CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Spring Hill College on Wednesday night at the MC Softball Complex.

The Badgers (32-15) won a pitcher's duel in the opener, 2-0, while holding off a late charge from the Lady Choctaws (25-16) in a 8-6 win in the nightcap.
 

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GAME ONE: Spring Hill 2, Mississippi College 0

HOW IT HAPPENED
- After a scoreless first inning, SHC scored all the runs they would need in the second as Rene Kausin's two-run double with two outs scored Madeline Burchell and Savannah Woodruff.
- MC looked poised to put a dent on the scoreboard in their half of the second as sophomore Makenzie Nieto and freshman Carly Crawford led off with singles and moved up to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Alexia Harmon.
- However, a couple of outs on the infield ended the threat and the Badgers kept the 2-0 lead.
- The Lady Choctaws got runners to third in the 5th and 6th innings and brought the game-tying run to the plate in the seventh, but the Badgers held on for the victory.

KEY STATS
- Freshman Jordan Holifield (4-2) took the loss for MC, giving up eight hits and two runs with three strikeouts over the complete-game effort.
- Nieto and senior Tylan Buckley each had two hits for the MC offense, while Buckley, senior Haley Thompson, junior Katherine Lee and freshman Shayla McKissock each stole a base in the loss.
- Danielle Clark (20-9) tossed the shutout for Spring Hill, pitching around seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
- Woodruff and Kausin each led the Badgers with two hits in the contest.
 

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GAME TWO: Spring Hill 8, Mississippi College 6

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Spring Hill wasted no time getting an early lead, scoring two runs in the first inning as they took advantage of two MC errors to grab a 2-0 advantage.
- The Lady Choctaws answered in the second with their first run of the day as senior Lauren Mulligan doubled to left-center field with two outs, scoring sophomore Kristen Qualls from first base to make the score 2-1.
- The Badgers broke the game open in the fifth inning as the first six batters reached base, highlighted by a grand slam from Burchell, pushing the lead to 8-1 with no outs.
- MC took advantage of five Spring Hill errors in the sixth inning to score four runs as Crawford hit her seventh home run of the season to help cut the score to 8-5.
- In the seventh, MC brought the tying run to the plate as the first two hitters (Thompson and Lee) were hit by pitches and moved to second and third on a wild pitch.
- Nieto's RBI groundout scored Thompson and Crawford drew a walk, brining the game-winning run in Harmon to the plate with two outs, but a groundout ended the comeback bid.

KEY STATS
- Buckley led the MC offense with three hits, while Qualls added two base-knocks on the night.
- Crawford had the team-high two RBI on the home run, while six different Lady Choctaws scored in the game.
- Sophomore Adrianna Morgan (4-5) took the loss for MC, giving up seven hits and four earned runs over 4.0 innings.
- Junior Kristen Gardner pitched a perfect final 3.0 innings of the game, retiring the final nine hitters of the game in order.
- Jenna Charnock and Mary Glass each had two hits, while Burchell had a team-high four RBI on the grand slam.
- Baylie Doiron (6-2) collected the win for SHC, striking out four and giving up eight hits and four earned runs over 5.1 innings.
- Clark earned the save by getting the final five outs of the game and allowing just the one run in the seventh.
 

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NEXT UP
- The Lady Choctaws will be back in action for a three-game home series against #16 Alabama Huntsville, opening with a single game on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. The teams will wrap up the series on Saturday with a doubleheader at noon. The games have been moved up a day due to the Easter holiday.
 

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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.