CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team will open Gulf South Conference play this weekend when they host West Georgia for a three-game series.
With the recent rainfall and expected inclement weather, the series has been moved to Sunday (Feb. 24) and Monday (Feb. 25) and will be played at Hinds CC, Rene T. Warren Field.
MATCHUP
Mississippi College (12-3, 0-0 GSC) vs. West Georgia (8-7, 1-2 GSC)
Saturday, Feb. 24 - 2:00 pm (DH) || Sunday, February 25 - 11:00 am
Raymond, Miss. || MC Softball Complex
THE SERIES
>> The two schools have met 22 previous times with MC holding a 16-6 edge in the series. The last time they met in Clinton, the Lady Choctaws swept a three-game series with a pair of one-run wins to go along with a run-rule victory.
>> Last season, the Wolves won their first-ever series against the Lady Choctaws, taking 2-of-3 games in Carrollton. MC opened the set with a 9-8 victory in 12 innings as
Penny Nichols came out of the bullpen and tossed 10.2 innings to deliver the come-from-behind win that saw MC trailing 5-0 until an eight-run sixth inning. UWG came back and swept a Saturday doubleheader with a run-rule victory (14-2) and a comeback win (4-3) of their own in the finale, despite
Brianna Caldwell hitting a pair of home runs.
MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (12-3, 0-0 GSC)
ROSTER || SCHEDULE || STATS
>> The Lady Choctaws are led by 13th-year head coach
Brooke O'Hair, who won her 350th career game on Wednesday (Feb. 13) with a 5-0 victory over Kentucky State. She is already the winningest coach in school history and has the top winning percentage (.618) among the school's five head coaches.
>> MC has won 10 of their last 11 games and five straight after winning three against Missouri Southern State and Drury last weekend. 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.
>> Senior
Alexia Harmon (.310) enjoyed a big five-game run last week, hitting safely in all five games with three doubles, two triples, five RBI and four runs scored. On the season, she leads the squad with five doubles and 11 RBI through 15 games.
>> Junior
Carly Crawford (.355) hit two home runs last weekend and bumped her slugging percentage up to a team-high .645 with three doubles and two home runs. Freshman
Annemarie Peavy (.314) also left the yard last weekend and has four doubles with a triple and the long ball this season.
>> The Lady Choctaws are 39-of-45 stealing bases this season, led by junior
Shayla McKissock (.333) and sophomore
Ashley Elsensohn (.290), who are 17-of-17 combined. Junior
Abbey Salvo is also 8-of-9 on swipes as a pinch-runner.
>> Freshman
Hannah Creel (5-0, 1.80 ERA) collected three victories over the 5-0 week for the Lady Choctaws last week. She leads the squad with 32 strikeouts in 35.0 innings and three complete games.
>> Seniors
Cori Cooper (1-2, 1.56 ERA),
Adrianna Morgan (4-1, 3.33 ERA) and
Penny Nichols (1-0, 3.29 ERA) have also been featured in the circle this season. Cooper and Nichols each have two saves on the year, while Morgan is second on the squad with 21.0 innings pitched.
WEST GEORGIA (8-7, 1-2 GSC)
ROSTER || SCHEDULE || STATS
>> The Wolves, out of Carrollton, Ga., are 8-7 on the season, including 1-2 in Gulf South Conference play following a home series loss to Shorter last weekend. Led by 3rd-year head coach Al Thomas, UWG was predicted to finish 9th the GSC Preseason Poll after going 25-27 with a 10-23 league record. Sophomore Alley Taylor was a Preseason All-GSC selection after being named GSC Co-Freshman of the Year in 2018.
>> The Wolves won five of their first six games, including a 6-5 victory over #5 Saint Leo in 10 innings at the Gulf Coast Invitational in Gulf Shores, Ala. They then traveled to Clearwater, Fla. and opened things with an 8-0 victory over Indianapolis before dropping the next four games with just two total runs scored.
>> In their opening GSC series of the season, UWG dropped 2-of-3 games with their victory being by a score of 7-6. In the win, Raya Moncus tossed a complete game with three stirkeouts and no walks. In the rubber game on Saturday, Shorter scored four runs in the first inning and cruised to a 10-3 victory.
