CLINTON, Miss. --- Senior Kristen Qualls became the Mississippi College softball all-time career leader in runs batted in as she hit a grand slam in the nightcap of a doubleheader sweep of Union University on Wednesday night at the MC Softball Complex.

The Lady Choctaws improved to 25-8, while the Bulldogs fell to 22-15. Despite the two schools being in the Gulf South Conference, the games did not count towards conference standings.
 

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GAME ONE: #22 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 11, UNION 8

HOW IT HAPPENED

>> The opening game was an offensive shootout between the two teams as they combined for 19 runs and 22 hits.
>> The Bulldogs struck first in the second inning as Gabby Morris hit the first home run of the season off freshman Hannah Creel and made the score 2-0.
>> The two teams traded runs over the next innings and when junior Carly Crawford drove in the first of her six runs on the day, the score was 3-2 in favor of the Bulldogs after three innings.
>> Junior Shayla McKissock tied the score in the fourth inning with a two-out RBI single and Crawford gave MC their first lead of the day with a two-run double to make the score 5-3 after four frames.
>> Union responded with a pair of unearned runs in the fifth and the score was knotted at 5-5 going to the bottom of the fifth.
>> MC grabbed the lead right back in their half of the fifth with an RBI single from McKissock and a two-run single from freshman Annemarie Peavy to make the score 8-5.
>> Qualls drove in the record-tying run in the sixth inning with an RBI double that highlighted a three-run frame to push the lead out to 11-5 going to the seventh.
>> The Bulldogs made things interesting in the seventh by bringing the tying run to the on-deck circle, but Creel coaxed a groundout to second baseman Morgan Bradford to end it.

KEY STATS

>> McKissock led the MC offense with three hits, two runs scored and two RBI.
>> Crawford drove in a team-high three runs, while senior Alexia Harmon scored a team-high three runs.
>> Sophomore Kayla Murphy scored a pair of runs in the game, while Peavy brought in a pair.
>> Creel (11-2) tossed her 11th complete game of the season, striking out six while allowing five earned runs.
>> Parker Davis (8-7) took the loss in the circle for Union, giving up eight hits and 10 earned runs over 4.1 innings.
>> Three Bulldogs tallied multi-hit games, while Haley Barnette and Morris scored twice and Morris and Payton Mathis each drove in a pair of runs.
 

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GAME TWO: #22 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 8, UNION 0 (6 Innings)

HOW IT HAPPENED

>> The second game featured a pair of record-breaking performances as it was dominated in the circle by senior Cori Cooper.
>> The Magnolia, Texas native tied a career-high and school record with 13 strikeouts over the complete game effort.
>> MC got all the offense they needed in the first inning as McKissock reached on an error and would come to score on a groundout by Crawford.
>> The fifth inning saw MC break the game open with five runs as Peavy made the score 2-0 by coming home on a wild pitch.
>> The stage would eventually be set for Qualls, who sent a 3-1 pitch over the left field wall for a grand slam that made the score 6-0.
>> Crawford dealt the final blow in the sixth inning as she homered to right-center field on the first pitch of her at-bat to give the Lady Choctaws a run-rule victory.

KEY STATS

>> Qualls broke the RBI record of Brooke Smitherman (2011-15), who drove in 135 runs over her illustrious career.
>> Qualls, already the MC home run leader 31 career long balls, now has 139 RBI over her four seasons.
>> Cooper (7-5) set the previous school record for strikeouts in 2018 when she rung up 13 batters in her MC debut at Miles.
>> She dominated the game, allowing just three hits with no walks over 6.0 innings.
>> Crawford led the team with two hits in the game, while she and Qualls combined to drive in seven.
>> Gabby Morris (8-7) took the loss in the circle for the Bulldogs, giving up three hits and three earned runs over 4.1 innings.
 

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NEXT UP

>> The Lady Choctaws will be back in action on Friday night when they host Montevallo for a three-game series with the first pitch at 6:00 p.m. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at the MC Softball Complex.
 

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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.