CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team will play their first home games in the month of March when they host Christian Brothers for a three-game Gulf South Conference series this weekend at the MC Softball Complex. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 4:00 pm and wrap up the series Sunday at 2:00 pm.

THE COACHES
The Lady Choctaws are led by 10th-year head coach Brooke O'Hair, who is the winningest skipper in Lady Choctaw history and picked up her 250th career win on February 28th against West Alabama. She has led MC to four 30-win seasons, three NCAA Regional appearances and two NCCAA World Series.

The Lady Bucs are led by 2nd-year head coach Mandi Balduf, who came to CBU after four successful years at Chowan University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. that saw her go 185-175. Balduf played her college softball at Tiffin University in Ohio.

THE SERIES
The Lady Choctaws and Lady Bucs have played six previous times with MC holding a 5-1 edge in the series. The two schools renewed the series last season with a three-game set in Memphis as MC picked up two wins at CBU. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Lady Choctaws are coming off a doubleheader sweep of Division I Alcorn State on Wednesday afternoon in Lorman. MC won the opener in extra innings (4-0) before pulling away for a 14-3 win in the nightcap.

The Lady Bucs are coming off a 2-0 home loss to Maryville (MO) on Thursday afternoon. Kasey Beekman and Kylie Stegall combined to allow just seven hits and one earned run over the tight loss.

MILESTONE WATCH
Senior Carlie Sargent is MC's all-time leader in strikeouts/game, posting 6.23 per contest in her career. She also ranks 3rd in school history in walks/game (1.33), 6th in lowest ERA (2.03), 7th in strikeouts (239) and 8th in wins (27).

Senior infielder Kimmie Conley ranks 7th in school history in RBI (77) and walks (50) and is 9th in games played (152) and 11th in at-bats (400).

Junior outfielder Megan Everett is also climbing the record books, ranking 9th in MC history in RBI (71), 12th in hits (123) and 13th in at-bats (382).

THE MATCHUP
The Lady Choctaws have won seven straight and 12 of their last 13 with the only loss coming in extra innings at Shorter (3-2). Over that stretch, MC is outscoring their opponents 95-25 and has posted a team ERA of 1.65 with 75 strikeouts and 17 walks.

Senior Carlie Sargent (9-4, 1.77 ERA) has been dominant over her last eight starts, going 7-1 with a 1.30 ERA and 68 strikeouts. She pitched a shutout, striking out 10 batters over 9.0 innings in the 4-0 win over Alcorn State on Wednesday.

Freshman Penny Nichols (8-4, 2.88 ERA) tossed her 11th complete game of the year in a 14-3 win over ASU. The Orange City, Fla. native has won five straight starts, including throwing her first career shutout on March 5th against Shorter.

The MC offense has relied on aggressive base-running to fuel their latest run, stealing 58-of-59 bases in their last 13 games. Sophomore Katherine Lee leads the way with 17 swipes in that span, while Lee (18) and juniors Haley Thompson (12) and Ty Buckley (10) are in double-figures on the season.

Lee (.368) is the team's leading hitter, while the Lady Choctaws have five players batting .350 or better through 27 games this season. Freshman Alexia Harmon (.360) and Everett have each tallied a team-high 31 hits, while Harmon and Buckley have scored a team-high 21 runs.

The Lady Bucs have lost nine straight games with their last win coming on February 28th when they clinched a series win over Union. Holly Oyhenart (.398) leads three players hitting over .300 this season. Oyenhart and Amber Johnson (.341) have combined to steal 28-of-31 bases for CBU this season.

Beekman (0-12, 7.04 ERA) has made a team-high 14 starts this season, while Jenna Cotter (5-5, 5.82 ERA) leads the way with 39 strikeouts.