CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team will open their home schedule on Wednesday when they host Kentucky State University. The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. at the MC Softball Complex.
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MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (7-3, 0-0 GSC)
ROSTERÂ |Â SCHEDULEÂ |Â STATS
The Lady Choctaws are led by 13th-year head coach
Brooke O'Hair, who has led the Lady Choctaws to a 349-217 record in her tenure. They were predicted to finish 3rd in the Gulf South Conference and have opened the season at 7-3 after winning 5-of-6 games at last weekend's Charger Chillout 2.0 in Huntsville, Ala.
MC opened the festivities in Alabama with a pair of Friday wins over Kentucky Wesleyan (6-4) and Missouri-St. Louis (4-2). They followed that up on Saturday with a win over Henderson State (8-1) before a statement victory over #1 Southern Indiana (9-4). The tournament closed on Sunday with MC splitting a pair of games, falling to #12 Illinois-Springfield (4-2) and defeating McKendree (5-4).
Two newcomers stepped up over the six games in sophomore
Ashley Elsensohn and freshman
Gracie Trahan. Elsensohn slid into the leadoff spot of the lineup and hit safely in 5-of-6 games, also driving in a team-high six runs. Trahan went 4-for-12 with two doubles, a triple and five runs scored.
Junior
Shayla McKissock has led the offense early in the season, hitting .400 with a team-high 10 runs scored and five stolen bases. Junior
Morgan Bradford is hitting .391 with seven runs scored, while freshman
Annemarie Peavy has a .333 batting average with a team-high four doubles.
In the circle, another newcomer shined as freshman
Hannah Creel tossed 13.0 innings and recorded 13 strikeouts while allowing just two earned runs.
On the season, the senior duo of
Cori Cooper and
Adrianna Morgan have been a force for the pitching staff. Cooper has struck out 21 batters in 18.0 innings, while Morgan has earned three victories over her first four appearances.
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KENTUCKY STATE (3-3, 0-0 SIAC)
ROSTERÂ |Â SCHEDULE
The Thorobreds, out of Frankfort, Ky., have opened the season at 3-3 after going 21-21 with an 11-7 mark in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2018. They are led by first-year head coach David Morton, who took over as interim head coach in 2018. Four KSU softball players earned Preseason All-SIAC honors in Jittuan Thompson (SS), Natalia Bocanegra (OF), Casey Grant (P) and Moana Pinner (1B).
The Thorobreds opened the 2019 season with a doubleheader split against Ferris State with a 13-4 win and an 11-4 loss. Last weekend, they traveled to Acworth, Ga. for the HBCU Division II Tournament and won 2-of-4 contests. Their wins came against Virginia Union (4-2) and Bowie State (10-2). The losses were against Winston-Salem State (1-6) and Claflin (1-8).
Thompson comes back as the team's starting shortstop after hitting .345 with five home runs, four triples and 26 RBI, also stealing 20-of-21 bases. Bocanegra hit .313 with five doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI. Pinner hit .361 with five doubles, two home runs and 19 RBI in 24 games.
Paolo Flores (11-8, 4.42 ERA) was the team's top pitcher in 2018, striking out 82 batters over 122.0 innings pitched. Grant (1-3, 4.47 ERA) is back after tossing one complete game in 2018.
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GAME NOTES
MC was picked to finish 3rd in the Gulf South Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll after finishing 4th in the final standings in 2018 with a record of 29-16 and 19-12 in league play.
The Lady Choctaws are opening their 2019 home schedule on Wednesday, and head coach
Brooke O'Hair is 7-5 all-time in home openers. Last season, MC's first home game did not come until March 9th with a 1-0 victory over Lee University.
The Lady Choctaws are scheduled to play 29 teams that combined to post a record of 821-689 (.544) in 2018, including four teams that finished the season ranked in the top 12 in the final NFCA rankings. They wiil play defending national champion Southern Indiana (#1), Saint Leo (#5), North Georgia (#3) and Illinois Springfield (#12). USI, SLU and UNG all made it to the College World Series.
The Lady Choctaws were scheduled to travel to Bentonville, Ark. this coming weekend, but due to weather concerns, the the Alvy Early Tournament was canceled.
MC will face four first-time opponents in 2019, including Tuskegee, Saint Leo, Southern Indiana and Kentucky State.
The Lady Choctaws set a school record with 41 home runs in 2018, eclipsing the record of 37 hit in 2011.
Brianna Caldwell also set a new standard in MC softball history with 14 home runs, besting the mark of 13 by Ty Buckley in 2016.
