CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team will have a chance to clinch a Gulf South Conference tournament berth this weekend when they host Shorter for a three-game set. The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday (4:00 pm) with a single game Sunday (2:00 pm).
SERIES INFORMATION
MATCHUP: Mississippi College (30-10, 13-7 GSC) vs. Shorter (15-24, 8-15 GSC)
TIME: Friday, April 12th - 2:00 pm (DH) || Saturday, April 13th - 11:00 am
LOCATION: Clinton, Miss. || MC Softball Complex
THE SERIES
>> The two schools have met 12 previous times with each winning six games. The road teams have won each series, taking 2-of-3 contests since the teams began playing in 2015. Last season, the Lady Choctaws traveled to Rome, Ga. and won the final two games of the series by outscoring the Hawks, 19-2.
MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (30-10, 13-7 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 (372 wins) in school history and has the top winning percentage (.624) among the school's five head coaches.
>> The Lady Choctaws traveled to Memphis last weekend and grabbed three victories at Christian Brothers, starting with a 4-3 win on Friday, highlighted by a game-winning, pinch-hit RBI double from freshman
Baylee Freudenberg. The offense exploded on Saturday with 28 runs, including a pair of grand slams from
Morgan Bradford and GSC Freshman of the Week,
Annemarie Peavy.
>> The Lady Choctaws, out of Clinton, Miss., have won five straight after a three-game road sweep of Christian Brothers last weekend. Following a tight 4-3 win in the opener with freshman
Baylee Freudenberg coming off the bench to double home the game-winning run with two outs in the seventh, MC outscored the Lady Bucs 28-2 over a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, including a 19-0 victory in the finale that saw freshman
Annemarie Peavy go 4-for-4 with two home runs and seven RBI.
>> The Lady Choctaws now sit in third in the Gulf South Conference standings with three weekends of league play remaining. MC has now swept three league series this season, turning the trick against West Georgia, Valdosta State, Lee and CBU. There are just two home series remaining with Shorter coming to Clinton this weekend and Delta State traveling down from Cleveland to wrap up the regular season.
>> Peavy (.367) now leads the team in hitting after her big weekend, pacing the squad with four triples and a .470 on-base percentage, while ranking second in runs scored (29), doubles (11) and slugging percentage (.651). Junior
Carly Crawford (.363) is the team-leader in hits (41), home runs (6), RBI (34) and slugging percentage.
>> Junior
Shayla McKissock (.342) has a team-best 36 runs scored and is second on the team with 18 stolen bases behind sophomore
Ashley Elsensohn (.220) with 24. Seniors
Alexia Harmon (.311) and
Brianna Caldwell (.311) each saw their batting average jump over .300 this weekend, while junior
Morgan Bradford (.310) hit her first home run of the season with a grand slam against CBU.
>> Senior
Cori Cooper (9-6, 1.60 ERA) and freshman
Hannah Creel (14-3, 1.91 ERA) have led the pitching staff this season, combining for 226 strikeouts with both ranking in the top five in the conference. Cooper leads the league in strikeouts per seven innings (9.8), while Creel has a team-high 113.2 innings pitched and 12 complete games.
SHORTER (15-24, 8-15 GSC)
ROSTER || SCHEDULE || STATS
>> The Hawks, out of Rome, Ga., are currently 15-24 on the season with an 8-15 Gulf South Conference mark, which has them in 11th in the GSC standings going into the final three weeks of league play. They are 2.5 games out of the final tournament spot with their final GSC series being at MC and home to Valdosta State.
>> Led by 2nd-year head coach Danielle Brewer, Shorter has lost five straight games after being swept at Auburn Montgomery last weekend. Despite the three losses, all three games were decided by three runs or less. The Hawks picked up their biggest win of the season two weeks ago with a 6-3 road victory over #1 West Florida.
>> The Hawks currently sit in 6th in the league in batting average (.298) and have struck out just 127 times this season, which is 11th out of 12 teams. They rank 10th in the league in doubles (47) and are 9th in runs scored (192). The Hawks are 10th in the league in earned run average (4.84) but are 12th in strikeouts (118). They also rank 11th in fielding percentage (.941), making 67 errors in 39 games.
>> Dani Lukas (.417) leads the team in home runs (6), doubles (13) and runs batted in (43), also leading the team in slugging percentage (.675) and on-base percentage (.486). Tiffany Holland (.382) has a team-high five triples and 42 runs scored, while Taylor Martin (.395) leads the squad with 13 stolen bases.
>> Payton Lippert (11-10, 3.37 ERA) has tossed over half the innings for the Shorter pitching staff this season, posting a season-high 83 strikeouts and 19 complete games. Julie Sanderlin (3-9, 5.75 ERA) ranks 2nd on the squad in innings pitched (59.0), strikeouts (26) and games started (12).
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.
A NO-NO FOR CREEL
Freshman
Hannah Creel moved into rarified air among MC pitchers with a no-hitter against Miles College on Tuesday (March 19). 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.
PEAVY NAMED GSC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
For the 5th straight week, a Lady Choctaw has earned a GSC weekly award with
Annemarie Peavy being named Freshman of the Week. The rookie led the Lady Choctaws to a 5-0 week, hitting .625 (10-of-16) with four doubles, two home runs, nine runs scored and RBI. In the series finale at Christian Brothers, Peavy went 4-for-4 with two home runs, including a grand slam, and seven RBI, the most for a Lady Choctaw since Sarah Finch drove in eight in 2011.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
After being held to five runs or less in six straight games, the Lady Choctaws got the bats going in the Saturday doubleheader at Christian Brothers, scoring 28 runs with 24 hits in two contests. MC piled up 11 extra-base hits with four home runs, including two grand slams (
Morgan Bradford,
Annemarie Peavy), five doubles and two triples. The Lady Choctaws also drew 10 walks and were hit by three pitches over the 12.0 innings. The 19 runs scored in the finale was the most for an MC Softball team since winning 22-0 over Alice Lloyd in 2016.
HOW WE STACK UP
The Lady Choctaws still sit in 2nd in the Gulf South Conference in earned run average (2.03) and strikeouts (250), while holding opponents to a .230 batting average. Senior
Cori Cooper leads the league in strikeouts per seven innings (9.8) and is 2nd in the league with 129 total punchouts. She is also 3rd in the league in ERA (1.60), while freshman
Hannah Creel is 2nd in wins (14) and 5th in strikeouts (97).
The Lady Choctaws are also now 4th in the league in batting average (.305) while sitting in 2nd with 71 doubles and 16 triples. MC is also 3rd in stolen bases (105) and 4th in runs scored (244).
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 (Mar. 27). 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.
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 196 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#
