Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 MC Posts 10 Plus Hits in Each Game
MARYVILLE – It was a beautiful day to play, and win, two in Scotland Yard.
Maryville won by scores of 5-2 and 13-1 to sweep the three-game USA South series against Berea. The Scots put up the first run in each of the final two contests and never trailed after that point.
"For us, our success is all about understanding our approach and what it is," Maryville head coach Clint Helton said. "We need to know that regardless of the outcome of the at-bat. Hitting is up and down, but when you have the right approach the hits will come."
Game 1: Maryville 5, Berea 2
The first run of Sunday was courtesy of Christian Carlton. The sophomore came to the plate with two outs on the board and Gabe Lopez on second. He hit a single down the center that brought Lopez home.
It took almost no time for the Mountaineers to answer back. Their third batter of the second inning hit a deep shot to left center and secured a solo home run to tie the contest.
Zach Fritts brought the next two Maryville runs home in the bottom of the second frame. He hit a triple to left center which allowed Max Bowers, who had hit a double in the prior at-bat, to score a run. The Berea shortstop committed an error that also sent Fritts in to score.
"The first game today was closer than the other two were," said Helton. "We had some big hits in some key moments that helped us secure the win."
Those key moments came in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings.
Jimmy Meredith hit a single to left field, with two outs on the board, which brought Nelson Smith home. Back-to-back doubles in the sixth scored the final run for the Scots. Ian Campbell's double brought home Kendall Catlett.
Pitching was a bright spot for Maryville in the game. Nic Mirabella got the start and the win. He pitched for six innings and struck out four while only allowing two earned runs. Damian Lusby came on in relief for Mirabella and shined. He earned the save while striking out three batters and allowing no runs on two hits.
"Nic pitched really well in the first game today," Helton said. "Our pitchers did what they needed to do to keep us on top in a close game."
Lopez was 3-for-4 and led all batters in hits. Each batter for the Scots notched at least one hit, while four Maryville hitters had one RBI each. The home team had 12 hits and held the visitors from Kentucky to just four.
Game 2: Maryville 13, Berea 1
The final game of the series looked more like Saturday's game than the one that directly preceded it.
"In the last game today we kept the momentum going offensively and finished what we started," said Helton.
Momentum was certainly on the side of the Scots in the bottom of the second. Max Bowers walked to start the inning before Zach Fritts doubled in the next MC at-bat. The two-base hit was followed by a Peyton Milam two-RBI triple.
The frame's scoring went uninterrupted with a double from Campbell directly following and scoring Milam. Campbell scored two batters later on a Smith single.
Five more runs were plated by Maryville in the bottom of the fourth. A single and back-to-back batters hit by pitches loaded the bases. The pitching miscues continued and a wild pitch added an MC run to the board.
A single, sacrifice fly, and Carlton stealing home added the other three runs of the frame.
The Mountaineers scored their only run on a bases-loaded hit by pitch.
The run-rule went into effect for the Scots in the bottom of the eighth when freshman Matthew Morelli hit a solo home run that ended the game 13-1 in favor of Maryville.
Chris Arbuthnot impressed on the mound in his start. He allowed no runs and struck out six batters in his six innings of action. Grant Lunsford and Mitchell Grannan each got one inning of work in relief.
Zac Graham was a perfect 2-for-2 in the batter's box with one RBI. All but one of the starting nine for the Scots collected a hit in the team's 13 hit performance. Peyton Milam led all batters with two RBI.
Maryville improved to 20-8 overall and 6-3 in league play with the sweep, while Berea is now 4-24 and 1-11 in the USA South.
"We gotta stay humble and hungry as we keep going through the season," Helton said. "That is what I told our guys after the games today. The key is to take things day by day and one game at a time."
The Scots are on the road until the end of April. They step out of league play for a single game at Bob Jones on Tuesday before traveling to Covenant on Friday for a weekend three-game league series. The next home game for Maryville is on April 29 against Piedmont.
