CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College baseball team returns to Gulf South Conference action this weekend as the Choctaws travel to Cleveland, Tenn., for a three-game series against Lee University. The series is slated to begin on Saturday, March 16 with a doubleheader marked for 2 p.m. The series finale is slated for Sunday, March 17 and a 1 p.m. first pitch.
 
THE SERIES
• Mississippi College and Lee University meet for the 14th time on Saturday, March 16 in the first game of the doubleheader. Lee holds a narrow 7-6 lead in the series despite the Choctaws having three of the last four outings between the two programs.
• The Choctaws and Flames met four times last season with the last coming in the Gulf South Conference Championship Game. Mississippi College claimed the title as it edged out the Flames 7-6 to claim its first GSC title in program history. The Navy and Gold also took the series from LU in Clinton. The two squads split the twinbill on March 9, but the Choctaws got the best of the Flames in the series finale as it grabbed an 11-10.
• The two teams' first meeting came on March 15, 2015 with the Flames taking an 8-6 win in the inaugural contest in Cleveland, Tenn. The win spurred a three-game sweep of the Choctaws for Lee as it went on to pick up a 9-0 and 7-6 win to conclude the series.
• This weekend marks the seventh, eighth and ninth time the two squads have met in Cleveland, Tenn. Lee holds a 4-2 advantage in the series on its home field. The Choctaws earned their first two wins in the series in Cleveland on March 23-24, 2017. MC took the first two games of the series with Lee rallying 6-5 in the series finale.
• The two teams have split the series in Clinton with both teams picking up three wins.
 
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
• Lee enters the weekend riding a three-game losing streak after dropping a doubleheader against Young Harris College on Wednesday, March 13 in Cleveland, Miss. The Flames are 11-12 on the season and 4-3 in the Gulf South Conference.
• LU is led offensively by Miguel Pimentel and Thomas Zazzaro. Pimentel leads the squad with a .377 clip at the dish and leads the team with 26 hits, including a team-best seven home runs, and 16 RBI. Zazzaro is hitting .322 this season - the only other Flame above a .300 batting average. The Flames are batting .250 on the season.
• Freshman Alex Butler helps anchor the Flames' pitching staff. The two-time, GSC Freshman of the Week sits second on the team with 20 strikeouts this season and leads the team with 29.1 innings on the mound and sports a 3.07 ERA. Butler along with Logan Workman, Michael Hendricks and David Pattinson all lead the team with two wins each on the bump. The Flames have combined for a 4.95 ERA in 182 innings with 127 strikeouts.
 
HAWORTH VS. LEE
• Mississippi College head coach Jeremy Haworth is 6-4 against Lee University. All 10 meetings have come during his time in Clinton, Miss.
 
CHOCTAW LEADERS AT THE PLATE
• Mississippi College's leadership at the plate has come from its senior class. Billy Cameron, Blaine Crim and Grant Barber have combined to lead the Choctaws in batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI, doubles and home runs.
 
RECORD CHASING
• Blaine Crim sits second in hits (208), at-bats (612), RBI (164), total bases (340); third in home runs (28); fourth in doubles (42); sixth in runs scored (134); and ninth in games played (164). The Mobile, Ala., native is seven games away from reaching the top 10 in games played.
• Tommy Taborda is third in saves (9) and seventh in appearances (50).
• Zack Ingram is 3.2 innings away from the career innings pitched list and 11 strikeouts from the top 10 in career strikeouts.
 
LAST TIME OUT: MILES COLLEGE
• Mississippi College saw a four-run lead evaporate as Miles College rallied with six runs in the last two innings to claim a 6-5 win at Historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday, March 12. Grant Barber, Blaine Crim, Billy Cameron and Brandon Broussard each recorded two hits to lead the team at the plate. Chauncey Callier and Hunter Sykes joined Crim and Cameron with a RBI in the contest. MC totaled 10 hits in the contest. Christian Bellew (1-1) suffered his first loss on the mound. Bellew allowed one run – unearned – on one walk and two strikeouts.

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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.