MARYVILLE – Maryville showed yet another team that it is playing its best softball of the season.
The Scots rallied late in Game 2 here Thursday to complete a doubleheader sweep of visiting Centre. Maryville won 8-1 in the opener and 3-2 in the nightcap.
The wins give Maryville 22 for the season, or one victory more than last season. The Scots have already matched last year's 10 wins in conference play. They get the chance to add to that total Saturday when Piedmont visits for a crucial twin bill.
"We got better as a team today," Maryville head coach
Jill Moore said. "We adjusted late, but we made the adjustments we needed and we found a way to win.
"It was a late-season midweek game and we have a big weekend coming up, but as a team, we learned a lot about ourselves. We fought through every single pitch and we came out on the right side."
Megan Ackerman and
Paige Dickinson combined to scatter five hits in the circle for Maryville in the 8-1 opening game win. Ackerman went the first four frames and allowed two hits to notch her 10th victory of the season, while Dickinson held the Colonels scoreless on three hits over the final three innings for her first collegiate save.
Tough at the Top
Maryville's top three in the order of
Brecca Williams,
Sara Koonce and
Bailey Myers all contributed two hits apiece, with Myers driving in two to maintain the team lead with 30 RBIs. Those three also accounted for five of the eight runs scored.
Just like Tuesday, the second game required a late-inning rally. This time, the Scots allowed Centre a run in the fifth inning and a run in the sixth before exploding for three runs in the last of the sixth.
The winning rally started with
Cierra Hudson's bunt single. After Williams sacrificed Hudson to second, Koonce walked and Myers flied to center for the second out.
That's when
Emily Hill belted a double to straightaway center to score Hudson and Koonce with the tying runs.
Annie McCormick pinch-ran for Hill and moved to third on a wild pitch. She stepped on home after Dickinson's looping liner to center fell in for a single and an RBI.
"That's what this team does," Moore said. "They never give up or count themselves out of a game and, boom! We were right back in it."
Closing It Out
Chloe Boyd improved to 3-0 in the circle after getting the final five outs in relief of
Kennedy Henry. Boyd retired the Colonels 1-2-3 in the seventh.
"Our pitching staff kept us in both games," Moore said. "We switched it up a little bit on our starters and our rotation, and everyone bought in and was ready to go. We got Chloe a lead there at the end and she slammed the door and did her job.
"Both of our starters, Megan and Kennedy, were outstanding. And then Paige coming in and Chloe coming in and closing things out was really big for us."
The Scots after dropping the first game of a doubleheader against Huntingdon back on March 25 are 12-3 since, including an 11-3 record this month. Maryville is 22-13 overall, while Center dropped to 14-18.
Next up is a visit from Piedmont (23-14). Both the Scots and Lady Lions are tied at 10-4 in the CCS standings, with third place on the line. Belhaven and Huntingdon are in good position to host the two postseason tournaments, but Maryville can keep its momentum going with a strong showing this weekend.
"We're excited," Moore said. "It's a good position to be in and we're going to play them tough. We can't wait."
