the Spartans left Sauceda and Holland in scoring position. The Wildcats, who had also stranded two runners on in both the first and second innings, finally broke through in the third. Gamch opened the frame with a solo homer to right field, and then B-CU loaded the bases with just one out.

Two straight walks made it 3-0 in favor of the Wildcats, and then a throwing error on the Spartans followed by a fielder's choice gave Bethune-Cookman a 5-0 lead after three innings.

The Spartans got a run on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth when freshman Melina Valles singled to center and freshman Nikki Jones reached on an error on the B-CU third baseman to put runners on second and third. Valles came home when sophomore Gipsy Ramirez hit a fielder's choice to short, but Jones was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

The Wildcats made it 7-1 in the bottom half of the sixth when Gamch led off with a double to right center and Garcia launched a two-run home run over the left field fence.

Bethune-Cookman struck first in the second game of the twinbill with a run in the bottom of the third. Hinds singled with one out and then stole second one out later before advancing to third when the throw got away from the NSU fielders. Garcia lined a single to right to score Hinds and give B-CU the 1-0 lead.

The Spartans put the first two runners on in the top of the fifth, but the Wildcats twice threw the lead runner out at third base to kill the rally. Bethune-Cookman nearly made it 2-0 in the bottom half of the inning, but junior second baseman Candice Vasquez threw out Gamch at home on an infield single to keep the deficit at one.

After stranding two in the sixth, NSU finally broke through in the seventh inning, all with two outs. Vasquez singled to right field, and freshman Morgan Boyd followed that up with another single to put runners on first and second. Wright then doubled to score Vasquez, but NSU stranded Boyd at third to end the inning.

Hinds hit an infield single to lead off the seventh and was immediately sacrificed to second. Garcia once again proved to be the hero, as her hit to center field brought around Hinds for the winning run.

The two teams will wrap things up tomorrow at noon for the third and final game of the weekend.