>> The Wolves are the top fielding team in the league after 15 games, posting a .985 fielding percenteage with just six errors over 417 chances. They also rank 6th in earned run average (2.75) and are 2nd with four shutouts. Offensively, UWG is 10th in batting average (.279) and are tied for 2nd with 10 home runs.
>> Sophomore Hannah Scarbrough (.395) leads the team with four doublesand a .500 slugging percentage. Taylor (.233) has a team-best two home runs and 12 RBI with six stolen bases. Senior Peyton Stallworth (.325) is second on the squad with 10 RBI and two doubles.
>> Junior Lindsye Jefferson (3-2, 1.80 ERA) has been the team's top pitcher early in the season, tossing two complete games with two shutouts. Moncus (2-0, 3.12 ERA) has tossed a season-high 33.2 innings, while junior Morgan Goree (1-4, 3.13 ERA) leads the way with 24 strikeouts.
GAME NOTES
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.
WEEKEND FULL OF WINS
The Lady Choctaws hosted Drury and Missouri Southern State at the MC Softball Complex last weekend following the cancellation of a tournament in northwest Arkansas. MC opened things on Saturday with an 8-4 win over MSSU as freshman
Annemarie Peavy hit the team's first home run of the season. They followed that up with a 4-1 victory over Drury with freshman
Hannah Creel tossing a complete game and allowing just one unearned run. Following several rain delays on Sunday, MC and MSSU traveled to Hinds CC where the Lady Choctaws erased an early deficit for an 8-7 victory.
Overall, MC blasted 11 extra-base hits with six doubles, three home runs and two triples. They were also patient at the plate, drawing 26 walks, including 14 in the first win over Missouri Southern. Junior
Carly Crawford went 4-for-7 with two home runs and a double over the final two games, scoring three runs.
HOW WE STACK UP
The Lady Choctaws currently rank 4th in the Gulf South Conference in earned run average (2.17), also sittting 2nd with just 23 walks allowed through 15 games. MC also ranks 6th in batting average (.297) and are tied for the league lead with 28 doubles and are 3rd with 39 stolen bases. The Lady Choctaws have struggled in the field through the first three weeks, ranking 9th in fielding percentage (.950) and making a league-high 23 errors.
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).
DEFENDING GSC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
The Mississippi College softball team are the last time to win the Guf South Conference Tournament championship game after the 2018 tournament was cut short due to weather. In their first full year of eligibility in Division II and the GSC, the Lady Choctaws capped off a perfect run with an 18-5 win over the hosts UAH in the championship game.
Kristen Qualls was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while
Carly Crawford,
Megan Everett,
Adrianna Morgan and
Haley Thompson joined her on the All-Tournament Team.
NEW STAFF
The Lady Choctaws welcome a pair of new staffers in 2019 as
Roland Rodriguez joins as an assistant coach and
Kasey Cox will be the graduate assistant. Rodriguez has recently been the head softball coach at Millsaps and Ozarks, while Cox just wrapped up her playing career at Tennessee State.
ALL-GSC RETURNERS
The Lady Choctaws return a pair of All-GSC performers from 2018 in junior
Carly Crawford and senior
Cori Cooper. Crawford earned a First Team nod for the second straight season after hitting .341 with seven doubles, four home runs and 26 RBI. Cooper earned Second Team laurels after going 11-3 with a 2.66 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 94.2 innings.
PRESEASON ALL-GSC
The 2018 Preseason All-GSC Softball Team was voted on by the head coaches. Positions were not a factor, and coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players. Senior
Brianna Caldwell and junior
Carly Crawford were named to the team after both earning a spot on the GSC All-Tournament Team in 2018. Caldwell (.333) set a school record with 14 home runs in 2018, while Crawford (.341) was selected to the All-GSC First Team for the second consecutive year.
GSC PRESEASON POLL
The Lady Choctaws were predicted to finish third in the Gulf South Conference preseason poll, following a vote by the league's head coaches. MC also picked up two first-place vote after finishing fourth in the 2018 final standings. Alabama Huntsville was predicted to win the conference after advancing to the Division II Super Regionals last season. The top four teams in the conference were only separated by 29 total points and all receivied first-place votes.
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#
