CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team hosts nationally-ranked Alabama Huntsville this weekend in a big Gulf South Conference series at the MC Softball Complex.

The Lady Choctaws (25-16, 16-8 GSC) and the Chargers (31-11, 17-7 GSC) will play a single game on Friday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at noon. The games have been moved up a day for the Easter holiday.
 

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MATCHUP INFORMATION
Matchup: Mississippi College (25-16, 16-8 GSC) vs. #16 Alabama Huntsville (31-11, 17-7 GSC)
Location: Clinton, Miss.  |  MC Softball Complex
Time: Friday - 5:30 pm  |  Saturday - 12:00 pm (DH)
 

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ALL-TIME SERIES
MC and UAH have met five previous times with the Chargers holding a 3-2 edge in the series. Last year was a monumental win for the Lady Choctaws as Carlie Sargent tossed the first perfect game in school history in a 6-0 series-opening victory. UAH bounced back with a 4-0 win in Game 2, but MC looked poised for a road series win as they led 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Chargers roared back with four runs to steal the game.
 

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MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE INFORMATION
Head Coach: Brooke O'Hair  |  303-194 (.610), 11th Season at MC

ROSTER  |  SCHEDULE  | STATISTICS

THE LATEST
- Following a series win over North Alabama last weekend, the Lady Choctaws dropped both ends of a doubleheader on Wednesday to Spring Hill. With the losses, MC is currently on their longest losing streak of the season at three games.
- Junior Katherine Lee (.403) is the team's top hitter this season with 56 hits, ranking second on the team with 30 runs scored and 27 stolen bases.
- Senior Tylan Buckley (.367) went 5-for-8 in Wednesday's doubleheader, leading the team this season with 35 runs scored and a .487 on-base percentage with 28 walks.
- Freshman Carly Crawford (.353) hit her seventh home run of the season on Wednesday night, tying her with junior Kristen Qualls (.302) for the team lead. Crawford has a team-high 35 RBI with a team-best .603 slugging percentage.
- Freshman Jordan Holifield (4-2, 2.32 ERA) has been the team's top pitcher over the past three weeks. She has suffered through low run support in her last two starts, posting a 1.00 ERA over two complete-game efforts that ended in shutout losses.
- Junior Kristen Gardner (1-2, 5.64 ERA) had a good night on Wednesday, tossing 3.0 perfect innings to close out the nightcap and nearly allow MC to erase a 7-run deficit in an 8-6 loss.
 

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ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE INFORMATION
Head Coach: Les Stuedeman  |  1,005-322-1 (.751), 22nd Season at UAH

ROSTER  |  SCHEDULE  |  STATISTICS

THE LATEST
- Following a series sweep at the hands of West Florida on March 11-12, the Chargers have won 14 of their last 16 games, including a 10-game winning streak (March 18-April 1).
- They are coming off series wins over Valdosta State and North Alabama after sweeps of Delta State and Shorter during the run.
- Led by 22nd-year head coach Les Stuedeman, who won her 1,000th career game earlier this season, the Chargers are currently ranked #16 in the latest NFCA Top 25 Poll.
- National Player of the Year candidate Kaitlyn Bannister (.500) paces the offense in runs scored (44), doubles (12), home runs (14), RBI (53) and stolen bases (15).
- Catcher Taylor Wascavage (.339) was a Second Team All-GSC selection as a freshman in 2016 and has eight doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI this season. Opponents have only stolen 30 bases in 42 games against UAH.
- Tyler Harrison (12-6, 1.57 ERA) leads the Chargers in innings pitched (120.1) and strikeouts (124), while Emily Glover (14-3, 1.98 ERA) has 103 punch-outs in 109.2 innings.
- As a staff, UAH has struck out 248 batters with just 48 walks in 2017, posting a 2.01 ERA.
 

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GAME NOTES
- Senior Tylan Buckley has been a terror at the plate over her two seasons with the Lady Choctaws, ranking 3rd in school history in on-base percentage (.476). So far this season, she has a clip of .487, including a current streak of 28 straight games. The power and speed threat has also reached base in 52 of her last 53 games and has stolen 20 bases, which ranks 3rd on the 2017 team.
- The Lady Choctaws have been off and running in the 2017 season, leading the Gulf South Conference and ranking 3rd nationally with 121 stolen bases through 41 games, which already ranks 2nd in school history for most in a single season. Senior Haley Thompson has swiped 39 bases in 42 attempts in 2017, which is the 3rd-highest total in school history.
- The Lady Choctaws are scheduled to play just 19 home games out of 50 contests in 2017, but they are in the midst of their longest homestand of the season (8 games) at the MC Softball Complex. MC is 8-5 in Clinton this season, including winning five straight at one point. Since opening the complex in 1998, the Lady Choctaws are 216-112 (.659) in the friendly confines.
- After a series win over North Alabama last weekend, the Lady Choctaws struggled in a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Spring Hill on Wednesday night. MC was shutout for the second straight game in the opener (2-0) and nearly came back from a 7-run deficit in an 8-6 loss in the night cap. Freshman Carly Crawford hit her 7th home run of the season in the second game.
- On Monday, March 13th, the Lady Choctaws secured the 700th victory in program history with a 13-8 win over Union. The first win for MC came on March 22, 1986 with a 6-2 win over Tennessee-Martin. On Friday, February 10th, the Lady Choctaws played at Montevallo, which was the 1,200th game in Mississippi College softball history. The first game on record was on March 14, 1986 when MC played Troy State in Columbus, MS (L, 13-14).
- Brooke O'Hair is in her 11th season as MC's head softball coach,  and secured her 300th career victory in a 10-9 victory in 11 innings over #9 Valdosta State last Saturday. She is already MC's all-time winngest softball coach and is heading towards her sixth 30-win season. O'Hair led the Lady Choctaws to an NCCAA national championship and a school-record 39 wins in 2016, being named NCCAA National Coach of the Year.
 

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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.