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The 51-game slate for the defending Gulf South Conference champions features 19 home games with 33 games in the league. The Lady Choctaws are coming off the first GSC women’s team championship in school history in 2017.
“This is, to me, the toughest league in all of Division II, and we are so proud to be the defending champs,” said O’Hair. “However, we know that puts a target on our back, and we are going to have to work harder each and every day to get back to the top of the league.”
The Lady Choctaws get the 2018 campaign underway at the Southern Softball Showdown (Feb. 3-4) in Columbus, Ga. where they will face two Peach Belt Conference teams (Georgia Southwestern and Flagler) and two Sunshine State Conference teams (Palm Beach Atlantic and Lynn).
They will then make a trip to Huntsville, Ala. for the Charger Chillout 2.0 (Feb. 9-11) where they will play six games in three days. They will have rematches with Palm Beach Atlantic and Georgia Southwestern while also facing Bellarmine, Henderson State, Indianapolis and McKendree.
“These first two tournaments will give us a good idea of where we are with this new team,” O’Hair went on. “Last year, we did not get off to a great start, so that will be an emphasis to open fast this year.”
The first home games of the season will be on Valentine’s Day when Spring Hill comes to the MC Softball Complex for a doubleheader beginning at 2:00 p.m.
With 14 teams in the Gulf South Conference in the 2018 season, the schedule does not allow to play every team in a three-game series, setting up the GSC Opening Weekend Festival (Feb. 17-18) in Montgomery, Ala. The Lady Choctaws will face Auburn Montgomery, Valdosta State and Montevallo in single games that count towards the league standings.
The GSC series schedule begins the next week when MC travels to Carrollton to face West Georgia (Feb. 24-25) in a three-game set before coming home to host Miles (Feb. 27) for a doubleheader. They will be back on the road to face Shorter (Mar. 3-4) in Rome, Ga.
MC’s first home Gulf South Conference series will be against rival Lee University (Mar. 10-11) when the Flames come to town for three games.
The rest of the GSC home schedule will be against West Florida (Mar. 17-18), Union (Mar. 30-31), Christian Brothers (Apr. 7-8) and West Alabama (April 21-22).
The rest of the road schedule for GSC games will be against North Alabama (Mar. 24-25), UAH (April 14-15) and Delta State (April 28-29).
The Lady Choctaws also have non-conference road doubleheaders against Spring Hill (Mar. 13) and Miles (April 4) to round out the slate.
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.
