CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College baseball team hosts Shorter University for a three-game series this weekend, beginning Saturday with a doubleheader at 2:00 p.m., followed by a single game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Frierson Field.

SERIES RECORD    
The Choctaws (9-18, 2-15 GSC) and the Hawks (11-11, 7-8 GSC) will meet for the very first time this weekend. The two school are new members to the Gulf South Conference as Shorter is in their first year of full membership, while MC will be a full member in the 2016-17 academic year.

NOTES ON THE CHOCTAWS    
Brian Owens is in his 9th season as the head coach at Mississippi College. The former Mississippi State pitcher won his 200th career game on February 19th against Union Univiersity, needing 16 innings to get the milestone victory, 3-2.Owens earned his first career victory on February 10, 2007 with a 26-5 win over Tougaloo College. He led the 2010 Choctaws to the Division III West Region final, finishing just one game shy of the College World Series. That team went 39-11, opening the season at 17-1.

The Choctaws are coming off a tough 15-13 loss to Belhaven on Wednesday night. After falling behind 10-1, the Choctaws scored eight runs with two outs in the 4th to trim the lead. Garrett Odom's three-run blast in the 5th tied the game 12-12. Neither team scored until the 9th when the Blazers put up three to clinch the win.

MC has posted the 2nd-best team batting average in the GSC this season, hitting .312 with 176 runs scored, averaging 6.3 runs per contest. They have improved their power numbers from last season with nine home runs in 2015 after hitting just four in 2014.

Odom now leads the team after hitting his third long ball of the season on Wednesday night. He came off the bench to go 2-for-2 with four RBI and two runs scored.

Sophomore Hunter Bolin has hit safely in seven straight games and in 10 of his last 11 contests. The Starkville native is second on the team with a .381 batting average and leads the team with nine stolen bases.

Freshman Kyle Smith (.514) has started seven straight games in center field and has hit safely in 6-of-7 games. He has multiple hits in 5-of-7 games, including going 4-for-4 in a victor over Selma.

Senior Brooks Fortenberry has led the MC pitching staff this season, going 2-2 with a 4.40 ERA. The Magee native allowed just three earned runs in a 7.0 innings in a loss to West Alabama last Friday. Fortenberry now ranks 4th in school history in strikeouts (170) and 8th in innings pitched (193.0).

Junior Taylor Olsen had his best outing of the season on Wednesday night against Belhaven, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and no walks. Olsen also did not allow a hit to the Blazers.

Senior Grady Turman and junior Wesley Wilkinson have been reliable out of the bullpen this season, posting the two best ERA's on the team. Turman has walked just three batters in 11.2 innings, while Wilkinson has made the most appearances on the team with 11.

RECORD WATCH    
Most Career Strikeouts
1.    Tim Watkins (1983-85) - 224
2.    Lee Gardner (1995-97) - 205
3.    Sam Graham (2002-05) - 196
4.    Brooks Fortenberry (2012-15) - 170
5.    Scott Herrington (1993-96) - 166
6.    Jeff Walker (1993-96) - 164
7.    Wayman Grantham (1989-92) - 160

Most Career Innings Pitched
1.    Tim Watkins (1983-85) - 273.1
2.    Wayman Grantham (1989-92) - 272.0
3.    Scott Herrington (1993-96) - 260.1
4.    Jason White (1993-95) - 232.1
5.    Sam Graham (2002-05) - 230.2
6.    Lee Gardner (1995-97) - 214.1
7.    Tony Richard (1987-89) - 210.0
8.    Brooks Fortenberry (2012-15) - 193.0

NOTES ON THE HAWKS    
The Hawks are led by 9th-year head coach Matt Larry and are coming off a series win at Lee last weekend. Shorter dropped the opener but bounced back with two low-scoring wins (3-1, 1-0) to take the three-game set.

The Hawks played a mid-week contest against Montevallo on Wednesday, coming away with a 6-5 victory at home. SU grabbed a 6-0 lead through two innings and held on for the victory. Taylor Cato was 3-for-5 at the plate, while Taylor Burr and Aron McRee combined to allow just three hits over a scoreless 2.2 innings to finish the game.

Shorter is hitting .304 as a team this season, and Zach Santos (.397) leads the team in average, runs scored (19), doubles (9), home runs (4) and RBI (22). George Ragsdale (.361) is the team-leader with 30 hits, while Brian Cabrera (.308) leads the team with seven stolen bases.

While ranking 4th in the league hitting and 7th in the league in pitching, the Hawks are 11th out of 12 teams with a .952 fielding percentage. Shorter has made 37 errors in 22 games this season.

Russell Crosby (2-3, 3.18 ERA) has the best ERA on the team among the starting pitchers and leads the team with 32 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. Brandon Reynolds is the team's closer, posting a 2.50 ERA in 11 appearances, recording two saves with 28 strikeouts.