CLEVELAND, Tenn. --- The Mississippi College softball team, ranked #23 in the latest NFCA Top 25 Poll, picked up a pair of wins in a doubleheader sweep of Lee University on Saturday afternoon at Butler Field.

The Lady Choctaws (19-6, 7-3 GSC) erased an early deficit in a 7-2 win in the first game, while they cruised to a 12-2 win in five innings in the second game against the Flames (11-17, 1-9 GSC).
 

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GAME ONE: #23 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 7, LEE 2

HOW IT HAPPENED

>> The Flames opened the scoring in the first inning with a pair of runs as Lily Hatcher tripled home Kayla Louie and scored her own run on an MC error to take a 2-0 lead after just two batters.
>> MC responded with a run in the second inning as senior Makenzie Nieto drove in freshman Annemarie Peavy with a double to cut the deficit in half.
>> The Lady Choctaws took the lead with four runs in the third as senior Alexia Harmon opened the scoring with an RBI single to drive in junior Shayla McKissock.
>> The big blow came on the next batter as junior Carly Crawford hit her fourth home run of the season, a three-run shot to give the Lady Choctaws the 5-2 advantage.
>> MC would add single runs in the fifth and sixth inning on an RBI double from Crawford and a sacrifice fly by Peavy to give the game its final score.

KEY STATS

>> Freshman Hannah Creel (8-1) tossed the complete game in the circle, striking out seven with just two walks and one earned run allowed.
>> Crawford and Nieto each led the team with two hits, while Crawford had four RBI to lead the way.
>> McKissock scored a team-high two runs, while Nieto tallied a pair of doubles and Crawford and McKissock each had a two-bagger.
>> Shonna Penney (2-10) took the loss for Lee, allowing eight hits and six earned runs over 5.1 innings pitched.
>> No Flame had multiple hits in the contest as they were held to just four base-knocks.
 

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GAME TWO: #23 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 12, LEE 2

HOW IT HAPPENED

>> The Lady Choctaws wasted no time putting runs on the board in the second game as Crawford doubled home Harmon to grab the early 1-0 advantage.
>> Senior Brianna Caldwell gave MC all the offense they would need on the next at-bat as she hit her second home run of the season to make the score 3-0.
>> Freshman Gracie Trahan extended the lead in the second inning with her first career home run to push the score out to 5-0.
>> After MC added a run in the third, they would break the game open with five runs in the fourth to make the score 11-0.
>> McKissock opened the scoring by stealing home on a double-steal to push the lead out to 6-0.
>> Harmon and Peavy each had RBI singles, while Craword drove in a run with a double to cap off the scoring.
>> The Flames tallied their first hit of the game in the fourth with a two-run home run to cut the score to 11-2.
>> The final run of the game came in the fifth inning as freshman Grace Hahn came off the bench and hit her first career home run to give the game its final score.

KEY STATS

>> The Lady Choctaws tallied seven extra-base hits in the game with three home runs, three doubles and a triple as Nieto tallied the three-bagger.
>> Harmon tallied a team-high three hits with three runs scored, while Crawford, Caldwell and Trahan had two RBI apiece.
>> MC also had six stolen bases in the game with McKissock tallying a team-high two swipes.
>> Senior Cori Cooper (5-4) struck out six with just two hits and two walks allowed over 5.0 innings.
>> Stevie Baird (3-2) gave up 12 hits with 10 earned runs over 3.0 innings to take the loss for the Flames.
 

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NEXT UP

>> The teams will wrap up the series on Sunday with a single game at 12:00 p.m. (Central) at Butler Field.
 

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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 contact David Nichols at 601-925-3234 or nichols@mc.edu.