CLINTON, Miss. --- After a day full of rain delays, the Mississippi College softball team came from behind to get an 8-7 victory over Missouri Southern State University on Sunday afternoon at Rene T. Warren Field on the campus of Hinds Community College.

The Lady Choctaws won their sixth straight and made it 10 wins in their last 11 games to improve to 12-3 on the season.
 

---

TURNING POINT

- With the Lady Choctaws trailing 4-2 at the start of the bottom of the fourth inning, junior Carly Crawford led off the frame with a solo home run, her second long ball in as many days, to cut the lead in half.
- Following the solo shot, MC put up five more runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-out, two-run double from freshman Gracie Trahan to give the Lady Choctaws their first lead of the day.
 

---

HOW IT HAPPENED

- The day was originally scheduled to feature three games starting at 11:00 a.m. with Drury University facing MSSU. Following a lengthy rain delay, it was determined that the MC Softball Complex was not playable and all games were moved to the campus of Hinds CC.
- With the start time pushed back to 3:00 p.m., DU decided to start their trip back to Springfield, Mo. and there would be one game featuring the Lady Choctaws and Lions.
- MSSU got their offense going early with a pair of two-out runs in the first inning, the second coming on an RBI double from Lexi Ferrari.
- MC responded with a run of their own in the first as Crawford doubled with two outs, and senior Makenzie Nieto drew a third consecutive walk for the offense, brining home Crawford.
- Both teams tallied a run in the second inning to make the score 3-2, and it would remain that way going to the fourth inning.
- After an RBI groundout by the Lions to make the score 4-2, the Lady Choctaws finally got their offense in gear with six runs, led off with the solo home run from Crawford.
- With runners on second and third and one out, junior Hayden Claypool laid down a perfect bunt that brought home freshman Annemarie Peavy to tie the game at 4-4.
- The Lady Choctaws then put their foot on the gas as Trahan doubled to deep center field to score Claypool and senior Alexia Harmon.
- Junior Shayla McKissock extended the lead to 8-4 with a two-run single that saw Trahan and sophomore Ashley Elsensohn cross the plate.
- The Lions would not go away, however, as they scored three runs in the fifth and loaded the bases with two outs before freshman Hannah Creel was able to get a pop-up to first to end the frame.
- The Lady Choctaws appeared poised to open up their advantage in the sixth as junior Morgan Bradford doubled to lead off the inning, and back-to-back walks loaded the bases with no outs.
- MSSU came up with a big defensive play as they turned what looked like a sacrifice fly into a double play at the plate, ending the threat and sending the game to the seventh at 8-7.
- Senior Penny Nichols was able to nail down her second save in as many days, retiring three out of the four hitters she faced in the seventh, pitching around a two-out single and getting a strikeout to end the game.
 

---

KEY STATS

- The Lady Choctaws had baserunners all over the park, leaving 13 on with nine hits and drawing 10 walks.
- Crawford and Bradford each had two hits, while McKissock and Trahan each drove in a pair of runs.
- Creel (5-0) notched her third win of the week, overcoming the tough conditions and pitching around 10 hits and three earned runs over 5.0 innings.
- Nichols gave up just the one hit over her 2.0 innings to get her second save of the weekend.
- Abby Atkin (1-1) took the loss for MSSU, giving up seven hits and eight walks over 3.2 innings.
- Makaila Leonhart led all players with four hits and three RBI in the contest.
 

---

NEXT UP

- The Lady Choctaws are scheduled to be back in action on Saturday when they open conference play against West Georgia.
 

---

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.