CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team will be back on the road this weekend for a Gulf South Conference series as they head to Rome, Ga. to face Shorter University at Alto Park Softball Complex.

The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. (CT) and will wrap things up with a single game on Sunday at noon (CT).
 

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THE SERIES

MC and Shorter have met nine previous times with the Hawks holding a 5-4 edge in the series. The road team has won 2-of-3 games in all three series the teams have played, dating back to 2015. The last time the teams played in Rome (2016), MC bounced back from a 3-2 loss in extra innings to take two games and the series.

Last year, neither team got much going offensively as there was a combined 17 runs scored over the three games. After the teams split a Saturday doubleheader, the Hawks won the rubber game on Sunday by a score of 5-3. In MC's win, Adrianna Morgan tossed a complete game, allowing just three hits and one unearned run.
 

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MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE
Record: 7-7, 2-4 GSC
ROSTER  |  SCHEDULE  |  STATISTICS

The Lady Choctaws, led by 12th-year head coach Brooke O'Hair, are coming off a doubleheader sweep of Miles College on Tuesday night in Pleasant Grove, Ala. That came on the heels of dropping 2-of-3 games at West Georgia last weekend. The win in Carrollton was a 12-inning thriller that saw the Lady Choctaws outlast the Wolves by a score of 9-8.

MC is currently 7th in the league in batting average (.291) but ranks 3rd in the league with 37 stolen bases. The Lady Choctaws are also 12th in the conference in earned run average (5.23) and 13th in fielding percentage (.939).

The pitching staff took a big step forward in the doubleheader against Miles as juniors Penny Nichols (2-2, 4.88 ERA) and Cori Cooper (1-0, 1.00 ERA) combined to allow just seven hits and one earned run over 12.0 innings pitched. Cooper made her first appearance of the year and struck out 13 batters in the 7-2 win in the finale.

Offensively, sophomore Shayla McKissock (.390) is the team's leading hitter after going 3-for-3 with a triple, double and three runs scored in the 7-2 win over Miles. Juniors Kristen Qualls (.360) and Brianna Caldwell (.341) have combined for nine home runs, while Qualls ranks 2nd in the conference with 18 runs batted in.
 

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SHORTER
Record: 8-6, 4-1 GSC
ROSTER  |  SCHEDULE  |  STATISTICS

The Hawks, led by first-year head coach Danielle Brewer, are currently sitting in 2nd in the Gulf South Conference standings after going 2-1 at the GSC Opening Weekend Festiival and winning both games in a rain-shortened series against Union. They are 6th in the league in fielding percentage (.959), 9th in batting average (.288) and 11th in earned run average (3.42).

Tiffany Holland (.426) returns as an All-GSC selection and is the team leader in hits (20), runs scored (16), stolen bases (6) and batting average early in the year. Taylor Martin (.400) has hit three of the team's six home runs and has a team-high 11 runs batted in. Lindsey Newell (.366) leads the way with three doubles and is second on the team with 10 RBI.

Payton Lippert (4-1, 1.97 ERA) leads the pitching staff with 29 strikeouts and 39.0 innings pitched this year. Julie Sanderlin (3-0, 3.79 ERA) has yet to take a loss, while Hannah Draper (1-5, 4.83 ERA) has made a team-high six starts this season.
 

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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.