Box Score Freshman centerfielder Gabe Lopez went 4-for-6 with 4 RBI, but MC's late offensive surge was not enough to complete a rally. Mt. St. Joseph defeated Maryville College 12-9 on Saturday afternoon on MC's Scotland Yard.
The visiting Lions jumped on the Scots early posting a 7-0 advantage in their first pair of offensive innings. Maryville cut the lead in the bottom of the second when Lopez doubled towards right field to plate a pair of unearned runs in Winn Allen and Micah Tullia.
Mt. St. Joseph added a pair of earned runs in the fifth when Hunter Collins and Ian Mustard each posted RBI singles.
Trailing 9-2, MC tallied a run in the fifth when Hayden Hollingsworth dashed home on an RBI groundout by Drew Johnson.
The Lions expanded their lead to 12-3 in the sixth inning when Collins laced an opposite-field double scoring a pair before Collins scampered home on a Mustard RBI single up the middle.
Trailing 12-3, Maryville sent three across the plate in the eighth when Win Allen singled up the middle scoring Kolton Hicks and Ryan Jones. Lopez promptly tripled to centerfield to score Allen.
MC's final inning rally started with a Hicks bases-loaded RBI walk. Allen tallied an RBI on a fielder's choice scoring Logan Hayes before Lopez singled through the right side to score pinch runner Jake Petersen.
The Lions' Lukas Palmieri earned his first career save after allowing only one hit and assisting on the final out of the game.
Jacob Hughes earned the win on the mound for Mt. St. Joseph scattering five hits over five innings. The left-hander allowed only one earned run while striking out four.
Damian Lusby (2-3) suffered the mound loss for Maryville. MC saw solid relief efforts from Bleu Butcher and Jose Rodriguez. Butcher allowed no hits over a pair of innings of work while Rodriguez tossed a perfect ninth.
Roman Rothwell (3-for-5, 2 runs, 3 RBI) paced the Lions' 13-hit offensive attack.
Hayden Hollingsworth (2-for-5) joined Lopez as the only Scots posting multi-hit performances. MC finished with eight hits during the challenge.
The three-game non-conference series will conclude on Sunday when the Scots host Mt. St. Joseph at 1:00.
