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Mississippi College freshman Kristen Qualls hit three home runs to lead the Mississippi College softball team to a doubleheader sweep of Christian Brothers on Saturday afternoon at the MC Softball Complex.
The Lady Choctaws (20-9, 10-7 GSC) have now won nine straight games, their longest streak since picking up 10 straight victories in the 2014 season.
MC opened the day with a 5-0 win in a dominating pitching performance by senior Carlie Sargent (10-4), while they came back to get a 9-1 run-rule victory over the Lady Bucs (6-24, 2-15 GSC) in the second game.
In the first game, it was Qualls that gave Sargent all the offense she needed with a two-run home run in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead.
The Oxford, Ala. native would take over from there, allowing just four hits and striking out a career-high 12 in her fourth shutout of the season.
The Lady Choctaws would tack on another two runs in the fourth inning, aided by a sacrifice fly from senior Madison Oliver that scored freshman Cheyenne Mathews and an unearned run scored by senior Kimmie Conley.
Junior Megan Everett gave the game its final score with an RBI double in the sixth to score senior Lauren Mulligan. Everett led the offense with two hits in the game.
In the second contest, CBU would jump out to a lead after two singles and a sacrifice fly scored Amber Johnson to take a 1-0 lead after one inning.
The Lady Choctaws started playing long ball in the second inning as Mathews and Qualls went back-to-back with home runs to take a lead they would not relinquish.
Junior Tylan Buckley doubled home a run in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead through three frames.
In the fourth, the offense opened up the game as Qualls hit her third long ball of the game to lead things off. The former Madison Central standout went 3-for-3 with the two home runs in the nightcap.
Oliver drove in a run with a single, Everett drove in a run with a groundout and sophomore Katherine Lee scored on a wild pitch to give MC a 7-1 lead after four innings.
The Lady Choctaws would clinch the win in the fifth as Conley drove in senior Mikayla Carruth with a sacrifice fly and Oliver drove in freshman Haley Muller on a fielder’s choice.
Freshman Penny Nichols (9-4) settled down after a rough first, allowing just four hits with three strikeouts over 5.0 innings.
The Lady Choctaws and the Lady Bucs will close out the series on Sunday with a single game at 2:00 p.m. in Clinton.
