LAFAYETTE, La. – Senior Caitlyn McCarron collected three hits and drove in four runs to help power Bradley to a 12-5 victory over Mississippi Valley State Friday to wrap up day one of the Mardi Gras Classic for the Braves.
 
Bradley (6-6 overall) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after senior Kelly Kapp led off the bottom of the first with a single.  After stealing second and third, Kapp scored the first run of the game on a triple by junior Maria Schroeder.  Sophomore Megan Mahaffy drove in the second run of the contest on a groundout.
 
Mississippi Valley State (1-9 overall) knotted the game at 2-2 in the top of the third.  Lexany Terro led off the frame with a solo homer and the Delta Devils tied it up with a two-out RBI single.
 
 A pair of Bradley errors helped lead to three Mississippi Valley State runs in the fourth, but Bradley answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.  The Braves had a pair of runners on after a single and Delta Devil error to open the inning.  McCarron tied it up with one swing, belting a three-run homer to center.
 
Bradley broke the game open with five runs in the fifth.  A Mississippi Valley State error pushed across the go-ahead run and a Maria Schroeder triple later in the inning drove in two.  McCarron followed up with a run-scoring triple of her own and she came around to score on another Delta Devil error to push the Braves' lead to 10-5. 
 
A two-run sixth for Bradley put the game out of reach.  Two singles and an error led to another run for the Braves and it was a 12-5 Bradley lead following a RBI groundout. 
 
Senior Jaelen Hull improved to 2-1 on the season, earning the victory with 2.2 scoreless inning out of the bullpen.  She struck out four and walked one in her team-best eighth appearance of the year.
 
Bradley will face Maryland Saturday at 12:45 p.m. at the Mardi Gras Classic.