Box Score Maryville College gave up a wild-pitch run in the top of the seventh, as Covenant College claimed the USA South series with a 3-2 victory.
The Georgian Scots took both of games of the double-header, the first by a 4-2 score.
Maryville knotted the game in the bottom of the sixth, 2-2, but a walk and a trio of wild pitches pushed the winning run across the board for Covenant.
Zach Messinger closed the door over the final 2.1 innings, as all seven of those outs came via strikeouts. He allowed just one hit in eight batters faced, sitting down a trio of Covenant batters looking.
Covenant struck early in the top of the first, as a Hunter Christian hit-by-pitch and a Tyler Moore single up the middle put a pair of runners on. CJ Edmond singled up the middle to score Christian from second, as both runners advanced on the throw. John Mitchell recorded the RBI on an infield error to score Moore, as Covenant opened the game up 2-0.
Peyton Sawyer broke the silence for MC in the bottom of the fourth, as he lifted a single to right. The Scots would get a pair of runners in scoring position during the fourth, but a strikeout left the score at 2-0.
A pair of errors aided the Scots in a two-out in the bottom of the sixth. Cody Gregory reached on a fielding error by short, as a Joey Tomlinson single through the right side put two runners own. Eric Hart's blooper to first was thrown away – all three runners advancing. Gregory scored on the play, as a K Hicks' walk loaded the bags. Logan Hayes' RBI single to right scored Tomlinson for a 2-2 ballgame.
Covenant regained the lead in the top of the seventh, however, as Edmond drew a walk with two outs. Three wild pitches would brink Edmond around to score the go-ahead run, 3-2.
Messinger struck out six of the seven batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings. However, the Scots got two different runners to third in the bottom of the eighth without pushing a run across.
Maryville (4-4, 0-2 USA South) was led by Tomlinson who went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Christian Poulsen also went 2-for-4, as Gregory was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Logan Hayes was 1-for-4 with an RBI, as Peyton Sawyer and Jake Petersen each added a hit.
For Covenant (7-1, 2-0) scattered their five hits across five different players. Christian, Edmond and Moore added a run each, as Edmond and Mitchell had RBI.
Maryville College will return to action tomorrow, Feb. 26. The Scots host Emory & Henry College at 3 p.m.
