Scots Continue Rolling Against Oglethorpe

MARYVILLE - Maryville picked up victories in both ends of a doubleheader against Oglethorpe on Saturday at Scotland Yard. The Scots are now 4-0 to begin the 2023 season, their best start since winning eight straight to kick off 2018.
 
In Game 1, third baseman Zac Graham was 2-for-4 with two home runs, five RBIs, and a walk. The sophomore's multi-homer game marks the first of his career and the first for MC since 2019 when Logan Hayes went deep against Emory and Henry.
 
Along with Graham, Christian Carlton and Max Bowers picked up multiple hits with three apiece. Bowers hit his first home run of the season while Carlton went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored.
 
In Game 2, Gabriel Lopez and Jacob Johnston joined their teammates on the multi-hit train, recording performances of two and three hits, respectively.


 
Neither team was able to put runs on the board through the first four innings of Game 1, and it seemed like the Scots were engaged in an old-fashioned pitcher's duel. That would change though when Graham came up to bat with one down in the bottom of the fifth and hit an opposite-field grand slam to break the game open.
 
MC scored runs in each inning until the end of the game in the eighth when Bowers' long ball put the Scots up 10 and the game was halted by the 10-run rule.
 
Starting pitcher Bryce Leonhardt and reliever Nic Mirabella pitched a combined shutout for the Scots in Game 1. Leonhardt picked up his second win of the season. He scattered five hits across six innings of work while striking out 3.  Mirabella came on in the 7^th and pitched two innings of no-hit ball, striking out two.
 
Maryville took an early lead in Game 2 as Johnston picked up his first of three hits and Lopez came around to score in the first inning.
 
Oglethorpe quickly struck back though, scoring two in the second inning and one in the third to give the Stormy Petrels a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the third.
 
In the bottom half of the inning Lopez once again came around to score on a single from Johnston. Before the inning was over, Carlton hit a deep sacrifice fly that allowed Johnston to come around and score a run of his own.
 
Carlton would come up big again in the fifth inning, driving in what would be the winning run with another deep sacrifice fly to CF, this time scoring Hunter Thaxton.


 
Following Kyle Timko's departure in the third, Xavier Resto pitched 4.2 innings allowing just two hits and striking out five. The freshman reliever finished out the game for Maryville, earning his first collegiate win. Hitters are just 3-for-20 off Resto in his two appearances this season.
 
The Scots look to extend their winning streak to five games as they cap off their weekend series against Oglethorpe on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.