MEMPHIS, Tenn. --- The Mississippi College baseball team hit six total home runs in a doubleheader split at Christian Brothers on Saturday, Mar. 18. MC claimed the opening game 10-6 before falling 4-3 in extra innings in the night cap. The Choctaws move to 5-18 overall and 3-10 in Gulf South Conference play while CBU improves to 9-17 and 4-10 in the league.
 
KEY STATS
GAME 1

• MC picked up home runs from Casey Echols, Chance Whitten, Hunter Austin and Kyle Smith in the opening game. It marks the first, four home run game since Apr. 22, 2011 vs. LeTourneau.
• Hunter Lacefield (2-1) recorded his second win on the mound as he logged his second longest outing of the season in the start with 7.0 innings. The junior fanned seven – two shy of his season-best.
• Tommy Taborda tossed the final 2.0 innings as he allowed just one hit with a strikeout.

 
GAME 2

• MC's first two runs came off back-to-back, solo home runs from Crim and Whitten in the fourth inning.
• Whitten led a quartet of Choctaws with multiple hits. Whitten went 3-for-4 with a RBI and two runs scored. Echols, Crim and Grant Barber each had two hits to join Whitten.
• Hunter Mullis fanned a season-high nine batters in 5.0 innings in the start. The junior allowed just two hits with a pair of walks in scoreless action.
• Tim Holloway (0-3) took the loss on the hill with 2.2 innings of work in relief as he allowed the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth with three strikeouts and a walk.
• In his second appearance of the day, Taborda allowed three runs – one earned – on two hits with four strikeouts.  

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME 1

• MC poured in at least a run in the final four frames to notch the win to combine for eight of its 10 runs in the game. The Choctaws sandwiched a three-run, seventh between a two-run innings in the sixth and eighth.
• All three runs in the seventh came off the home run from Chance Whitten – his team-leading, fifth of the season.
• RBI singles from Austin and Grant Barber broke the 2-all deadlock in the sixth and solo homers from Smith and Echols assisted in extending the lead to 9-2 after the top of the eighth.
• CBU responded with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to clip the lead to 9-6.
• MC added an insurance run the ninth on a solo home run from Austin – his first of the season.

 
GAME 2

• The Choctaws picked up a stellar start from Hunter Mullis as he fanned a season-best five through the first two innings. The junior finished with 10 strikeouts without a decision.
• MC's first two runs came off back-to-back, solo home runs from Crim and Whitten in the fourth inning.
• The Navy and Gold added a run in the sixth as Grant Barber singled to score Whitten, who led off the frame with a single to center field.
• After CBU rallied back in the bottom of the seventh with three runs to force a deadlock, the teams played a scoreless eighth before the Bucs picked up the walk-off hit in the ninth from Taylor King – his only hit and RBI of the game.

NEXT UP

• The series concludes on Sunday, Mar. 19 with a 1 p.m. first pitch.