DANVILLE, Ky. – Sixth-inning magic and Maryville's Old Dependable in the circle carried the Scots to a pair of Opening Day wins over Centre in the Bluegrass State.
The Scots belted the host Colonels 10-1 in Saturday's opener and then rallied for a 10-7 victory in the nightcap. Maryville scored six runs in the sixth inning of BOTH games, and
Megan Ackerman picked up right where she left off last season by pitching a gem in her first senior start.
"We played like we knew how to win," Scots head coach
Jill Moore said. "The leadership by our upper-classmen allowed us to manage the moments in the game that we made too big. They had been in those situations before and knew how to win, and that's what got us through."
Ackerman Deals Game 1 Win
Ackerman allowed just two hits over six innings, with one walk and six strikeouts. And while one of the Centre hits was a second-inning home run off the bat of Emily Lammers, nothing fazed Maryville's southpaw ace.
"Megan was Megan; she is our steady, our constant," Moore said. "I would not even say she made a mistake with that one pitch, just that the hitter was ready for a good pitch, and she belted it. Megan was the calm and the constant that we need to rely on. She was terrific."
After the Lammers long ball,
Bailey Myers put the Scots right back in front in the third inning with an RBI-ground out in advance of
Haynie Jane Gilstrap's run-scoring double. It was the first of three Gilstrap doubles on the day as the Georgia rookie went 5-for-7 with five RBIs and three runs scored.
"Haynie Jane in her at bats, she was poised and prepared like an upperclassman," Moore said. "She didn't swing at pitches that weren't hers and it paid off. She was outstanding."
Emily Hill produced an RBI-double in the fifth and
Sara Koonce lined her second run-scoring double of the game in the sixth to get the big inning started.
Courtney Baine followed with an RBI-double and then Gilstrap and
Campbell White laced run-scoring singles to finish the scoring.
Comeback Victory in Game 2
Centre jumped in front 2-0 and 4-1 in the second game, scoring twice in each of the first two innings. But Maryville began its comeback in the third when Gilstrap delivered again, this time a two-run single that narrowed the margin to 4-3.
The Colonels pushed across a run in the fourth, but then Myers answered in the fifth with an RBI-double to right center that plated
Cierra Hudson.
All of which set up another big sixth inning for the Scots.
After Hill was hit by a pitch,
Ava Whitmire singled and White reached on a bunt single. Hudson was hit by a pitch, tying the ballgame 5-5.
Brecca Williams then grounded into a fielder's choice and all runners were safe when the throw home was late, giving the Scots a 6-5 lead.
One out later, Myers singled home a run and Baine reached on an error that plated two more. Gilstrap's double to left center made it 10-5 Scots.
Maryville's
Whitney Carr came on to pitch in the fourth inning but she tired in the sixth, and
Tia Stewart took over. The Dandridge rookie closed out Centre over the final 1 2/3 innings for her first collegiate save.
"Tia came in knowing what she needed to do, and she took care of business," Moore said. "She was ready to do the thing she was asked to do, and I am proud of her. For a first-year to show that type of poise was impressive."
Maryville finished the doubleheader with 24 hits to 14 for Centre, and they lined 11 extra-base hits to just three for the hosts.
"If you can score 20 runs, you can get away with some of the crazy stuff that we saw out there today," Moore said. "But I have no complaints. It was our first day and we got tested. We had to play and come from behind. They were aggressive hitters who made us work hard, but we didn't give up and we head home with a couple of nice wins."
Maryville is back in action Tuesday at No. 3-ranked Berry, which was rained out of its opening doubleheader Saturday at Covenant. The twin bill starts at 2 p.m.
