Itta Bena, Miss. --- The Mississippi Valley State Devilettes softball team, champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, will make their fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament as they face No. 14 seed Blue Demons of DePaul in the Carbondale, Illinois Regional.
The Devilettes (29-24) are led by SWAC Player of the Year Candy Shumpert, SWAC Pitcher of the year Nicole Henderson and SWAC Tournament MVP Shaina Mitchell. Shumpert is currently hitting .288 with 20 runs scored, 20 RBI and seven homeruns, while Mitchell is hitting .316 with 26 runs scored. Henderson leads the team with a 12-
8 record, 1.95 ERA and 125 strikeouts.
The Blue Demons (41-11) are coming off their first ever Big East Conference Regular Season Championship and are led by pitchers Tracie Aix and Becca Heteniak. The pair combined for a 20-0 record during conference play and were named the Big East Pitcher and Rookie of the Year, respectively.
The four-team, double-elimination regional tournament begins on Friday, May 18 and runs through Sunday, May 20. The Devilettes and Blue Demons will meet on Friday at 2 p.m. (CST). Regional host Southern Illinois and Missouri round out the Carbondale Regional and will face each other at 4:30 p.m.
