CLINTON, Miss. --- Junior Brianna Caldwell gave the Mississippi College softball team a dramatic victory in the 2018 home opener with a walk-off solo home run to lead of the seventh inning on Friday afternoon at the MC Softball Complex.

The Lady Choctaws (10-9, 5-6 GSC) won the opener by a score of 1-0, while the Flames (12-12, 5-6 GSC) bounced back for an 11-2 victory in the second game.
 

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MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 1, LEE 0 (GAME ONE)

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The pitchers dominated the action in the series opener as juniors Cori Cooper and Leigh Beatenbough dueled over the seven-inning affair.
- Lee's best chance to score came in the second inning when they put a pair of runners on but a nice defensive play from freshman Jessica Aron to cut a runner down at the plate kept the game scoreless.
- Each team would also put runners in scoring position in the sixth inning but neither could capitalize.
- Cooper had her strongest inning in the seventh, retiring the side in order and striking out two of her four hitters.
- Caldwell dealt the lone blow of the game by taking a 1-1 pitch down the left field line for her sixth home run of the season to send the Lady Choctaws home as walk-off winners.

KEY STATS
- Caldwell was the only player in the game to tally multiple hits, which included the game-winning home run.
- Cooper (3-0) tossed all 7.0 innings and gave up just five hits with four strikeouts and no walk.
- Beatenbough (5-3) took the tough-luck loss, giving up five hits and just the one earned run with a strikeout.
 

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LEE 11, MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 2 (GAME TWO)

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Lady Choctaws would crack the scoreboard first in the second game as senior Katherine Lee led off with a single and came home to score on a double by freshman Kayla Murphy.
- Junior Kristen Qualls would make the score 2-0 after an inning with a groundout to score Murphy from third.
- After leaving the bases loaded in each of the first two innings, the Flames capitalized in the third with three runs to take a lead they would not relinquish.
- The first run of the frame scored on an RBI single by Zoe Miller, but the other two runs would come on a bases loaded walk and bases loaded hit-by-pitch.
- The fourth inning saw Lee break things open with four runs to make the score 7-2, highlighted by a two-run double from Miller.
- They would tack on a run in the fifth and score the game-deciding runs with three in the sixth, two of which came on an RBI single by Taylor Moran.

KEY STATS
- Freshman Jessica Aron led the Lady Choctaws with three hits in the contest, bumping her season batting average up to .303.
- Junior Penny Nichols (2-4) took the loss in the circle, giving up six hits and three earned runs with five walks.
- On the night, MC pitchers walked 10 and hit three batters to give the Flames 13 free baserunners.
- Shonna Penney (5-5) got the win for Lee with 6.0 innings in the circle, allowing five hits and just one earned run.
 

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NEXT UP
- The teams are scheduled to close out the series on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the MC Softball Complex.
 

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Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC recently finished their transition process back to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference and began 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.