CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team will play their first home Gulf South Conference games since March 10th when they welcome Montevallo to town for a three-game series. The teams will play a single game on Friday at 6:00 pm with a doubleheader on Saturday at 2:00 pm.
SERIES INFORMATION
MATCHUP: #22 Mississippi College (25-8, 9-5 GSC) vs. Montevallo (17-18, 8-10 GSC)
TIME: Friday, March 29th - 6:00 pm || Saturday, March 30th - 2:00 pm (DH)
LOCATION: Clinton, Miss. || MC Softball Complex
THE SERIES
>> The two schools have met just three previous times with MC holding a 3-0 edge in the series. Last season, the teams met in the first round of the GSC Tournament as the Lady Choctaws picked up a 9-1 victory. Bri Caldwell homered twice, while
Carly Crawford went yard once in the run-rule victory.
#22 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (25-8, 9-5 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 (367 wins) in school history and has the top winning percentage (.624) among the school's five head coaches.
>> The Lady Choctaws are coming off a doubleheader sweep of Union that saw them score 19 total runs. Senior
Cori Cooper tied her own MC record with 13 strikeouts in the nightcap victory, while senior
Kristen Qualls broke the career RBI record with a grand slam that helped MC to an 8-0 victory.
>> The Lady Choctaws, out of Clinton, Miss., have now won 23 of their last 29 games after a doubleheader sweep of Union on Wednesday night in Clinton. MC bounced back with the two victories after their eight-game winning streak was snapped at Auburn Montgomery last weekend.
>> On the season, they have enjoyed winning streaks of nine and eight games and are 10-0 in home games this season. In the sweep of Union, the Lady Choctaws piled up 19 runs and senior
Cori Cooper tied an MC record she previously held with 13 strikeouts in the shutout victory. Senior
Kristen Qualls also broke the career RBI record with a grand slam in the nightcap.
>> Junior
Shayla McKissock (.356) leads the team in batting average, hits (32) and runs scored (31) and also has a team-high 10 multi-hit games this season. Junior
Carly Crawford (.330) notched four hits and six RBI in the doubleheader sweep of Union, including hitting her fifth home run of the season to give MC the run-rule victory.
>> Freshman
Annemarie Peavy (.341) leads the team with hfour triples, while junior
Morgan Bradford (.333) has a .476 on-base percentage to lead the squad. Junior
Ashley Elsensohn (.224) has a team-high 23 stolen bases, while Crawford and senior
Alexia Harmon each led the way with nine doubles.
>> The tandem of Cooper (7-5, 1.49 ERA) and freshman
Hannah Creel (11-2, 1.72 ERA) have carried the load of the pitching staff of late, combining for 170 strikeouts. Cooper has struck out 24 batters over her last 12.0 innings and opponents are hitting only .176 against the senior this season. Creel has twice been named GSC Freshman of the Week and is currently the reigning GSC Pitcher of the Week.
MONTEVALLO (17-18, 8-10 GSC)
ROSTER || SCHEDULE || STATS
>> The Falcons, out of Montevallo, Ala., dropped both ends of a doubleheader at Spring Hill on Wednesday, but picked up a GSC series win over West Georgia last weekend. They are just 4-9 in true road games this season, including losing each of their last eight.
>> Led by 5th-year head coach Lindsay Vanover, the Falcons are coming off a GSC Tournament appearance in their first year of eligibility in 2018. After a pair of losing seasons, Montevallo went 23-23 in 2017 before going 32-16 and earning the #5 seed in the GSC Tournament last season.
>> The Falcons are currently ranked 5th in the league in both earned run average (3.36) and batting average (.277). They are 5th in the conference with 174 strikeouts and opponents are batting .253 against the pitching staff. Montevallo is 5th in the league in doubles (53) but are 11th with just 13 home runs.
>> Haley Barnette (.371) is the team's leading hitter with five home runs, while Brianna Stella (.355) has a team-high 32 runs scored and 20 stolen bases. Mariel Bertossi (.340) leads the squad with 31 RBI, while Lady Sarah Federico (.250) has a team-best nine doubles.
>> Mychael McMillan (6-4, 4.05 ERA) leads the team with 60 strikeouts in 57.0 innings, while Abbey Pratt (5-3, 2.31 ERA) has tossed a team-high 69.2 innings with 48 punchouts. Alexis Bonannon (1-5, 4.16 ERA) has also made seven starts on the year.
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.
STAYING IN THE RANKINGS
The Lady Choctaws dropped 2-of-3 games in a tough series at Auburn Montgomery last weekend but stayed in the NFCA Poll at #22. MC has been ranked in each of the last three polls, including getting up as high as #21 following a sweep of Lee.
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.
CREEL NAMED GSC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Freshman
Hannah Creel has been named GSC Pitcher of the Week, it was announced on Tuesday (March 26). The highlight of the week was a no-hitter on Tuesday against Miles, allowing just one baserunner on an error with nine strikeouts and no walks. She went 2-1 with a 0.38 ERA on the week, also picking up a victory against Auburn Montgomery, allowing three hits and two unearned runs to one of the top offenses in the conference.
NEW RBI CHAMP
Senior
Kristen Qualls set a new MC career RBI record in style with a grand slam in the doubleheader sweep of Union on Wednesday. The former Madison Central standout went deep in the fifth inning with the bases loaded to give her 139 career runs batted in, breaking the record previously held by Brooke Smitherman (2011-15), who had 135 over her illustrious career.
HOW WE STACK UP
The Lady Choctaws rank 2nd in the Gulf South Conference in earned run average (1.95), also sitting at 3rd with 189 strikeouts. Senior
Cori Cooper ranks 2nd in the league in strikeouts (91) and is 5th in earned run average (1.49). Freshman
Hannah Creel is tied for second in wins (11) and is 6th in ERA (1.72).
MC has posted a team batting average of .300 which ranks 5th in the league. The Lady Choctaws also sit 2nd in the conference in triples (13) and are 4th in runs scored (193) and doubles (57) and 5th in home runs (20).
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).
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#
