Carson’s Three-Run Blast, Five-Run First Holds Up For Pivotal Division Win

Box Score

ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University softball program survived a two-run first by the Lady Rattlers, posted five in the bottom half then staved off a feisty FAMU squad to win 5-4 and propel them into a SWAC Tournament spot as of April 22.

With its tenth win of the season, the Devilettes have its first campaign with double-figure victories since 2018 and Head Coach Jimmy Buckner became the all-time program leader for wins in his inaugural year in charge, surpassing Bernita Alexander’s six-win year in 1998, the debut season for the softball program at Mississippi Valley.

 
The Basics

• Final Score: Mississippi Valley State 5 | Florida A&M 4

• Records: Mississippi Valley State (10-21, 8-10 SWAC) | Florida A&M (16-25, 10-9 SWAC)

• Location: Itta Bena, Mississippi – MVSU Softball Field

• Series History: Florida A&M Leads 6-4

• Winning Streak: Mississippi Valley State (W1) | Florida A&M’s Last Win: March 19, 2022 (5-0)

Mississippi Valley State Top Performers

• Shelby Carson provided the fireworks in the bottom of the first, walloping a no-doubt dead-center mammoth three-run blast for her fifth straight game with a base hit and giving the Green and White a lead it would never relinquish. Her three RBIs were a career-best as she had not knocked in multiple runs in a game prior to Friday evening over 41 previous contests plus she is the only Valley student-athlete with multiple homers this year, accounting for two of the team’s four long balls.

• Sydney Wesley provided the other two critical runs in that fateful first, blooping a tweener single that hugged the left field line to bring around a pair of two-out runners. It was her second multi-RBI outing of the season, the only MVSU female to have more than one.

• Senior Brianna Alston, not known for her ability to draw walks this season, doubled up her yearly total for free passes alone on Friday, drawing a pair of ball fours while scoring on the Carson round-tripper after reaching via an error.

• Senior ace Daisy Page moved to 8-6 on the year, the 12th win of her career while tossing her 15th complete game at MVSU with seven innings of four-run work (only two earned) on top of four strikeouts and only one walk despite a very hitter-friendly strike zone. At the conclusion of the contest, her ERA had dropped from an already low 2.58 down to 2.54 as she chases the SWAC’s ERA title.

• We would be remiss if we did not mention Wesley, Keisha White, seniors Alston and Cailyn Peterson as each of the five ladies were apart of two separate plays at the plate which cut down two Florida A&M runs where perfect relays were needed to get the putout. White and Wesley were the beginning and end of both sequences while Peterson and Alston were the cutoff women once each.

Notes

• The Devilettes’ five-run opening frame was tied for the most in an inning this season and marked only the fourth time that MVSU has scored five-plus runs, improving to 3-1 with the triumph.

• Valley has diligently protected its home turf in 2022, sitting at 7-2 on the year in The Delta while they are now 5-2 in weekend series openers.

• With the thrilling one-run win, Mississippi Valley improved its record to 61-52 (54%) all-time in one-run affairs against SWAC competition and 97-103 (48.5%) overall.

Seniors Daisy Page, Laeni Terrones, Jaylon Davis, Demi Slater, Cailyn Peterson, Brianna Alston, Kayla Sanchez, Aleyah Munford, and Graduate Assistant Jewel Unga will be recognized at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Saturday prior to the home finale doubleheader which starts at two o’clock.

Follow the Delta Devils and Devilettes on Facebook (Mississippi Valley State Athletics), Twitter (@MVSUDevilSports) and Instagram (@MVSUDevilSports).

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