CLINTON, Miss. – West Alabama could not overcome nine total errors, falling to Mississippi College 7-1 and 9-1 in a Gulf South Conference double-header on Saturday.
Mississippi College improves to 10-8 and 2-6 in the GSC. West Alabama drops to a five game losing skid and falls to 7-10 and 0-7.
"If you don't take care of the softball, you're not going to have a chance," said UWA head coach
Will Atkinson. "I'm disappointed with the fact that we didn't take care of the softball in the first game. There's no way you're going to win a ball game making seven errors."
Seven Tiger errors and seven MC stolen bases led to seven runs for the Choctaws in game one. Mississippi College had just one more hit than UWA with seven, but the Tigers were able to score only one run in
Libby Davis in the top of the second, which tied the game at 1-1.
Mississippi College responded with one run in the bottom of the second, pieced together four in the third and tacked on one more in the fifth to ensure victory. Davis finished the game 3-for-3.
Alexia Harmon led with two runs, but finished 0-for-4 at the plate. Cheyenne Matthews brought in two runs with one hit in three at-bats, while Kristen Quals led with three hits in three at-bats.
Carlie Sargent (4-3) pitched the complete game striking out eight batters and allowing one earned run on six hits to take the win.
Amanda Medders (2-4) gave up seven hits, but no earned runs to take the loss.
UWA limited their errors to two in game two, but the Choctaws managed runs in every inning but one, piecing together multiple runs in the second, fifth and sixth on nine hits. MC took a 3-0 lead, before the Tigers tallied their lone run in the top of the third.
Ashley Stassin doubled down the left field line before being replaced by pinch runner
Lacey Santiago. Santiago scored on a single by
Brittany Anderson.
Stassin finished the game 1-for-1, while Anderson went 1-for-3. AHarmon tallied three of the Choctaws runs in game two, posting three hits in four at-bats with one RBI. Kristen Qualls ended 2-for-2 with three RBI and one run.
Penny Nichols (5-4) also pitched a complete game to pick up the win in the second game. She allowed one earned run on four hits and walked two.
Andrea Edmonds (2-3) pitched through four and a half innings to take the loss, allowing five earned runs on seven hits.
Mississippi College totaled 15 stolen bases on the day. UWA finished with three. Lauren Mulligan and Alexia Harmon each tallied two stolen bases on the day.
"As far a stolen bases go, most of them were first and third situations," Atkinson said. "We are still a young ball club and still making young mistakes. We just have to keep coming out and having some growing pains here and there, but we just have to go with it. Tomorrow is a new day and we will give them our best shot tomorrow."
The series will conclude with game three on Sunday. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
