MELBOURNE, Fla. --- The Mississippi College softball team won a pair of extra-inning elimination games on Friday to advance to the NCAA Division II South Region Championship at Nancy Bottge Field on the campus of Florida Tech.

The Lady Choctaws (40-15) became the first 40-win team in program history, opening the day with a 2-1 victory over Saint Leo in 10 innings. They backed that up with a 6-3 win over #16 UAH in nine innings.

Senior Cori Cooper (14-9) put forth a Herculean effort in the two victories, throwing all but 2.0 innings and giving up just four runs on the day.
 

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GAME ONE: #25 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 2, SAINT LEO 1 (10 INNINGS)

HOW IT HAPPENED

>> The Lady Choctaws opened the scoring in the first inning as junior Shayla McKissock reached on an error, stole third base and scored on a throwing error by the catcher.
>> MC kept the 1-0 lead until the 5th when the the Lions put together three two-out outs to tie the game at 1-1.
>> Neither team could put a run on the board until the 10th when freshman Annemarie Peavy led off with a double and scored on a two-out single by McKissock.
>> SLU put a pair of runners on in their half of the 10th, but a foulout to senior Brianna Caldwell turned into a double play and ended the contest.

KEY STATS

>> Cooper went the distance for the Lady Choctaws, striking out seven and scattering nine hits and one earned run over 10.0 innings.
>> Freshman Gracie Trahan tied a season-high with three hits in the game, including a pair of doubles.
>> McKissock and Peavy each racked up a hit and a run in the game.
>> Sadi Avants (8-3) also tossed all 10.0 innings for Saint Leo, giving up six hits and one earned run with seven strikeouts.
>> Ashley Morris led the SLU offense, going 4-for-5 with a run scored, while Kendyl Crean also tallied a couple hits.
 

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GAME TWO: #25 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 6, #16 UAH 3 (9 INNINGS)

HOW IT HAPPENED

>> The second game remained scoreless between the two GSC opponents until the Chargers scored a run on a sacrifice fly in the third.
>> The Lady Choctaws scored their first run of the game in the fifth as Peavy singled and Caldwell doubled with one out, setting up a squeeze bunt by Trahan to tie the game at 1-1.
>> The game remained tied until the seventh when junior Carly Crawford doubled to lead off the inning and sophomore Paige Hulin came in to pinch run.
>> Caldwell came up with two outs and blasted her first home run since April 20th with a two-run shot to give MC a 3-1 advantage.
>> The Chargers would not go away, however, as they put together two hits to lead off the inning and drove in the game-tying run with a sacrifice fly.
>> After a scoreless eighth inning, MC put up three runs in the ninth, starting with another leadoff double by Crawford and a walk from junior Morgan Bradford.
>> Caldwell came up big again with a two-run double to pushed the lead out to 5-3.
>> Trahan popped her third double of the game and drove in Caldwell to give the game its final score.
>> Freshman Hannah Creel (17-5) came out of the bullpen for the eighth inning and stranded a leadoff double and pitched around a one-out single in the ninth to clinch the victory.

KEY STATS

>> Caldwell went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and four RBI in the victory, posting her first multi-hit game since April 6th.
>> Crawford and Trahan also tallied multi-hit games as the Lady Choctaws put up five doubles in the contest, tying the top mark in a single game this season.
>> Cooper went 7.0 innings in the circle, allowing nine hits and three earned runs with three strikeouts.
>> Creel gave up just one hit over the final 2.0 innings to get the victory.
>> Sydnee Uhlman (9-5) took the loss for UAH, giving up a hit and two earned runs over 1.1 innings.
>> Mackenzie Nutt and Alaina Hampton each had two hits to lead UAH, while Hampton scored a pair of runs.
 

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NEXT UP

>> The Lady Choctaws will face Florida Tech on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. (CT) needing two wins to advance to the Super Regional round next week.
 

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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.