PENSACOLA, Fla. --- The Mississippi College baseball team will hit the road for a three-game series with the Univiersity of West Florida, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday at 3:00 p.m. at Jim Spooner Field.

SERIES RECORD
This will be the first-ever meetings between the Choctaws (11-21, 3-17 GSC) and the Argonauts (19-12, 12-9 GSC).

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 doubleheader split at home against Spring Hill on Thursday. Junior Kyle Cumlander struck out six over 6.0 innings, while junior Colton Caver hit a 3-run home run in the 3rd inning and scored the game-winning run in the 7th in a 5-4 win in Game 1.

In their first year playing a full Gulf South Conference schedule, the Choctaws have struggled against one of the best leagues in Division II. Last weekend against Shorter, MC snapped a 15-game GSC losing streak with a 13-8 win on Sunday afternoon. In the series opener, they held a late lead with two outs, but the Hawks came back and won 13-9.

Junior Caleb Upton (.355) has been MC's most dangerous hitter, as of late, piling up multiple hits in four of his last five games. In the Sunday victory over Shorter, Upton went 2-for-3 with two home runs, including a grand slam. The Natchez native drove in six runs in the game.

Senior Akiko Thompson (.333) got back in the lineup last weekend after missing five games with an injury. He went 5-for-12 with four runs scored and two stolen bases against Shorter.

Junior Hunter Hall (.317) has also stepped up a the plate, raising his average by 93 points since March 15th. The Hoover native was named to the GSC Top Newcomers List  and has shown why in the last 14 games, tallying mutliple hits in eight of those contests.

The Choctaw pitching staff and defense have been the key in their wins this season. MC is 9-4 when they allow opponents to score 5 runs or fewer. They are just 2-17 when opponents get more than five runs.

Senior Brooks Fortenberry continues to creep up the MC pitching record books, ranking in the top-8 in both strikeouts (177) and innings pitched. The Magee native became just the 8th pitcher in school history to reach the 200 innings mark with a complete game effort against Shorter.

In his last two outings, junior Taylor Olsen has been solid on the mound. The Pascagoula native tossed 3.0 scoreless innings against Belhaven last Wednesday and picked up the win on Sunday against Shorter.

The Choctaws have relied on a couple of familiar faces coming out of the bullpen as seniors Andy Olmsted and Grady Turman have been the most dependable this season. Olmsted (0-2, 3.18 ERA) pitched 3.0 innings in the win over Shorter, only allowing three unearned runs, while Turman (1-2, 4.24 ERA) closed the game out with a scoreless 9th.

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) - 177
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) - 200.0

NOTES ON THE ARGONAUTS
The Argonauts are led by head coach Mike Jeffcoat, who is in his 10th season and led the team to the 2011 Division II national championship. UWF went 52-9 that season and have advanced to the GSC Tournament in 8-of-9 seasons under Jeffcoat.

Nic Strasser (.368) is the team's leading hitter, scoring a team-high 22 runs on the year. Chase Kiefer (.357) is 2nd on the team in hitting and leads the way with 14 stolen bases.

Ledarious Clark (.292) leads the team witih seven home runs, two triples and 28 RBI, ranking 2nd on the team with 12 stolen bases.

The Argos rank 4th in the GSC with a team-ERA of 3.35 with six regular pitchers posting marks of less than 4.0. They are 2nd in the conference with 235 strikeouts.

Brandon Nagem (4-1, 2.02 ERA) leads the team with 62.1 innings pitched and 52 strikeouts. Jarrod Petree (4-0, 3.02 ERA) has yet to lose a game this season. Ronnie May (0-2, 2.30 ERA) leads the team with four saves, while Reed Bright (2-1, 1.95 ERA) has tallied two.