CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team will close out the regular season this weekend by hosting rival Delta State in a three-game series at the MC Softball Complex.

The series will open on Friday (April 28) with a doubleheader at 4:00 pm, followed by a single game on Saturday (April 29) at 3:00 pm. Saturday's game will be "Senior Day", and the program will recognize five seniors (Tylan Buckley, Molli Douglass, Megan Everett, Lauren Mulligan and Haley Thompson), who will be playing the final home games of their career.
 

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MATCHUP INFORMATION
Matchup: Mississippi College (28-18, 19-10 GSC) vs. Delta State (21-22, 14-16 GSC)
Location: Clinton, Miss.  |  MC Softball Complex
Time: Friday - 4:00 pm (DH)  |  Saturday - 3:00 pm
 

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ALL-TIME SERIES
MC and DSU have met 71 previous times with the Lady Choctaws holding a 37-34 edge in the series. MC is 17-11 all-time when the teams play in Clinton, but the Lady Statesmen have won 11 of the last 12 meetings, including a series sweep in Cleveland in 2016. However, MC played that series without top pitcher Carlie Sargent. The last time the teams played in Clinton, they split a pair of 2-1 decisions following a 6-0 win by DSU in the opener.
 

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MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE INFORMATION
Head Coach: Brooke O'Hair  |  306-196 (.610), 11th Season at MC

ROSTER  |  SCHEDULE  |  STATISTICS

THE LATEST
- The Lady Choctaws will wrap up the regular season this weekend, having already clinched at least the #6 seed in next week's Gulf South Conference Tournament. MC still has an outside opportunity at winning the regular season title and hosting the postseason tournament, depending on how things fall.
- MC has not dropped a GSC series since the beginning of March when Shorter won 2-of-3 in Clinton. Since then, the Lady Choctaws have won or split all seven league matchups, including sweeps of Christian Brothers and West Georgia.
- Junior Katherine Lee (.392) is the team's leading hitter this season, already sitting in the top 10 in school history with 60 hits in 2017. She ranks 2nd in the league in stolen bases (32-of-34) behind Thompson, who has the second-most swipes in a single season in school history (42-of-45).
- Buckley (.368) leads the squad in runs scored (38), runs batted in (37), slugging percentage (.594) and on-base percentage (.488). She is also tied with freshman Carly Crawford (.333) and sophomore Kristen Qualls (.289) for the team-lead in home runs (7).
- The 2017 pitching staff has had to be just that this season, seeing all five pitchers toss at least 42.0 innings on the year. Sophomore Penny Nichols (11-5, 2.38 ERA) leads the team in innings pitched (105.2) and strikeouts (48) but has not pitched since late March.
- Sophomore Adrianna Morgan (6-5, 2.90 ERA) has tossed two consecutive complete game shutouts in wins over UAH and Lee, not allowing by one baserunner to reach third base in the 13.0 innings.
- Junior Kristen Gardner (2-3, 4.00 ERA) and freshman Jordan Holifield (4-3, 2.88 ERA) have stepped up in recent weeks, as well, each notching wins against nationally-ranked teams in Valdosta State and UAH.
 

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DELTA STATE INFORMATION
Head Coach: Casey Bourgoyne-Charles  |  236-247 (.489), 9th Season at DSU

ROSTER  |  SCHEDULE  |  STATISTICS

THE LATEST
- The Lady Statesmen have played themselves into an opportunity at one of the final spots in the Gulf South Conference Tournament next week, winning 9-of-12 games down the stretch, including a three-game sweep of Valdosta State in Cleveland last weekend.
- DSU currently sits just one game in the loss column behind Shorter for the final spot in the tournament, and the Lady Statesmen hold the tie-breaker with the Hawks. However, Shorter's final series comes against Christian Brothers, who has yet to win a league game in 2017.
- Sophomore Jordan Jones (.355) is the team's leading hitter with 14 doubles, three triples and 26 runs scored. She also leads the team with 18 stolen bases and 50 hits.
- Freshman Mari Alex Sandridge (.333) has been a do-it-all player for the Lady Statesmen, leading the team in home runs (7) and RBI (28), while also pacing the pitching staff with a 2.14 ERA in 78.1 innings pitched.
- Freshman Bailie Springfield (8-5, 2.83 ERA) leads the squad in innings pitched (84.0), starts (16) and wins (8) in 2017.
 

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GAME NOTES
- The Lady Choctaws are ranked 8th in the most recent NCAA Division II South Region rankings, it was announced on Wednesday (April 26). The South Region will see eight teams go to the NCAA Tournament with two four-team regionals. MC sits behind five other GSC teams with just week left in the regular season and the conference tournament remaining.
- The Lady Choctaws have been off and running in the 2017 season, leading the Gulf South Conference and ranking 3rd nationally with 133 stolen bases through 46 games, which already ranks 2nd in school history for most in a single season. Senior Haley Thompson has swiped 42 bases in 45 attempts in 2017, which is the 2nd-highest total in school history.
- The Lady Choctaws have already clinched a spot in next week's Gulf South Conference tournament but still have an outside shot at earning the #1 seed and hosting rights. MC currently sits in a tie for 4th with Lee, sitting behind UAH, West Florida and North Alabama, all teams that MC owns a tie-breaker against.
- The Lady Choctaws split a delayed doubleheader on Monday at Lee, winning their first-ever game in Cleveland, Tenn. MC opened the twin-bill with a 10-0 victory, but the Flames bounced back for a 1-0 win in the finale. Sophomore Adrianna Morgan tossed her second consecutive complete game shutout in the victory.
- 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.