The Maryville College softball team vaulted to the No.2 seed in the USA South tournament with a 3-1, 7-4 sweep over a tough William Peace squad in Raleigh, North Carolina on Sunday afternoon.
MC's Kayla Aloisi (11-8) limited the Pacer bats to eight hits over six innings allowing only one earned run. Casey Joliff earned the save striking out the final two batters with runners in scoring position.
The Scots tied the game 1-1 in the second inning when Chloe Lawrence double home Megan Mihaliak.
The eventual game-winner crossed the plate in the sixth when Lawrence singled to left field sending Alexus Murray home.
MC tacked on an insurance run in the seventh when Jessica McMahan scored on a Gabrielle Rathmell RBI single.
MC's 11 hit attack was paced by Jessica McMahan, Rachel Taylor, Megan Mihaliak, and Chloe Lawrence who each posted a pair of hits.
In the series finale, Casey Joliff scattered nine hits in a complete game effort to go 5-1 on the season on the mound.
Joliff drove in the game's first run with an RBI single up the middle scoring Mihaliak in the second inning. The Pacers tied the game before Joliff singled again in the fourth to the opposite field scoring Murray.
An RBI double by Taylor in the fifth followed by an RBI single by Rathmell scoring Taylor gave MC a 4-2 lead going into the sixth.
Taylor and Murray provided RBI singles and doubles respectively in the sixth before Joliff doubled down the left field line in the seventh scoring Mihaliak to give MC the hard fought league sweep.
With a 23-15 record and 15-5 league mark, Maryville will be the No.2 seed in the upcoming USA South tournament. This will be the program's first trip to the USA South tournament since joining the league in 2012.
Maryville will play the No.7 seed Huntingdon College at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 15th to begin the double-elimination tournament in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. All games will be played at the Rocky Mount Sports Complex in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
