GULF SHORES, Ala. --- The Mississippi College softball team opened the season with a 2-2 weekend, grabbing a 5-1 win over Embry-Riddle before falling to #8 North Georgia 8-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Gulf Shores SportsPlex.

Mississippi College 5, Embry-Riddle 1

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Eagles (2-3) got the scoring going in the first inning as Anna Battison reached on a walk and scored on a single by Maggie Scott.
- The Lady Choctaws (2-2) wasted no time getting the lead back as sophomore Alexia Harmon hit her first career home run, a two-run shot in the second inning, to take a 2-1 advantage.
- After senior Haley Thompson scored in the third, seniors Megan Everett and Tylan Buckley each drove in runs in the fifth to give the game it's final score.
- Sophomore Adrianna Morgan (1-0) tossed a complete game in her first outing with MC, giving up four hits and just one earned run.
- Illona Andringa (1-2) took the loss for the Eagles, allowing 10 hits and four earned runs with six strikeouts.

KEY STATS
- Thompson, Everett and Buckley each had two hits for the Lady Choctaws, going 6-of-12 with three runs scored and two RBI as the 2-3-4 hitters in the lineup.
- Harmon also added two hits and two RBI in the victory.
- Morgan did not allow an Eagle to tally more than one hit, as she retired 12 straight batters at one point in the contest.
- She pitched around two walks and struck out one over the 7.0 innings pitched.
 

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#8 North Georgia 8, Mississippi College 0 (6 Innings)

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nighthawks (4-2) grabbed a big early lead with four runs, three unearned, in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Jessica Finch.
- Hannah McSwain also singled home two runs in the four-run first for UNG.
- The Lady Choctaws only mustered three hits in the contest as junior Katherine Lee, Buckley and sophomore Kristen Qualls all had baseknocks.
- UNG added two more runs in the fifth and closed the game out in the sixth on a walk-off two-run home run by Stephanie Hartness.
- Sophomore Penny Nichols (0-1) pitched well, scattering 10 hits and allowing just three earned runs over 5.2 innings pitched.
- Kyle Smith (3-0) struck out five over 6.0 innings to get the win for the Nighthawks.

KEY STATS
- Nichols struck out four with no walks, coaxing nine groundouts in the contest.
- Buckley and Lee each had stolen bases in the game.
- The Lady Choctaws made three errors, leading to five UNG runs.
- Sydney Sprague and Jessica Finch each had two hits for the Nighthawks.

NEXT UP
- The Lady Choctaws will head to Montevallo, Ala. next weekend for a three-day tournament called the "Falcon Frenzy".
- MC will face Miles and Montevallo on Friday, Stillman and #16 Indianapolis on Saturday and Ursuline and Truman State on Sunday.
 

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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.