CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College baseball team clinched a berth in the Gulf South Conference Tournament with a 10-3 upset of in-state foe No. 3/5 Delta State. The berth marks the first time the Choctaws have made the GSC Tournament since 1996.
 
MC's last conference tournament appearance came in 2012 as a member of the American Southwest Conference.
 
The victory marks the second straight over the in-state foe after claiming the series finale, 6-2, in Cleveland to conclude the 2016 campaign.
 
The Choctaws and Statesmen conclude the series on Saturday with a 3 p.m. first pitch MC will honor its eight seniors prior to the start of the doubleheader.
 
KEY STATS

• Blaine Crim led the offense going 5-for-5 with 5 RBI en route to his team-best 18th multiple hit effort. The Mobile, Ala., sophomore becomes the first Choctaw with a five-hit performance this season. Crim also became the first MC hitter this season with three doubles in a game.
• Hunter Wilson, Kyle Smith, Will Elliott and Hunter Sykes joined Crim with multi-hit outings as the quartet each recorded two hits. Wilson and Elliott also garnered two RBI each.
• Zack Ingram (4-4) pitched 7.0 in the win. The freshman allowed just the three runs on eight hits with a pair of strikeouts and five walks.
• Tim Holloway tossed the final 2.0 innings and struck out and allowed a pair of hits in the appearance.
• Andy Borries (1-1) took the loss on the bump as he allowed seven of the 10 runs in 3.1 innings on 10 hits.
• MC hit .476 with runners on in the contest and a .412 clip with runners in scoring position.
• The Choctaws' defense improved to 10-2 on the season when not recording an error.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Crim got the scoring started early in the second inning with a eighth home run of the season and two-run shot to right field that scored Chance Whitten. Elliott scored later in the frame on a Wilson single.
• DSU tied the game in the top of the eighth on a three-run home run from Clay Casey.
• MC responded in the bottom of the fourth as Wilson and Echols logged RBI hits to put the Navy and Gold up 5-3. Crim followed with a two-run double that scored Echols and Smith and extend the margin to 7-3.
• The Choctaws added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh on an Elliott two-run double and on more in the eighth on a Crim double down the left field line.