(Ormond Beach, Fla.) – Aiming for its third straight win of the day to keep its season alive, the top-seeded Delaware State Hornets (35-17) out of the north came up short Friday evening to No. 1 Bethune-Cookman (25-30) from the south, 9-2.

In the first, DSU got off to a rough start by committing two errors, while the Wildcats scored five runs on three hits to take the early advantage.  Additionally, starter Rachel Meagley (10-6), who pitched her final game as a Hornet, was replaced by freshman Tara Tursellino (13-6) after giving up a Kelsey Rodney RBI-double for the first run of the evening.

The Hornets, meanwhile, got on the board during the second, when infielder Jordan Stamps RBI-singled to bring in Danielle Velez, who doubled to lead off the frame. 

Yet, Bethune-Cookman made it an 8-1 ball game in the fourth, headlined by back-to-back RBI-singles from Bailey Conner and Kaitlin Alamprese.

Running out of chances, Delaware State continued to fight back during the sixth as Sablay connected for a two-out single to right field to bring in catcher Sandy Hawthorne and advance Velez to second. In an attempt to generate more momentum, Stamps grounded out to pitcher Sabrina Anguiano (13-16) to end the inning.

The Wildcats, on the other hand, pushed their advantage back to seven later in the inning with a Melissa Berouty RBI-single.

Despite facing a large deficit, the Columbia Blue & Red did not go down without a fight as they loaded the bases after two quick outs with singles by Chloe Oro and Madrid, while infielder Nicole Gazzola reached an on error.  Unfortunately, Hawthorne failed to capitalize as she flew out to left to end the game.

At game's end, both teams finished with 10 hits, but five DSU errors turned out to be the difference.  Pitching wise, Anguiano did just enough to pick up the win as she allowed no walks and totaled one strikeout for the Wildcats.

Looking ahead, the Hornets are set to return 13 players next season, while losing Meagley and Samantha Gross to graduation.