CLINTON, Miss. --- Sophomore Makenzie Nieto sent a shot to the right-center field gap with two outs in the eighth inning to give the Mississippi College softball team a 4-3 win over West Georgia on Thursday at the MC Softball Complex.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Lady Choctaws (18-11, 10-6 GSC) got the scoring going in the second inning when senior Lauren Mulligan doubled to left-center, driving in freshman Carly Crawford and senior Megan Everett to take a 2-0 lead.
- MC would add another run in the third when sophomore Alexia Harmon singled off the second baseman's glove to drive in sophomore Kristen Qualls, extending the lead to 3-0.
- The Wolves (14-15, 6-10 GSC) got all three of their runs in the fifth inning as the first four batters reached base and Raven Smith's RBI single drove in Lexie Stohr.
- After a sacrifice fly by Marley Stowers, Peyton Stallworth drove in the game-tying run with a single to score Katie Spinks.
- Sophomore Penny Nichols came up big, however, leaving runners at second and third to end the inning. The teams would combine to leave 24 runners on base over the eight innings (MC-13, UWG-11).
- In the sixth inning, MC appeared poised to take the lead when senior Tylan Buckley walked and Qualls doubled down the left field line, but Lindsye Jefferson held MC scoreless and the game would go into extra innings.
- In the eighth inning, junior Katherine Lee singled to lead things off and stole second base, moving up to third on a passed ball with one out.
- After a lineout by Qualls, Nieto sent a 1-0 pitch to right-center field and Lee came home with the game-winning run.

KEY STATS
- Nichols (10-5) scattered nine hits and two earned runs over the complete-game effort, striking out four.
- Qualls led the Lady Choctaws with three hits, while Lee, Nieto and Crawford each tallied two hits.
- Four different Lady Choctaws would score a run, while Mulligan's two RBI led the way.
- Sierra Stella led the Wolves' offense, going 4-for-5 with a run scored, while Stallworth tallied two hits and drove in a run.
- Danielle Easterly (2-4) took the loss for UWG, allowing five hits and three earned runs over 2.0 innings.

GAME NOTES
- Senior Megan Everett became the school's all-time leader in at-bats with 562 since she stepped on campus in 2014. She passed Kimmie Conley, who broke the school record in 2016 with 560.
- Everett has now tied the school record for games played with 183. She's tied with Conley and is on pace to break the record during Friday's doubleheader.

NEXT UP
- The Lady Choctaws and Wolves will close out the series on Friday with a doubleheader at 2:00 p.m. at the MC Softball Complex.
 

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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.