HUNTSVILLE, Ala. --- The Mississippi College softball team split a pair of games on the final day of the Charger Chillout 2.0, finishing with a 5-1 record at the Kiwanis Sportsplex.
The Lady Choctaws (7-3) opened the day with a tough loss to #12 Illinois-Springfield (3-2), before bouncing back with a 5-4 come-from-behind win over McKendree (1-2).
GAME ONE: #12 ILLINOIS-SPRINGFIELD 4, MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 2
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Prairie Stars scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning as Carolyn Frank drove in Lakyn Wagoner with a two-out single after she had tripled with two outs.
UIS would ad two runs in the third and a run in the fourth to grab a 4-0 lead, an advantage they would hold until the sixth inning.
MC finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth as freshman
Annemarie Peavy doubled home pinch-runner
Abbey Salvo with two outs to cut the lead to 4-1.
In the seventh, junior
Shayla McKissock drove in senior
Makenzie Nieto with a two-out single, bringing up the game-tying run, but the Prairie Stars would hold on for the win.
KEY STATS
Senior
Cori Cooper (1-2) took the loss for MC, going 3.0 innings and allowing six hits with five walks and just one earned run.
Freshman
Hannah Creel tossed 4.0 innings out of the bullpen, scattering four hits and one run with five strikeouts.
Freshman
Baylee Freudenberg and Peavy each had two hits for MC.
Jaycee Craver (2-1) grabbed the win for UIS, tossing 6.2 innings with five strikeouts and four walks.
Wagoner led the Prairie Star offense with three hits and two runs scored.
GAME TWO: MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 5, MCKENDREE 4
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bearcats scored the game's first run with a sacrifice fly by Jenna Alfeldt that scored Whitney Boschert in the second inning.
McKendree would tack on a pair of runs in the fifth inning and would take a 3-0 lead.
MC finally got things going in the fifth inning as junior
Morgan Bradford led off with a walk and freshman
Gracie Trahan doubled to put runners at second and third with no outs.
Junior
Hayden Claypool gave MC their first run with a sacrifice fly, followed by an RBI double from sophomore
Ashley Elsensohn to make the score 3-2.
The Lady Choctaws tied the game on the next batter as McKissock reached on a throwing error that allowed Elsensohn to score.
The go-ahead run came home as McKissock scored on a sacrifice fly by senior
Kristen Qualls, making the score 4-3 after five innings.
Another error in the sixth inning gave the Lady Choctaws a much-needed insurance run as Salvo came home to score and make the lead 5-3.
The Bearcats threatened in the seventh with back-to-back hits to start the frame, brining in a run to make the score 5-4, but McKissock caught a runner trying to turn a single into a double, giving them their first out.
Senior
Adrianna Morgan was able to get the final two outs of the game to clinch a win for MC.
KEY STATS
Morgan (3-1) came out of the bullpen and pitched the final 3.0 innings to get the win, allowing three hits and an earned run.
Senior
Penny Nichols started the game for MC, tossing 4.0 innings and scattering five hits and three runs.
The Lady Choctaws had a pair of extra-base hits and had three stolen bases from Nieto, Salvo and senior
Alexia Harmon.
Miranda Gajewski (1-1) took the loss for McKendree, giving up four hits and five runs with eight strikeouts over the complete game effort.
The Bearcats had three players tally multi-hit games, while Boschert scored a team-high two runs.
NEXT UP
The Lady Choctaws are scheduled to play their home opener on Wednesday when they host Kentucky State at 2:00 p.m. for a doubleheader at the MC Softball Complex.
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 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.
#MC#
