LaGrange, Ga. – After playing its fifth game in five days, Maryville is heading to the CCS Baseball Championship final, defeating Piedmont 6-2 Saturday at Cleaveland Field.
Coming into the matchup, the Lions were the final undefeated team remaining in the tournament. They will face off against Huntingdon on Saturday to determine who the Scots will play in the championship game.
Leading MC to victory was starting pitcher
Nic Mirabella. Usually used as a reliever, Mirabella was called on to toe the rubber as a starter against Piedmont.
The sophomore answered the call, pitching a season-high 7 1/3 innings. He allowed just two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three batters.
After allowing a run in the first inning, Mirabella faced the minimum number of batters in each inning from the second through the sixth inning. He allowed just one player on base during that stretch but quickly erased the runner after inducing a double play.
After Piedmont scored its first run in the first inning, Maryville wasted no time coming back, as
Will Hubbell recorded a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game 1-1.
After a scoreless second and third inning, the Scots exploded in the fourth inning, scoring four runs on four hits and two errors.
Hubbell started the big inning off with a solo home run to left field to put Maryville up 2-1. This was the senior's second long ball of the tournament. He finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
Zac Graham came around to score in the inning following an error that allowed
Gabriel Lopez to reach base, and then two more runs came in to score on a single by
Jimmy Meredith.
Meredith came up big again in the sixth inning, singling home
Colin Dunworth for Maryville's sixth and final run of the contest. He finished a team-best 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.
The Scots finished the game with 13 hits. Joining Meredith and Hubbell with multi-hit performances were
Ashton Whiteaker and
Max Bowers
Chris Arbuthnot pitched 1 2/3 innings to close out the game. He allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out one batter as he sealed Maryville's 6-2 victory.
The Scots now await confirmation on who they will be playing in the championship game. If Piedmont wins, MC will face the Lions on Monday. If Huntingdon wins, The Scots will take on the Hawks Sunday at 6 p.m.
2023 CCS Baseball Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 3
First Round Game - No. 6 Maryville 13, No. 7 Berea 10
Thursday, May 4
Game One - No. 6 Maryville 7, No. 1 LaGrange 3
Game Two - No. 2 Belhaven 2, No. 5 Covenant 1
Game Three - No. 4 Piedmont 6, No. 3 Huntingdon 4
Friday, May 5
Game Four - No. 5 Covenant 2, No. 1 LaGrange 0
Game Five - No. 3 Huntingdon 13, No. 6 Maryville 1
Saturday, May 6
Game Six - No. 4 Piedmont 4, No. 2 Belhaven 2
Game Seven - No. 6 Maryville 2, No. 2 Belhaven 1
Game Eight - No. 3 Huntingdon 11 No. 5 Covenant 1
Sunday, May 7
Game Nine - No. 6 Maryville 6, No. 4 Piedmont 2
Game Ten - No. 4 Piedmont 8, No. 3 Huntingdon 5
Monday, May 8
Game Eleven - No. 6 Maryville vs. No. 4 Piedmont | 2 pm
