CLINTON, Miss. --- Due to scheduling conflicts within the Southern Arkansas softball program, Wednesday's highly anticipated home matchup between the Lady Choctaws and the Lady Muleriders has been canceled.
#21 Mississippi College closes out the 2023 season with a 2-0 record over the #24 Lady Muleriders after producing 17 runs in two combined midweek games back on March 7 when SAU was nationally ranked #14 at the time.
The two wins catapulted the Lady Choctaws into the NFCA Top 25 a week later, earning their spot in the national rankings for the first time since 2019.
The Lady Choctaws will now return to action on the road on Friday-Saturday, April 7-8 at Union. The two teams will square off on the diamond at 5 p.m. on Friday in Jackson, Tenn.
RECAP SEASON SERIES (MC 2-0 VS. SOUTHERN ARKANSAS | MARCH 7, 2023)
Mississippi College went on the road back on March 7 to take on #14 Southern Arkansas in a midweek doubleheader and came back with two wins, defeating the Lady Muleriders by a final of 7-4 in game one and 10-2 in game two. In game one, MC jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings, with the help of a solo home run by Brooke Fagan in the third inning.
SAU tied the game up at 3-3 with three runs in the third inning, yet three more runs in the fourth inning by the Lady Choctaws offense, including a two-run home run by Kamryn Eaton, gave MC a 6-3 lead.CEaton added her second home run of the game in the sixth inning, a solo shot over the left field wall that gave the Lady Choctaws the 7-4 lead and ultimately the 7-4 win over #14 SAU.
Avery Barnett picked up the win in game one, improving to 4-3 in the circle, after going 4.0 innings for the Lady Choctaws. Camryn Bailey picked up the save in relief, going 3.0 innings pitched, surrendering just one hit. In game two, MC jumped out to a 5-1 lead after three innings, before getting home runs in the sixth and seventh inning from Kamryn Eaton and Jenna Ergle.
The home run was Eaton's third of the day and ninth home run of the season. Ergle's home run was her seventh home run of the 2023 campaign. The Lady Choctaws went on to win game two by a final score of 10-2, combing for 17 total runs in two wins against the #14 team in the country. Bailey picked up the win in the circle, her 10th win of the year, going the complete game with just five hits surrendered and one earned run allowed.
