Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Bats Come Alive as MC Sweeps Pair
Photos by Moriah Tant '23
MARYVILLE – There were smiles all around the Maryville bat rack Saturday after the Scots posted an impressive doubleheader sweep over DePauw at Scotland Yard.
Maryville rallied in both games, winning 11-10 and 11-9 on a blustery afternoon. The Scots needed a six-run eighth inning to come back from an 8-5 deficit and take Game 1, and then they put together a six-run fourth inning in the nightcap to overcome an early 6-0 roadblock.
All nine members of the Maryville batting order contributed at least one hit in both games. The Scots pounded out 16 hits in the first game and 12 in the second, boosting their team batting average to .303 and keeping the home record perfect at 9-0.
"The offense just kept answering," Maryville head coach Clint Helton said. "We have been working hard on having a plan and having an approach, and it showed. We went up there locked in.
"We were down I don't know how many times and we kept coming back."
Maryville as a team took its turn at the plate trailing four times out of eight at bats in the first game and four times out of eight at bats in the second. The Scots scored in nine different innings over the two games, and DePauw scored in 11 different innings.
But those two six-run frames proved decisive.
Big Day for Campbell
One of those doing damage all afternoon was right fielder Ian Campbell. The senior was 3-for-4 with two runs scored in Game 1, and 1-for-3 with a line-out and another run scored in the nightcap.
"It felt good," Campbell said. "I've been struggling a bit here at the beginning of the season, but the team's had my back and everybody is doing their part. We've been playing as a team and getting a lot of wins that way.
"We got down in both games and it seemed like every inning we would put up some runs. We had a lot of fight today. Now that we're all starting to flow together, it's going to be even better going forward."
Maryville led 3-1 early in Game 1 before DePauw scored in three consecutive innings to take a 7-5 lead. The Tigers tacked on one more run in the eighth and led 8-5, only to watch the Scots stage their first six-run rally.
Six-Run Rally Time
Zach Fritts began things with a single to right, and Peyton Milam walked. After a DePauw pitching change, Campbell beat out an infield single to load the bases.
Gabe Lopez laced a two-run single to right, and then both he and Campbell scampered home for a Little League grand slam when DePauw catcher Brennan Roach fired an errant throw into the outfield. Suddenly, Maryville led 9-8.
Nelson kept the rally going with a single, and Zac Graham doubled him home with a smash down the right field line. Max Bowers capped the comeback with a crucial insurance tally when he singled through the hole to left.
Crucial because Maryville closer Grady Cash allowed a walk and then an RBI-double to Kyle Callahan – his fourth hit of the game. Cash then went strikeout, ground out, strikeout to end the threat and deliver Maryville the 11-10 triumph.
Expected Pitcher's Duel Fizzles
In the second game, aces Bryce Leonhardt at 4-1 for Maryville faced off against Michael Vallone at 4-0 for DePauw. Neither factored in the decision as both offenses kept the pedal down.
The Tigers broke in front with three runs in the third inning and three more in the third. Maryville answered with another six-spot as Bowers had a two-run single, Kendall Catlett an RBI-single and Nelson Smith three-run double to the base of the fence in left center.
The teams traded runs until it was 9-8 Tigers heading to the home half of the seventh. Team batting leader Jimmy Meredith began the comeback with a double down the left field line. He advanced on a Bowers sacrifice and then tied the score on a wild pitch. One out later, Catlett homered off the foul pole in left field for a 10-9 Scots lead.
Maryville added an insurance tally in the eighth. Neither Graham nor Christian Carlton had hit safely in Game 2, but they put together back-to-back hits after two were out – Graham a sharp double to left and Carlton a single to left for the 11-9 margin.
Cash came on and retired the side for his second save of the day and third of the year.
Lusby, Campbell Grab Wins in Relief
For Maryville, Damian Lusby improved to 4-1 in the opener with 3 and 2/3 innings of middle relief work. In Game 2, D.J. Cooper came on and pitched two innings, allowing just one hit and one run while striking out three for his first decision of the season.
In addition to Campbell's four hits over the two games, Lopez and Meredith also had four hits apiece and Graham and Bowers each had three. Home runs for Lopez and Graham were their second on the season in the opener, while Catlett and Kolton Hicks both smacked their first homers of 2022 in the nightcap.
"Today was an offensive day," Helton said. "I was proud of our ability to stay in it and keep competing. The wind was crazy, but it was just an offensive day on both sides. It's an outside sport and the weather can be unpredictable.
"We've just got to come out ready to do it again tomorrow."
Maryville with the sweep improved to 13-7, while DePauw is now 6-7. First pitch for Sunday's finale is 1 p.m.
