ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University softball program took game one (2-0) thanks to a dominant showing by staff ace Daisy Page, but five errors plagued MVSU in a sloppy game two defeat, 10-5.
 
The Basics
 

• Final Score (Game 1): Mississippi Valley State 2 | Bethune-Cookman 0

 

• Final Score (Game 2): Bethune-Cookman 10 | Mississippi Valley State 5

 

• Records: Mississippi Valley State (6-14, 4-3 SWAC) | Bethune-Cookman (9-19, 4-4 SWAC)

 

• Location: Itta Bena, Mississippi – MVSU Softball Field

 

• Series History: Series Tied 1-1

 

• Winning Streak: Bethune-Cookman (W1) | Mississippi Valley State's Last Win: Game 1 of Doubleheader (2-0)

 
Mississippi Valley State Top Performers
 

• Page was borderline unhittable in the series opener, tossing her first career shutout in her 42nd game as a Devilette with a sparkling seven innings of scoreless softball without surrendering a walk to go along with three strikeouts and ceding just three hits.

 

• Kathleen Sims recorded more RBIs in game two alone (3) than she had in her Valley career up to that point (2), producing an RBI single, RBI fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly

 

• Shelby Carson continued to set the SWAC on fire, going 3-for-4 (.750) over the two contests which included her third triple of the season, two stolen bases, two runs scored, two hit-by-pitches and a walk as she got on-base six times over seven plate appearances.

 

• Keisha White had a 3-for-5 (.600) evening as she legged out her first triple of 2021 in the nightcap plus an RBI, base on balls, steal and walk all while extending her current on-base streak to a now career-high eight consecutive games.

 

• Cailyn Peterson had a pinch-hit double in game two before eventually coming around to score and Brianna Alston picked up the lone run batted in during game one.

 

• Jaylon Davis motored into third for a triple in the first matchup which was the Murrieta, California native's 100th career contest while donning the Devilette Green and White.

 

• A'tajua Wren's pitching line may be unsightly at first glance but after digging deeper a silver lining begins to shine through as six of the ten runs she gave up were unearned. In an errorless ballgame, she would have received a 5-4 victory instead of a 10-5 loss as the defense did her no favors behind her.

 
Notes
 

• Game two was a defensive showing to forget as it had been a full year since the team had committed five-plus miscues with the last coming on March 21, 2021.

 

• Valley improved to 4-1 when out-hitting its opponents as it did in game one (6-3) but fell to 1-13 in contests where it had fewer base knocks (12-9).

 
The series will be decided on Sunday afternoon with a rubber match at 1 p.m. inside MVSU Softball Field as Coach Buckner looks to improve to 5-3 in SWACtion to begin his inaugural season at the helm.
 
Follow the Delta Devils and Devilettes on Facebook (Mississippi Valley State Athletics), Twitter (@MVSUDevilSports) and Instagram (@MVSUDevilSports).