Two Lady Choctaws return after earning All-Gulf South Conference honors last season.
Carly Crawford was named to the First Team for the second straight season, while
Cori Cooper earned Second team honors in the circle.
TOUGH SCHEDULE
The Lady Choctaws are scheduled to play 29 teams that combined to post a record of 821-689 (.544) in 2018, including four teams that finished the season ranked in the top 12 in the final NFCA rankings. They wiil play defending national champion Southern Indiana (#1), Saint Leo (#5), North Georgia (#3) and Illinois Springfield (#12). USI, SLU and UNG all made it to the College World Series.
THINGS HEATED UP AT CHARGER CHILLOUT 2.0
Last weekend, the Lady Choctaws won 5-of-6 games at the Charger Chillout 2.0 in Huntsville, Ala. MC opened things with wins over Kentucky Wesleyan (6-4) and Missouri-St. Louis (4-2) on Friday. On Saturday, they handed Henderson State (8-1) a loss before a statement win over #1 Southern Indiana (9-4). They closed the tournament with a split on Sunday, falling to #12 Illinois-Springfield (4-2) before coming back for a win over McKendree (5-4).
HOW WE STACK UP
After the first two weekends of softball, the Lady Choctaws rank 6th in the Gulf South Conference in earned run average (2.40) and 4th in strikeouts (47). They also sit 8th in batting average (.284) and are 5th in stolen bases (24). MC also moved up to 9th in fielding percentage (.948).
WE WERE MERELY FRESHMEN
The 2019 Lady Choctaws have five players that opened their careers in 2016 with an NCCAA National Championship in Troutville, Va.
Alexia Harmon,
Shelby Miller,
Penny Nichols,
Makenzie Nieto and
Kristen Qualls were all a part of the first women's team in MC history to win a national title. The Lady Choctaws cruised through the NCCAA World Series, allowing just 10 runs and scoring 46. They closed out the historic run with a shutout victory over Belhaven that saw only two Blazer baserunners even reach second base against Carlie Sargent.
NEW FACES ALL OVER THE PLACE
The Lady Choctaws welcome 11 newcomers to the 2019 squad, including five freshman and six transfers. Junior
Morgan Bradford (Southern Union State CC) and freshman
Hannah Creel (Bowling Green School) were named to the GSC's Top Newcomer List. The newcomers are from four different states, including Georgia (Bradford,
Hayden Claypool), Louisiana (
Ashley Elsensohn,
Paige Hulin,
Annemarie Peavy,
Gracie Trahan), Mississippi (Creel,
Kendal Daniels,
Abbey Salvo) and Texas (
Baylee Freudenberg,
Grace Hahn).
HOME RUN QUEENS
Junior
Kristen Qualls became MC's all-time home run leader with her 28th long ball on Friday (April 13) against #22 UAH. The home run came with two outs in the seventh inning to tie the score at 6-6. The former Madison Central standout broke the record of 27 home runs held by Brooke Smitherman (2011-15). Qualls also ranks 2nd in school history with 125 runs batted in, just 10 shy of Smitherman (135).
Brianna Caldwell set a single-season record with 14 home runs in 2018. She would set the record with a pair of long balls in the GSC Tournament against Montevallo. It was Caldwell's second time to hit two home runs in a game, also sending two out on February 24th against West Georgia. Her 14 home runs in 2018 already has her 5th in school history for career long balls.
EYE ON THE RECORD BOOKS
There are other Lady Choctaws that are on pace to make their mark on the MC Softball record books, starting with senior
Alexia Harmon, who has played in 168 career games. The record for games played is currently held by
Megan Everett (2014-17), who saw action in 209 contests. The former Madison Central standout also sits in the top 15 in school history in at-bats, hits, runs scored, doubles, runs batted in, total bases, hit-by-pitches, stolen bases and stolen base attempts.
Qualls, Harmon's teammated at MCHS, is also set to rise up the lists, sitting in the Top 15 in games played, slugging percentage, at-bats, hits, runs batted in, total bases, base on balls and hit-by-pitches
LIONS, TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!
The 2019 campaign features several unique mascots for the Lady Choctaws as they will face 30 teams with 25 different personalities. The most common mascot opponent for MC will be the Tigers (Ouachita Baptist, Tuskegee and West Alabama), followed by the Bearcats (McKendree and Northwest Missouri State), Lions (Saint Leo and Missouri Southern State) and Tritons (Eckerd and Missouri-St. Louis).
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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 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 contactÂ
David Nichols at 601-925-3234 orÂ
nichols@mc.edu.Â
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