OXFORD, Ala. — Mississippi College carried a late lead into the seventh inning, but Trevecca Nazarene rallied late and pulled away in extra innings for a 7-3 victory Thursday night in the winners bracket at the Gulf South Conference Softball Championship at Choccolocco Park.
Mississippi College (30-22-1) jumped out to an early lead in the first inning when Ellie Fryar scored on a passed ball to make it 1-0.
Trevecca Nazarene (21-18) answered in the second after Sarah Kinderdine scored on a wild pitch to even the game at 1-1.
The Choctaws regained the lead in the fifth inning as Morgan Lavergne drew a bases-loaded walk to plate Hadley Lemons for a 2-1 advantage.
Mississippi College added another run in the sixth when Blakely Gill delivered an inside-the-park home run to right field, extending the lead to 3-1.
Trevecca Nazarene responded in the seventh inning with consecutive RBI singles from Sarah Nicholson and Annabelle Ellis to tie the contest at 3-3 and force extra innings.
In the eighth, Trevecca Nazarene capitalized on multiple Mississippi College miscues and scored four runs, including three unearned runs, to take control. Annalise Mecklenburg delivered the key hit of the inning with a two-run single to left field.
Gill finished with two hits and an RBI to lead Mississippi College offensively, while Ashlyn Rodgers and Lemons each added two hits.
Camryn Bailey took the loss after striking out six over 7.1 innings of work.
Mississippi College returns to action Friday in an elimination game against University of Alabama in Huntsville at 12:30 p.m. at Choccolocco Park.
