CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team will open a string of eight straight road games this weekend with a three-game series at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. The teams will play a single game on Friday (4:00 pm) with a doubleheader on Saturday (12:00 pm) at Butler Field.
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SERIES INFORMATION
MATCHUP: #23 Mississippi College (17-6, 5-3 GSC) at Lee (11-15, 1-7 GSC)
TIME: Saturday, March 16th - 12:00 pm (Central) (DH) || Sunday, March 17th - 12:00 pm (Central)
LOCATION: Cleveland, Tenn. || Butler Field
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THE SERIES
>>Â The two schools have met 16 previous times, all since 2014, with the Flames holding a 10-6 edge in the series. The Lady Choctaws are 6-3 over the last nine games, including winning last year's three-game series in Clinton with a pair of victories.
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#23 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (17-6, 5-3 GSC)
ROSTERÂ ||Â SCHEDULEÂ ||Â 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 (359 wins) in school history and has the top winning percentage (.620) among the school's five head coaches.
>> The Lady Choctaws are coming off an impressive doubleheader sweep of #5 Valdosta State in Clinton last weekend, run-ruling the Blazers 8-0 in the opener before a walk-off double by
Kristen Qualls in 2-1, 10-inning victory. The MC pitching staff of
Hannah Creel and
Cori Cooper combined to allow one unearned run over 16 innings.
>>Â The Lady Choctaws, out of Clinton, Miss., are coming off a big weekend sweep of #5 Valdosta State, taking both ends of a Sunday doubleheader before Monday's finale was canceled due to rain. The 17-6 start to the season is the program's best since going 21-3 to open the 2007 campaign, Coach O'Hair's first year at the helm.Â
>> MC opened the season by going 2-2 at the Gulf Coast Invitational in Gulf Shores, falling to nationally-ranked Saint Leo (#5) and North Georgia (#3). MC then traveled to Huntsville and went 5-1 at the Charger Chillout, including a 9-4 win over the then top-ranked team in the country and defending national champion Southern Indiana.
>> MC then went on to open GSC action last weekend with a three-game sweep of West Georgia, led by the pitching efforts of senior
Cori Cooper and freshman
Hannah Creel, who were named GSC Pitcher and Freshman of the Week. The Lady Choctaws won a pair of one-run games around a 13-0 run-rule victory.
>> Junior
Morgan Bradford (.365) has the team's top average and is reaching base at a team-high .507 clip. Junior
Shayla McKissock (.333) and freshman
Annemarie Peavy (.333) are just behind in the batting average race, followed by junior
Carly Crawford (.328). McKissock has a team-high 21 hits with 19 runs scored, while Peavy leads the swuad with three triples. Crawford has a team-best three home runs and tallied three hits with three RBI against VSU.
>> The pitching staff has been spearheaded by senior
Cori Cooper (4-4, 1.41 ERA) and freshman
Hannah Creel (7-1, 1.82 ERA). Cooper has a team-high 55 strikeouts in 44.2 innings while holding opponents to a .164 batting average. Creel has 54 strikeouts in a team-high 61.2 innings pitched with six complete games and two shutouts.
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LEE (11-15, 1-7 GSC)
ROSTERÂ ||Â SCHEDULEÂ ||Â STATS
>> The Flames, out of Cleveland, Tenn., snapped a five-game losing streak with a 6-0 win over Young Harris College on Wednesday in the nightcap of a doubleheader in Georgia. They have opened the year with one win in their first eight conference games and are coming off a sweep at the hands of nationally-ranked UAH in Huntsville last weekend.
>> Led by 17th-year head coach Emily Russell, the Flames have enjoyed success since making the transition to Division II from NAIA, advancing to the NCAA South Super Regional in the 2017 season. Russell has won over 600 games in her tenure at her alma mater, leading Lee to six trips to the NAIA National Tournament and an NCCAA World Series in 2015.
>> The Flames opened the season at the Gulf Coast Invitational in Gulf Shores, going 3-2, before heading to Clearwater, Fla. for the NFCA Leadoff Classic, where they went 3-2, including an 8-2 win over then #8 West Chester. Lee then opened conference play at home against Valdosta State, where they won 1-of-3 games, but they have dropped their last five in the GSC with a doubleheader sweep at the hands of West Alabama before falling three times to UAH.
>> Lee currently sits 5th in the league in batting average (.297), while they have scored 120 runs, which ranks 8th just behind MC. They also are ranked 7th in the GSC in fielding percentage (.960), while their earned run average (4.39) is 11th out of 12 teams.
>> Taylor De Adder (.456) is the team's top hitter with six doubles and a .529 on-base percentage with 10 walks. She also paces the squad in the circle, going 5-5 with a 3.85 ERA and a team-high 45 strikeouts in 63.2 innings pitched.
>> Kayla Louie (.388) is a threat on the basepaths with 15 stolen bases in 19 attempts, while she also leads the team with 33 hits. Abby McKinney (.353) and Bailey Church (.328) each have a team-high four home runs, while Church leads the squad with two triples and 18 RBI.
>> Shonna Penney (3-9, 5.10 ERA) has made a team-high 14 appearances with 12 starts, but she has walked 35 batters with 20 strikeouts. Stevie Baird (3-1, 3.75 ERA) leads the team in ERA and has tossed 37.1 innings in 11 appearances.
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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.
BIG BOUNCEBACK
After a tough three-game sweep at the hands of #2 West Florida in Pensacola last weekend, the Lady Choctaws responded by sweeping a doubleheader from #5 Valdosta State in Clinton. In the first game, MC run-ruled the defending GSC champions with an 8-0 victory, The nightcap saw an outstanding pitching performance from
Cori Cooper and a walk-off double by
Kristen Qualls to get the 2-1 in 10 innings.
In the opener,
Hannah Creel tossed all 6.0 innings with four strikeouts and no walks, allowing just three hits to the Blazers.
Brianna Caldwell and
Carly Crawford each had three hits in the game, while Crawford and
Annemarie Peavy drove in multiple runs. Cooper went the distance in the 10-inning victory, striking out a season-high 10.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK, AGAIN
Freshman
Hannah Creel earned her second GSC Softball Freshman of the Week honor for her efforts in the sweep of #5 Valdosta State. The rookie allowed just three hits with four strikeouts and no walks in a complete game effort against the Blazers. She also earned the award after tossing 14 innings with just four earned runs allowed and 16 strikeotus against West Georgia.
HOW WE STACK UP
The Lady Choctaws currently rank 3rd in the league in earned run average (2.00), only allowing more than four runs twice in a game this season. MC has also allowed a league-low three home runs this season, while their 125 total strikeouts ranks 5th in the conference.
The Lady Choctaws also sit 6th in the GSC with a .291 batting average, ranking 2nd in triples (10) and 5th in doubles (37). MC ranks 9th in the conference in field percentage (.947), making 38 errors over the first 23 games.
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 15 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 176 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.Â
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.
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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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