CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team will step back into Gulf South Conference action this weekend as they head to face Auburn Montgomery for a three-game set. The teams will play a single game on Friday night at 6:30 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at noon at the AUM Softball Complex.
SERIES INFORMATION
MATCHUP: #21 Mississippi College (22-6, 8-3 GSC) at Auburn Montgomery (27-6, 7-5 GSC)
TIME: Friday, March 22nd - 6:30 p.m. || Saturday, March 23rd - 12:00 p.m. (DH)
LOCATION: Montgomery, Ala. || AUM Softball Complex
THE SERIES
>> The two schools have met us two previous times with AUM winning both meetings. In 2017, the Warhawks picked up an 8-4 victory, while they defeated the Lady Choctaws by a score of 13-4 in 2018. This will be the first home games for either team in the series.
#21 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (22-6, 8-3 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 (364 wins) in school history and has the top winning percentage (.624) among the school's five head coaches.
>> The Lady Choctaws have won seven straight games and 16-of-19 with the only losses coming to #2 West Florida in that stretch. MC has hit 11 home runs in their last five games, including a season-high four in the doubleheader sweep of Miles. Freshman
Hannah Creel threw the school's first no-hitter since 2016 in a 9-0 victory over the Golden Bears.
>> The Lady Choctaws, out of Clinton, Miss., are coming off a big weekend sweep of Lee University that saw them nearly double their home run total for the season with six long balls over the three games. MC continued that momentum into a Tuesday doubleheader with Miles as freshman
Hannah Creel tossed a no-hitter and MC hit five home runs.
>> 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 opened GSC play with a three-game sweep of West Georgia before traveling to #2 West Florida where they lost three tight games to the nationally-ranked Argos. The Lady Choctaws responded, however, winning their next five conference games with a doubleheader sweep of #5 Valdosta State before taking three road games at Lee.
>> Junior
Morgan Bradford (.358) leads the team in batting average, trailed closely by freshman
Annemarie Peavy (.356), who has a team-high four triples. Junior
Shayla McKissock (.347) has stolen 16-of-16 bases and leads the squad with 26 runs scored.
>> Senior
Alexia Harmon (.310) leads the squad with nine doubles and 23 RBI, while senior
Brianna Caldwell (.290) and junior
Carly Crawford (.319) each have a team-high four home runs. Sophomore
Ashley Elsensohn (.239) leads the way with 20 stolen bases on 21 attempts.
>> In the circle, senior
Cori Cooper (6-4, 1.57 ERA) and freshman
Hannah Creel (9-1, 1.62 ERA) have shouldered the load, as of late. Cooper is only allowing opponents to hit .168 on the season and has 67 strikeouts over 53.2 innings. Creel leads the team with 70 punchouts in 73.2 innings with three shutouts and eight complete games.
AUBURN MONTGOMERY (27-6, 7-5 GSC)
ROSTER || SCHEDULE || STATS
>> The Warhawks, out of Montgomery, Ala., have had two separate winning streaks of nine games or more this season, including opening the year with 10 consecutive victories. AUM is 13-3 at home this season, but they are just 3-3 at home in GSC contests with the three losses coming to #2 West Florida.
>> Led by 5th-year head coach Eric Newell, the Warhawks have a storied history of success with their softball program, including winning a national championship in Newell's first season. He has amassed over 400 wins as a collegiate coach and he led AUM to their second straight NAIA national title when they won in his first season.
>> The Warhawks opened the season with a statement win as they went to the Gulf Coast Invitational in Gulf Shores, Ala. and picked up a 9-0 win over current NFCA #1 North Georgia. AUM had a four-game winning streak snapped in a doubleheader spilt with Georgia Southwestern State on Wednesday, falling 8-7, before coming back with a 10-0 win in the second game.
>> The Warhawks do not qualify for GSC statistical rankings as they are transitioning to Division II, but their team ERA of 1.14 would lead the league. Their team batting average of .320 would rank 3rd, while their fielding percentage of 0.974 would be 2nd.
>> Individually, Jaycie Walker (.414) leads the team in home runs (10), doubles (12) and RBI (30) as she is one of just two players to start all 33 games this season. Olivia Aycock (.356) has also started every game and leads the team with 34 stolen bases in 38 attempts. Parker Pinholster (.347) is second on the squad in home runs (5), RBI (28) and stolen bases (21).
>> Michaelyn Foster (11-1, 0.46 ERA) leads the team in innings pitched (61.0), and opponents are only hitting .129 with four earned runs allowed. Chanel Newcomer (6-2, 1.64 ERA) is second on the team with 55.1 inning pitched, while Savanna Holmes (2-2, 1.58 ERA) has a team-high 44 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.
MOVIN' ON UP
The Lady Choctaws have jumped to #21 in the latest NFCA Top 25 Poll, which was released on Wednesday (March 20). MC debuted in the poll last week at #23, marking the first time they have showed up in the rankings since moving back to Division II and the Gulf South Conference in the 2014-15 season. The Lady Choctaws have won 16 of their last 19 games with the only losses coming to #2 West Florida.
BRINGING OUT BOOM STICKS & BROOM STICKS
The Lady Choctaws nearly doubled their home run total from the first 23 games of the season in a three-game sweep of Lee University on the road last weekend. MC hit six long balls over the series, including three coming from senior
Brianna Caldwell, who now has four on the season. The freshman duo of
Gracie Trahan and
Grace Hahn each hit their first career home runs in the 12-2 win on Saturday.
MC continued the long ball trend on Tuesday at Miles, hitting five home runs over the doubleheader sweep.
Kendal Daniels hit a pair in the nightcap, while
Alexia Harmon and
Kristen Qualls each hit their first of the season. Qualls tallied her 30th career long ball, making her the first player in school history to reach the mark.
A NO-NO FOR CREEL
Freshman
Hannah Creel moved into rarified air among MC pitchers with a no-hitter against Miles College on Tuesday afternoon. The two-time GSC Freshman of the Week struck out nine batters with no walks and the only baserunner allowed came on an MC error. It was the first no-hitter for a Lady Choctaw since Carlie Sargent turned the trick on April 16, 2016 against UAH.
BRI NAMED GSC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior
Brianna Caldwell was named Gulf South Conference Player of the Week after hitting .500 with three home runs in the series sweep of Lee. After suffering an injury early in the season, she appears to be hitting her stride with the three long balls, including two in the series finale. Caldwell has now hit 18 home runs in just two seasons, which ranks 4th in school history.
HOW WE STACK UP
The Lady Choctaws rank 3rd in the Gulf South Conference in earned run average (1.99), sitting as one of just three teams with a sub-2.00 ERA. The 155 strikeouts rank 4th in the league behind Valdosta State (199), West Georgia (174) and West Florida (170).
MC also ranks 5th in batting average (.310), 2nd in triples (13), fourth in doubles (49) and 5th in home runs (18). After opening the year with no home runs through the first 12 games, MC has hit 18 in their last 16 contests.
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 18 home runs in 2018 already has her 4th 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.
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#
