Valley Out-Hits Rattlers But Shutout After Third Inning In Defeat 

Box Score

ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University baseball program was the better team in the hit column (13-9) and was out-hitting the Rattlers by a count of 10-2 at one point, but 11 walks allowed plus no runs scored after the third frame allowed the visitors from Tallahassee to escape with an 11-6 victory.

The Basics

• Final Score: Florida A&M 11 | Mississippi Valley State 6

• Records: Mississippi Valley State (10-21-1, 4-15 SWAC) | Florida A&M (21-23, 15-6 SWAC)

• Location: Itta Bena, Mississippi – Magnolia Field

• Series History: Florida A&M Leads 8-0

• Winning Streak: Florida A&M (W8) | Mississippi Valley State’s Last Win: N/A

Mississippi Valley State Top Performers

• Jose Salazar-Ortega (3-for-5, 2 R, RBI), Johnathan Yandrich (2-for-4, RBI, R, BB), and Davon Mims (3-for-5, 2 RBI) made up most of the offensive production as they accounted for 61.5% of the hits, 66.7% of the RBIs, and half of the team’s runs scored.

• Jan Tolentino and Narvin Booker had the other two runs batted in during the hot and humid Mississippi heat while Chris Soeder capped off his breakout weekend with a hit and a run plus a pair of walks.

• Both Darrien Chapman and Willie Johnson made their NCAA pitching debuts for the Green and White as Chapman an inning-and-a-third with a strikeout while Johnson got two scoreless outs with only one hit allowed. Chapman had pitched collegiately before, making one appearance with Rust College last season and Johnson made his career debut on the mound during his 118th game at Mississippi Valley State University.

Notes

• Florida A&M is the only current SWAC school that Mississippi Valley State has not defeated on the baseball diamond, crossing Bethune-Cookman off the list earlier this season.

• All 13 hits by the Diamond Devils were singles but damage was done across the lineup as batters two through nine all had at least one hit, hitters three through seven scored at least once, and all six RBIs came from the players slotted between the fifth and ninth holes.

MVSU heads to Huntsville, Alabama for a date with the Bulldogs of Alabama A&M next weekend with a goal of keeping its SWAC Tournament hopes alive.

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