ITTA BENA, Miss. – Alabama A&M (5-12, 0-2 SWAC) battled back twice but succumbed to a pair of seventh inning walk offs as they dropped 2-1 and 4-3 decisions at Mississippi Valley State (4-11, 2-0 SWAC) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) openers for both teams in a pair of NCAA Division I softball games on Friday, March 11.
 
GAME 1: Mississippi Valley State 2, Alabama A&M 1
Neither team would get anything going over the first two and a half innings as pitching did not allow a single hit and just two baserunners – one per team – before the Devilettes broke through in the third inning. Shelby Carson would put MVSU in business with a leadoff triple for the game's first hit and then come around to score on a fielder's choice by Laeni Terrones on the next play for a 1-0 lead.
 
That would not hold up long, however, as freshman outfielder Tatianna Roman (Cypress, Calif.) reached on a leadoff bunt, advanced to second on a sacrifice and was joined on base by senior first baseman Rachael McKinney (Birmingham, Ala.) with a walk. With it first and third with two outs, freshman outfielder Allyson Riches (San Diego, Calif.) singled through the left side to tie it up before a foul pop ended the threat.
 
Over the next three innings pitching would once again rule the day as the clubs combined for just two hits before Mississippi Valley State capitalized on two-out hitting in the home half of the seventh. Carson would do the damage once again as she laced a triple to the right centerfield gap, and following a walk, Brianna Alston beat out a ball to shortstop to allow the winning run to cross home plate for the narrow 2-1 victory.
 
In a game where hits were at a premium, Valley managed just four but Alston would collect half of those as she went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Carson, with her two triples and both runs, would have the others. A'Tajua Wren threw all seven innings, allowing just three hits and the one run and struck out three to improve to 2-3 on the year.
 
Riches led the way for the Bulldogs, going 1-for-2 with the lone RBI and Roman was 1-for-3 with a run. Freshman shortstop Serena Herbranson (Hemet, Calif.) rounded out the top offensive performers with the other hit, going 1-for-2 while freshman Paige Scott (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada) delivered another strong effort in the circle.
 
She tossed all 6.2 innings, surrendering just four hits and two runs to go with a pair of strikeouts to fall to 1-4 on the year.
 
GAME 2: Mississippi Valley State 4, Alabama A&M 3
MVSU would be first on the scoreboard again in the nightcap as they turned a walk and steal by Sydney Wesley into a run on a single to center by Demi Slater in the bottom of the second inning.
 
They would quickly build that lead out to 3-0 the following inning as Alston took advantage of a two-base error and then reached third on a wild pitch. Kathleen Sims then brought her home on a grounder back to the pitcher and Carson did damage again, this time with a solo jack to right center, to stake the Devilettes to a three-run lead.
 
Neither team would get anything moving in the fourth but A&M would change that dramatically in the fifth. With a runner on first and one out, freshman pitcher Esperanza Coe (Beaumont, Calif.) singled to put runners on first and second. Herbranson then gave herself up to move the runners over with a sacrifice bunt, setting the table for sophomore outfielder Lauryn Gross (Huntsville, Ala.) who laced a triple down the left field line to score them both and cut it to 3-2.
 
The Bulldogs then set down Valley in order in the fifth and went back to work in the top of the sixth. McKinney reached on an error and junior infielder Venice Sanders (Birmingham, Ala.) pinch ran, went to second on a wild pitch and third on a passed ball. Continuing the theme of a no-hit inning, she would then come home when Riches reached on an error by the second baseman.
 
Knotted up at 3-3 following that frame, MVSU managed a bunt single and steal to get a runner on second with no one out before proceeding to be set down in order to erase the threat. Despite a pair of walks sandwiched around a wild pitch that made it first and second, Alabama A&M was unable to capitalize in the top of the seventh.
 
That would prove costly as Keisha White singled to center to leadoff the inning, stole second and then moved to third on a wild pitch. A single to third would not move her and the Bulldogs would get a grounder for the first out of the inning before a bunt single by Terrones brought home White with the winning run in a 4-3 decision.
 
Slater would lead the Devilettes with a 2-for-3 day that saw her produce an RBI and a steal while Carson was 1-for-3 with a solo homerun that gave her a run and RBI. Sims and Terrones would have the other RBIs as part of one-hit days and White, Alston and Jaylon Davis would score the game's other runs with one apiece. Daisy Page threw a complete game, giving up all three runs and striking out three but managed to pull out the win to move to 2-4.
 
Gross led the way for A&M, going 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, steal and a pair of RBIs while Coe was 1-for-3 with a run scored. Sanders and sophomore third baseman Faith Cross (Pulaski, Tenn.) would cross home plate with a run apiece. Coe threw all 6.1 innings, allowing four earned runs and six hits while striking out three to drop to 2-4.
 
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs are slated to be back in action tomorrow, Saturday, March 12 at 1 p.m. in the series finale with MVSU. However, severe weather moving through the Southeast may force changes to that schedule. Stay tuned to www.AAMUSports.com, the official online home of Alabama A&M Athletics, for any updates to that game.