CARROLLTON, Ga. --- The Mississippi College softball team scratched out a 9-8 win over West Georgia in 12 innings on Friday afternoon at University Softball Field.
The Lady Choctaws improved to 5-5 with a 2-2 mark in Gulf South Conference play, while the Wolves dropped to 8-5 with a 1-3 league record.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Lady Choctaws came out of the gates slowly as the Wolves jumped out to a 5-0 lead through two innings, scoring twice in the first and three times in the second.
- Junior
Penny Nichols (1-1) came out of the bullpen and was fantastic, holding the UWG offense scoreless in nine of the next 10 innings to give MC a chance for a comeback.
- After being no-hit through four innings, sophomore
Shayla McKissock notched the first base-knock of the game for the MC offense with two outs in the fifth frame.
- The sixth inning saw the Lady Choctaws blow things open as they score eight runs on six hits, starting with a pair of leadoff singles by juniors
Kristen Qualls and a walk by junior
Shelby Miller.
- Junior
Makenzie Nieto drove in the first run of the frame, scoring Qualls with a single to left field, while freshmen
Alexis Jones and
Jessica Aron drove in runs with fielder's choices to make the score 5-3.
- McKissock made the score 5-4 with an RBI single to score junior
Alexia Harmon, and freshman
Kayla Murphy drove Aron in with a single to tie the game.
- Qualls had the big blow of the frame with a two-run double to give MC its first lead of the day, and she would come home to score her second run of the inning on a UWG error to give the Lady Choctaws an 8-5 advantage.
- MC would hold the three-run lead until the seventh inning when West Georgia had a runner at second base with two outs.
- They would cut into the lead with an RBI double and tie the game with a pinch-hit, two-run home run to send the game to extra innings.
- Neither team had serious scoring chances until the international tie-breaker was employed, beginning in the 11th inning.
- Qualls was placed on first for MC to open the 11th and moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt by Caldwell. Qualls would end up being stranded at third, giving UWG a chance to walk off with the win.
- The Wolves would have their runner move up to third on a single and have runners at second and third with no outs before a ground ball to Qualls resulted in an out at the plate and put runners at second and third with one out.
- Harmon made a huge defensive play when the next batter stepped in and hit a line drive that turned into an inning-ending double play, sending the game to the 12th inning.
- In MC's half of the 12th, Harmon was placed at second and moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman
Madi Lancaster.
- She would come home to score the eventual game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by Aron.
- The Wovles had their chance in the 12th and would see their runner move up to third on a sacrifice bunt, only to be called out because the wrong runner was placed on base, clearing the bases with two outs.
- After a two-out walk, Nichols was able to a fly-out to end the game and give the Lady Choctaws the win.
KEY STATS
- Nichols tossed 10.2 innings, allowing eight hits and three earned runs with three strikeouts. The Orange City, Fla. native lowered her ERA from 15.00 to 7.13 with the long outing.
- Neito led the MC offense with three hits, while McKissock and Qualls also had multiple-hit days.
- Harmon and Qualls each scored twice, while Aron and Qualls each finished the day with two runs driven in.
- Sierra Stella and Peyton Stallworth each had three hits for West Georgia, while Lexie Stohr drove in a team-high three runs.
- Danielle Easterly (0-1) took the tough-luck loss for West Georgia, allowing no hits and just the one unearned run.
GAME NOTES
- The Lady Choctaws are now 16-4 all-time against the Wolves with eight straight wins in the series.
- The eight runs scored in the sixth inning is the most in a single inning for MC since they scored nine in the GSC Championship game against UAH last season.
- The 12 innings played is the since March 27, 2012 when MC picked up an 8-7 victory over Louisiana College.
NEXT UP
- The teams will close out the series on Saturday with a doubleheader at 12:00 p.m. (Central).
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.
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