VALDOSTA, Ga. --- The Mississippi College softball team closed out a road series win over #9 Valdosta State University with a 9-8 win on Sunday afternoon at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Lady Blazers (28-10, 15-6 GSC) jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the first inning, highlighted by an RBI double from Chelsea Canara.
- The Lady Choctaws (23-13, 14-7 GSC) answered back in the second with three runs of their own as junior Katherine Lee singled up the middle with two outs to score seniors Megan Everett and Lauren Mulligan and tie the game, 3-3.
- After VSU grabbed the lead back in the second, sophomore Shelby Miller hit her first home run of the season with two outs in the third to tie the game again, 4-4.
- Tana McDaniel pushed the Valdosta lead out to 7-4 in the third inning with her third home run of the season, a three-run shot with one out.
- After a scoreless fourth, the Lady Choctaws tied things up in the fifth, scoring three runs, including an RBI groundout by sophomore Alexia Harmon and an RBI single by Everett with two outs.
- The Lady Blazers took the lead right back in the fifth when Brandy Morgan homered to left field to grab an 8-7 advantage.
- In the sixth inning, the Lady Choctaws had their first two batters retired, but senior Tylan Buckley legged out an infield single, bringing sophomore Kristen Qualls to the plate.
- The former Madison Central standout sent a shot over the left-center field wall to give the Lady Choctaws a 9-8 advantage.
- Freshman Jordan Holifield pitched around a one-out single in the sixth, but the Lady Choctaws were retired in order in the seventh.
- After recording the first out, the Blazers put their next two batters on with a hit-by-pitch and a single
- Holifield would get a fly-out to center field and Mulligan made a nice play up the middle to close the game out.
 

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KEY STATS
- Holfield (3-0) came out of the bullpen, a day after tossing 11.0 innings, and got her third victory of the week. She allowed seven hits and four earned runs over 6.0 innings.
- The Lady Choctaws had their third straight game with at least 10 hits, led by Buckley, Qualls, Miller and Morgan with two apiece.
- Lee and Qualls had a team-high two RBI, while Buckley, Qualls and Miller each scored two runs.
- Tara McIntyre and Morgan led the Blazers with two hits apiece, while McDaniel had a team-high three RBI.
- Kathryn Carter (11-2) took the loss for VSU, giving up four hits and two earned runs over 3.0 innings.
 

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NEXT UP
- The Lady Choctaws will return home next weekend to host defending Division II national champions North Alabama in a three-game series beginning Saturday.
 

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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.