CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team will take their final road trip of the 2019 regular season when they head to Livingston for a three-game series with West Alabama. The teams are scheduled to play a single game on Friday (6:00 pm) with a doubleheader on Saturday (12:00 pm) at the UWA Softball Complex.
SERIES INFORMATION
MATCHUP: Mississippi College (33-10, 16-7 GSC) at West Alabama (25-17, 14-9 GSC)
TIME: Friday, April 19th - 6:00 pm || Saturday, April 20th - 12:00 pm (DH)
LOCATION: Livingston, Ala. || UWA Softball Complex
THE SERIES
>> The two schools have met 67 previous times with the Lady Choctaws holding a 38-29 lead in the series. The home teams have taken 2-of-3 games in each of the last two seasons. Last season, MC opened the series with a pair of victories before the Tigers bounced back with a 4-0 win in the finale, the only shutout loss for the Lady Choctaws all season.
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 (375 wins) in school history and has the top winning percentage (.626) among the school's five head coaches.
>> The Lady Choctaws have won eight straight games, including a sweep of Shorter last weekend that saw them outscore the Hawks, 23-0. The MC pitching staff struck out 20 batters with just one walk over 19.0 innings. The Lady Choctaws tallied their first 10-run inning since 2014 as they put up a 10-spot in the first inning of an 11-0 win in the second game of the series.
>> The Lady Choctaws, out of Clinton, Miss., are winners of eight straight games, including a three-game sweep of Shorter last weekend where they outscored the Hawks, 23-0. MC opened the series with a hard-fought win (6-0), scoring all six runs in the third inning. They backed that up with a 10-run first inning in an 11-0 win, closing out the series with a 6-0 victory in the finale.
>> The Lady Choctaws sit 3rd in the Gulf South Conference standings, having already clinched a spot in the postseason tournament. With six conference games remaining, MC was ranked #5 in the initial NCAA Region Rankings, which determines the at-large bids for the NCAA Tournament. MC qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2017 after winning the GSC Tournament and missed out last season.
>>
Carly Crawford (.375) is the team's top hitter, pacing the squad in hits (45), doubles (13), home runs (7) and RBI (38). She also leads the squad with a .675 slugging percentage.
Annemarie Peavy (.359) was named the GSC Freshman of the Week after her performance against Christian Brothers, and she leads the squad with four triples and a .465 on-base percentage.
>>
Shayla McKissock (.333) has scored a team-high 36 runs this season, while
Alexia Harmon (.298) and Peavy are second ont he squad with 11 doubles apiece. Five different Lady Choctaws have at least 10 stolen bases this season, led by
Ashley Elsensohn with 25 and McKissock with 18.
>>
Cori Cooper (11-6, 1.41 ERA) leads the league with 9.7 strikeouts per game and is second in the conference with 145 total punchouts. She has a league-high five shutouts and opponents are hitting only .177 off the senior.
Hannah Creel (14-3, 1.83 ERA) has twice been named GSC Freshman of the Week and leads the team with 118.2 innings pitched and is second with 101 strikeouts.
WEST ALABAMA (25-17, 14-9 GSC)
ROSTER || SCHEDULE || STATS
>> The Tigers, out of Livingston, Ala., clinched a spot in the Gulf South Conference Tournament last weekend with a road sweep of Delta State. UWA is 25-17 with a 14-9 league record, including five straight wins that saw them take a series from nationally-ranked UAH before taking three from the Lady Statesmen. They are one of four teams to have already clinched a spot in the postseason tournament, joining West Florida, UAH and Mississippi College.
>> Led by 3rd-year head coach Carie Dever-Boaz, the Tigers are currently riding their longest winning streak of the season, having picked up victories in seven of their last nine games. They opened the year with series losses to Auburn Montgomery and West Georgia but have won every series since except dropping 2-of-3 to Union.
>> The Tigers currently sit 7th in the league in earned run average (3.50), holding opponents to just a .277 batting average, which ranks 6th in the conference. They are also 9th in the GSC in batting average (.280), sitting 8th in runs scored (218) and 10th in hits (311). Their slugging percentage (.379) is 11th in the league.
>> Alli Craft (.364) has the team's top batting average and leads the squad with 31 RBI with five doubles and five home runs. Kierra Hague (.352) has a team-best six home runs, while Kacy Noland (.354) leads the team with seven doubles and 25 runs scored. Kendall Johnson (.236) has a team-high 12 stolen bases, followed closely by Lee Lee Parker (.444) with 10.
>> Nora Keehn (13-7, 3.47 ERA) has tossed half the team's innings from the circle, leading the squad with 67 strikeouts over 142.2 innings pitched. She has piled up 14 complete games in 23 starts. Carleigh Mills (5-2, 4.82 ERA) has the second-most innings pitched (46.2), while Kamree Lay (3-3, 6.80 ERA) is second on the team with 35 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.
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.
COOPER NAMED GSC CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK
For the 6th straight week, the Lady Choctaws boast a GSC weekly award winner as senior
Cori Cooper was named Co-Pitcher of the Week. It's the 3rd time this season Cori has been recognized by the league and 4th time an MC pitcher has taken home the honor. Cooper tossed 12.0 scoreless innings in the series sweep of Shorter, striking out 16 batters with no walks.
OPENING AT NO. 5 IN SOUTH REGION RANKINGS
The first NCAA Softball region rankings were released on Wednesday (April 17), and the Lady Choctaws opened at No. 5 in the initial list. The region rankings are what determines the at-large selections in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season. The conference champions from the Gulf South, Southern Intercollegiate and Sunshine State Conferences automatically qualify, leaving five at-large bids up for grabs.
PITCHING AND DEFENSE GETTING STINGY
The Lady Choctaws did not allow a single run in the three-game sweep of Shorter last weekend, giving up just 20 hits with 20 strikeouts and no walks over 19.0 innings. The defense did not have a miscue over the weekend, giving them five straight games without an error. That is the longest such streak for the Lady Choctaws in 2019.
HOW WE STACK UP
The Lady Choctaws lead the Gulf South Conference in earned run average (1.90) in league games this season, also sitting 2nd in ERA overall. Their 270 strikeouts is second behind Valdosta State (312), while opponents are hitting just .227 against MC this season.
Cori Cooper ranks 2nd in the GSC in ERA (1.41) but leads the league in GSC play with 99 strikeouts and a .180 opponent batting average.
The Lady Choctaws are also 4th in the league in batting average (.304), ranking 2nd in the conference in triples (166), tied for 2nd in doubles (73), 3rd in runs scored (267) and 4th in RBI (227).
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#
