GULF SHORES, Ala. --- The Mississippi College softball team opened the 2017 season on Saturday with a two-game split at the Gulf Coast Invitational, held at the Gulf Shores SportsPlex.

Mississippi College 7, Miles 2

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Senior Lauren Mulligan got the scoring started in the 2nd inning with a two-run triple to plate sophomore Alexia Harmon and freshman Carly Crawford.
- Senior Tylan Buckley scored the eventual game-winning run in the third inning on a throwing error by the Golden Bears (0-4).
- Crawford would give the Lady Choctaws (1-1) a 4-0 lead in the third on an RBI double to score sophomore Shelby Miller.
- After an RBI single by senior Megan Everett in the fourth, sophomore Kristen Qualls closed out the scoring for MC with a two-run home run in the fifth.
- Freshman Marley Peagler (1-0) earned her first career victory with a complete game performance, allowing six hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts.
- Miles would get on the scoreboard in the sixth inning with a two-run single from Kathryne Lambert.

KEY STATS
- Mulligan led the MC offense with two hits and two RBI, while Buckley and senior Haley Thompson also had two hits.
- Qualls joined Mulligan with two runs batted in, while Buckley had a team-high two runs scored.
- The Lady Choctaws stole four bases, led by three from Thompson.
- Zakierra Webb led the Miles offense with two hits.
 

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Auburn Montgomery 8, Mississippi College 4

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Warhawks (2-2) jumped on the board in the first inning with a leadoff home run from Parker Pinholster.
- The score remained until the fourth inning when junior Katherine Lee singled home freshman Shayla McKissock to tie the game.
- AUM answered in their half of the fourth with a five-run frame, highlighted by a three-run home run from Sydney Dishman.
- The Warhawks pushed the lead out to 8-1 in the fifth inning as they tallied 10 hits on the night.
- The Lady Choctaws notched a couple runs in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Thompson and an RBI single Buckley.

KEY STATS
- The Lady Choctaws left 10 baserunners on, drawing eight walks to go along with six hits.
- Lee had a team-high three hits, while Thompson added two. The rest of the lineup went 1-of-19 in the contest.
- Junior Kristen Gardner (0-1) was saddled with the loss, allowing six hits and six earned runs over 3.1 innings pitched.
- Sophomore Penny Nichols pitched the final 2.2 innings, giving up just four hits and an earned run.
- Dishman led the AUM offense with two hits and four RBI, including the three-run home run.
- Taylor Tiffany (1-1) pitched 5.0 innings and allowed four hits and seven walks in the win.

NEXT UP
- The Lady Choctaws will play two more games in Gulf Shores on Sunday, facing Embry-Riddle (9:00 am) and #8 North Georgia (2:00 pm).
 

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Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC is recently finished their transition process back to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference and will be competing for conference and national championships in the 2016-17 academic year.

The athletic department sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletic programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Football, Golf, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball.

For more information on Mississippi College athletics, please contact David Nichols at 601-925-3234 or nichols@mc.edu.