CLEVELAND, Miss. -- Mississippi College used a three-run home run in the opener and an eight run inning in the nightcap to sweep a doubleheader from the Delta State University softball team, in Gulf South Conference action, on Saturday at University Field. MC hung on to win game one 6-5 and earned an 8-6 victory in game two.

GAME 1: MC 6 (27-14, 18-11 GSC), DSU 5 (25-22, 16-15 GSC)
 
GAME CHANGER:
- Kristen Qualls hit a three-run home run in the third inning to help MC get the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- The Lady Statesmen were outhit 10-9
- Abi Gibson led DSU, going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
- Jordan Jones (2-for-4) was the only other DSU player with multiple hits.
- Kelly Byrd hit a two-run home run, which is her ninth round-tripper of the season.
- Taylor Johnson (10-11) allowed five runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings.
- Mari Alex Sandridge gave up one run on three hits, with five strikeouts, in 4.1 innings of relief.

KEY PLAYS:
- MC used a pair of infield singles and took advantage of an error to take a 1-0 lead in the opening frame.
- After the Lady Statesmen left the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, MC took a 2-0 lead on a solo home run.
- Qualls' three-run home run gave the Lady Choctaws a 5-0 cushion in the third.
- AN RBI groundout in the fourth helped MC score what proved to be the game-winning run.
- DSU got on the board in the fourth on Gibson's RBI single in the fourth.
- The Lady Statesmen scored a pair in the sixth on an RBI double by Chelsea Lamping and Gibson's RBI single.
- Byrd's two-run home run in the seventh got the Lady Statesmen to within 6-5, but Adrianna Morgan struck out three straight batters to finish the game.

NOTEWORTHY:
- The win for MC was its first at DSU since 1993.
- Byrd's nine home runs are tied for 10th in DSU single season history.
- Gibson now has 11 multi-hit games.
- The Lady Statesmen are 10-10 when their opponent scores in the first inning.

Game 2: MC 8 (28-14, 19-11 GSC) DSU 6 (25-23, 16-16 GSC)
 
GAME CHANGER:
- MC scored all eight of its runs in the fifth inning.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- MC finished with a 9-4 advantage in hits.
- DSU had three of its four hits come in the third inning.
- Jones had two of four DSU hits.
- Three DSU pitchers combined for seven walks.
- Morgan struck out four and walked three in the win. In total, she allowed just four hits and struck out seven in eight innings.

KEY PLAYS:
- DSU scored four runs in the third inning, taking advantage of an RBI single by Jones, an MC error and a two-RBI single by Byrd.
- The Lady Statesmen took a 6-0 lead in the fourth, capitalizing on two MC errors.
- MC scored all eight of its runs in the fifth, using four walks, two wild pitches and three singles.
- The Lady Statesmen had a pair of runners on in the seventh, but Byrd hit into a fielders choice and then Carlie Vice lined out to left to finish the game.

NOTEWORTHY:
- The loss for DSU was just its second of the season (14-2) when leading after four innings.
- Entering the game, the Lady Statesmen had outscored their opponents 47-18 in the fifth inning.
- Byrd has reached base safely in 27 straight games.

UP NEXT:
- The Lady Statesmen and MC are scheduled to wrap up their series with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.