Maryville College's Casey Joliff wanted to win.
The freshman pitcher took matters into her own hands, blasting a solo home run to left-center field in extra innings to lift the Scots to the semifinals of the USA South Tournament, 5-4, over N.C. Wesleyan College.
"It was great that she hit it," Head Coach Leah Kelley said. "That's a great pitcher to back her own self up. She's doing what she's been doing for the latter half of the season. She's really peaking right now, and a lot of teams haven't seen her. She's getting strikeouts, which is crucial…she is a strikeout pitcher, and that's what wins these types of tournaments."
Joliff can in as relief during the Scots' second game of the day, earning her second win of the USA South Tournament in as many games.
She had only one hit, going 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
"It's pretty impressive," Joliff said. "I really struggled at the beginning of the season. I was just really happy. It feels really good to help the team. It was close and stressful, so it was good that we won."
Joliff pitched 5.0 innings, allowing only one hit and one earned run. She also struck out three.
On the day, in two wins, Joliff pitched 9.2 innings. She had just six hits against her, allowing three runs. She struck out six, while walking only one.
Her two wins move her to 7-1 on the season.
"That's really impressive," Kelley said. "With the teams that she's faced and the competition that she's faced, that's huge. Birmingham-Souther, being her only loss, a team that was receiving national votes, that's incredible. She's a freshman. She's got years to develop."
Maryville is now just two wins away from earning a USA South Conference Tournament.
For the three seniors, the team's 25th win was a special one. They now have matched the total number of wins through their previous three seasons, as they are now only three wins away from tying the MC school record for most wins in a season.
"That was our goal – win day-by-day, game-by-game," Kelley said. "That's exactly what they're doing. They've done a phenomenal job of taking it game-by-game and inning-by-inning. Even when we get down, they still know that with our offense will back us. Our offense is probably the best in the conference right now, so as long as our pitchers do their job, then we have a chance to win it every time."
N.C. Wesleyan scored first, as Tiffany Manning used an RBI double to score Alicia Burns. The Bishops led 1-0 after two innings.
Maryville knotted the game, however, in the top of the third. Jessica McMahan scored on a fielder's choice and an error by the catcher to tie the game at 1-all.
The Bishops would regain the lead, though, in the bottom of the third. Sarah Bowyer laced a solo home run to center field to take a 2-1 lead over Maryville.
The Scots would take the lead, however, in the top of the fifth. Alexus Murray sent an RBL single down the right-field line to score Savannah Cook, while Gabrielle Rathmell followed suit with an RBI single through the right side. Rachel Taylor scored on the hit, giving Maryville a 3-2 advantage.
Brittany Manning would tie the game again in the bottom of the inning. She rocketed a lead-off solo shot to left to make the score 3-3.
It wasn't until the top of the eighth that Joliff's heroics came into play for the key victory, 4-3.
Maryville (25-15) was led by Cook, who went 4-for-4 with a run scored. Jenna Roberts was 3-for-4, while Murray (2-for-4) and Rathmell (1-for-3) each added an RBI. Joiff was 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run, while McMahan and Taylor each added runs in the game.
N.C. Wesleyan (20-14) was led by Bowyer, who went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
The Scots will play tomorrow at noon in the USA South Semifinals. They face off with Averett University who knocked off the tournament's top-seeded Piedmont College today, 5-4, in extra innings.
