CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College softball team will wrap up a seven-game homestand on Wednesday when they host Spring Hill College for a doubleheader at the MC Softball Complex. The twin-bill is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. first pitch.
SERIES INFORMATION
MATCHUP: #22 Mississippi College (26-10, 10-7 GSC) vs. Spring Hill (16-16, 8-2 SIAC)
TIME: Wednesday, April 3rd - 2:00 pm (DH)
LOCATION: Clinton, Miss. || MC Softball Complex
THE SERIES
>> The two schools have met five previous times with the Badgers holding a 4-1 edge in the series. Both teams hosted a doubleheader in 2017 with SHC coming to Clinton and sweeping the Lady Choctaws.
#22 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (26-10, 10-7 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 (368 wins) in school history and has the top winning percentage (.622) among the school's five head coaches.
>> The Lady Choctaws are coming off their first home losses of the season last weekend as they dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Montevallo. MC opened the series with a 3-0 victory, but the Falcons bounced back with a pair of wins, including scoring three runs in the seventh to grab a 6-5 victory in the finale. Senior
Kristen Qualls hit a two-run home run in the seventh to give her 141 career RBI.
>> The Lady Choctaws, out of Clinton, Miss., struggled in a home series loss to Montevallo last weekend. MC dropped their first two home games of the season with theh doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Falcons on Saturday. Senior
Kristen Qualls appeared to have given the Lady Choctaws a series win with a late two-run home run in the finale, but Carlee Mullinax hit a three-run home run in the seventh to get the 6-5 victory.
>> On the season, they have enjoyed winning streaks of nine and eight games and are 13-2 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. Qualls also broke the career RBI record with a grand slam in the nightcap.
>> Junior
Shayla McKissock (.363) leads the team in batting average, runs scored (33) and hits (37). The Bryant, Ark. native also has a team-best 12 multi-hit games. Junior
Carly Crawford (.340) leads the squad in home runs (6) and RBI (29) and hit .467 with two long balls, two doubles and a triple last week.
>> Freshman
Annemarie Peavy (.323) has a team-high four triples, while senior
Alexia Harmon (.308) paces the team with 10 doubles and had five hits in the series against Montevallo. Qualls (.286) is second on the team with 14 RBI over the last 17 games.
>> Senior
Cori Cooper (8-6, 1.68 ERA) has a team-high 107 strikeouts this season and ranks 10th nationally with 9.5 strikeouts per seven innings. She struck out 29 batters over 20.1 innings last week, tossing two shutouts. Freshman
Hannah Creel (11-3, 2.01 ERA) struggled last weekend as her ERA went over 2.00 for the first time since March 2nd, but her 97.2 innings pitched and 11 complete games leads the team.
SPRING HILL (16-16, 8-2 SIAC)
ROSTER || SCHEDULE || STATS
>> The Badgers, out of Mobile, Ala., come into Wednesday's doubleheader as winners of their last five, including a doubleheader sweep of Montevallo last Wednesday. SHC swept a SIAC home series from Tuskegee last weekend, allowing just three runs over the 21.0 innings.
>> Led by 2nd-year head coach Steve Kittrell, the Badgers are 16-16 after going 23-14 in the 2018 season. Coach Kittrell spent 25 seasons as the head baseball coach at South Alabama, where he won over 1,000 games and led the Jaguars to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and 10 Sun Belt Conference titles.
>> The Badgers are currently hitting .267 as a team with 38 doubles, three triples and nine home runs. They are scoring 4.32 runs per game with a .355 slugging percentage and a .336 on-base percentage. SHC has posted a team ERA of 5.04 with 111 strikeouts in 201.2 innings pitched. They have posted a .950 fielding percentage with 45 errors through 32 games.
>> Delaney Thomas (.376) is the team's leading hitter with a team-high nine doubles, five home runs and 23 RBI. She has also scored a team-high 24 runs and leads the team with a .656 slugging percentage.
>> Carmen Byrd (.359) is second on the team with 28 hits and 19 runs scored. Hannah Fillmore (.282) and Aly Fowler (.333) are 2nd and 3rd on the team, respectively, with 21 and 14 RBI apiece.
>> Hannah Brenton (6-5, 3.58 ERA) leads the team in innings pitched (83.0) and strikeouts (50) making 12 starts with 15 appearances. Baylie Doiron (2-7, 9.44 ERA) and Olivia Brown (3-3, 6.38) have combined to make 16 starts and pitch 71.0 innings.
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 (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.
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 currently rank 2nd in the Gulf South Conference in earned run average (2.16), also sitting 2nd with 208 strikeouts. MC has allowed a league-low seven home runs with top pitchers
Cori Cooper and
Hannah Creel giving up just four combined. Cooper leads the league with 9.5 strikeouts per seven innings and ranks 10th nationally in that category.
At the plate, MC is 5th in batting average (.301), ranking 2nd in triples (14) and 4th doubles (60). The Lady Choctaws also sit 2nd in the conference with 93 stolen bases behind a team-high 23 from
Ashley Elsensohn.
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 194 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.
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