Box Score Fritts Has Monster Day in 17-4 Win
MARYVILLE – A 17-4 win over the Red Dragons of SUNY Oneonta at Scotland Yard Monday was the best offensive performance for Maryville in over two years.
The Scots put up 17 runs with 19 hits. The runs mark is the best for Maryville since a 17-2 win over MacMurray in February of 2020 and the hits mark is the highest for MC since the team put up 25 hits against Brevard in March of the same year.
"Offensively we had a good approach the whole day," said Scots' head coach Clint Helton. "We had a ton of quality at-bats, which showed off some things we have been working on. Hitting is contagious and it showed today."
One of the key players in the offensive onslaught was Zach Fritts. The junior had a career day for Maryville. The Scots were up 1-0 thanks to an error in the first when Fritts hit a 2 RBI homer. It was his first of a career-high four hits. Fritts also tallied a career-best seven RBI and two runs in the win.
The outfielder also tallied a career-high three doubles in the contest.
Several other MC batters contributed to the large win. The Scots had 16 players step up to the plate, with nine of those Maryville batters notching at least one hit and five with one or more RBI. That depth was key according to the Scots' head coach.
"It is important to get a lot of guys involved," Helton said. "The guys who came in for us are our energy givers. They bring it every day and are always ready to go even when they are not starting games. If they are on the team they deserve that spot. We are a deep team and those guys deserve to play because of their ability."
The game was never in doubt as Maryville put up a run in seven out of the eight innings the home team took the batter's box. It was a tough outing for the Red Dragons as the team had five errors compared to their four runs.
Pitching was another strong aspect of the Scots' game today. Bryce Leonhardt picked up the win after getting the start. He struck out three of the five batters he faced in one inning of work. Four other pitchers entered the game for Maryville with Chris Arbuthnot, Tanner Hurd, D.J. Cooper, and Jakob Kerr all spending time on the mound.
"We got Bryce some work in to prepare for the start of the conference season and then let Chris in to do the same thing," said Helton. "Also, today was the best we have seen of Tanner since he has been here. All of our guys on the mound did what we needed them to do."
When it came to base running, five Scots stole bases. Nelson Smith and Christian Carlton took three each.
The win moved the Scots to 8-4 on the season while the Red Dragons fall to 3-4. Tomorrow the teams take the field for the conclusion of the midweek series in a single game at 1 p.m.
"We are going to enjoy today and work to do it again tomorrow," said Helton. "As good as today was, it's over. SUNY is a good offensive team, so we have to flip the page and get prepared for tomorrow."
