Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward MageeNews.com a small commission – at no extra cost to you.
The Mississippi College softball team finished off a sweep of Union University, winning both ends of a doubleheader on Monday afternoon at Fesmire Softball Field.
The Lady Choctaws (16-9, 8-7 GSC) opened the day with a 6-1 victory, while they had to come back to get an 8-4 win over the Bulldogs (5-23, 2-13) in the finale.
MC has now won five straight games for the second time this season and is 10-1 in their last 11 contests. After opening the season with six straight GSC losses, MC is 8-1 in their last nine league games.
Senior Carlie Sargent (8-4), who tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts in a 10-0 win on Sunday, continued her dominance with another complete game effort and seven strikeouts in the opener. The Oxford, Ala. native allowed just one run in 13.0 innings pitched on the weekend, including 11.2 straight scoreless frames.
Junior Ty Buckley got the scoring going in the second inning with a solo home run, her third of the season. Overall, MC would score four runs in the inning as senior Lauren Mulligan doubled home a run and sophomore Katherine Lee and junior Megan Everett drove in runs with singles.
Senior Madison Oliver would extend the lead in the third with a two-run single to push the lead out to 6-0 after three innings.
Sargent would take over from there as Union was unable to put a mark on the scoreboard until the sixth inning when Rachel Ridolfi doubled home a run for the Bulldogs.
Freshman Kristen Qualls led the MC offense with two hits on the day, while the Lady Choctaws did not strike out once in the game.
In the second game, Mulligan would give MC another early lead as she drove in Oliver with a sacrifice fly in the second inning.
The Bulldogs would take their first lead of the weekend in the third inning as the first three batters reached, highlighted by a two-run triple from Emily Bennett. She would come home to score on a groundout and give Union a 3-1 advantage after three innings.
The Lady Choctaws wasted no time getting the lead back as senior Kimmie Conley, who led MC with a .625 batting average on the weekend, would drive in Buckley with a single to cut the score to 3-2.
After Mulligan tied the game with an RBI single of her own, Everett dealt the big blow with a two-out, three-run triple to give MC a 6-3 lead through the top of the fourth inning. Everett led MC with six hits and six RBI on the weekend.
Buckley went 3-for-3 in the finale with two runs scored, while Qualls also had three hits in the third game, giving her five on the day.
The Bulldogs would cut the advantage to 6-4 with a run in their half of the fourth, but MC would grow the lead again in the fifth as freshman Cheyenne Mathews drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Conley had another RBI single to make the score 8-4.
Sophomore Penny Nichols (7-4) tossed her 10th complete game of the season, scattering nine hits with three strikeouts over 7.0 innings pitched.
The Lady Choctaws hit .404 as a team on the weekend, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-5 in the three games. They also were a perfect 12-for-12 stealing bases on the weekend.
MC is scheduled to be back in action on Wednesday afternoon when they will travel to Lorman, Miss. to face Alcorn State for a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m.
