MELBOURNE, Fla. --- The Mississippi College softball team opened the 2019 Division II South Regional with a 5-2 loss to #4 Florida Tech on Thursday afternoon at Nancy Bottge Field.

The Lady Choctaws (38-15) will now play an elimination game on Friday at 11:30 a.m. (CT) against the loser of the UAH-Saint Leo game.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED

>> Senior Kristen Qualls put the Lady Choctaws on the board in the first inning with a two-out, RBI single that scored junior Shayla McKissock after she led off the inning with a bunt single.
>> The Panthers answered with four straight hits to open their half of the first, but McKissock erased a run with a throw from left field that cut down a runner at the plate.
>> After FIT tied the game, junior Morgan Bradford turned a 4-2-3 double play to end the inning and keep the game tied.
>> The Panthers added a run in the second and pushed the score to 4-1 with a two-out, two-run home run in the third.
>> Bradford led off the fourth with a triple and came home to score on a sacrifice fly by senior Brianna Caldwell to cut the score to 4-2.
>> FIT extended the lead to 5-2 with an RBI groundout in the fifth and held on to the lead to grab the opening-round victory.
 

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KEY STATS

>> Senior Cori Cooper (13-9) took the loss in the circle for MC, allowing eight hits and four earned runs over 2.2 innings.
>> Freshman Hannah Creel gave up just four hits and an earned run over 3.1 innings to close out the game.
>> Qualls and Caldwell drove in runs for the Lady Choctaws, while four different players tallied a hit.
>> Melanie Murphy (23-5) tossed a complete game for the Panthers, giving up four hits and two earned runs with nine strikeouts.
>> Xiarysse and Shanysse Emerenciana and Mikayla Wessel each had two hits for the FIT offense, while Tina Velazquez drove in a pair of runs.
 

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NEXT UP

>> The Lady Choctaws will be play elimination games from here on out in the South Regional, beginning on Friday (May 10) at 11:30 a.m. (CT) against UAH or Saint Leo.
 

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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.