MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Maryville responded to a tough Tuesday at No. 3 Berry by banging out a couple of hard-fought wins Saturday in West Tennessee.
The Scots defeated Webster 5-1 and then knocked off host Rhodes 5-3. They play the same opponents again Sunday.
Maryville's starting pitching was superb, with
Megan Ackerman tossing a four-hitter in Game 1 and
Tia Stewart earning her first collegiate victory in Game 2. Stewart in her first Maryville start went 6 and 1-3 innings, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits.
Mikayla Hoschak retired the final two outs and earned her first save as a Scot.
"I'm happy with the way our pitching staff is starting to come together and work together," Maryville head coach
Jill Moore said. "Having a veteran like Megan on the mound, just knowing she was going to get it done, was really helpful for us today."
Stewart Throwing Darts
Moore said the decision to start Stewart was based on her performance in the early going.
"She earned it," Moore said. "She's done her job every time we've asked her to do it, and she did it again today. No free passes; competed on every pitch. She was great today. And Mikayla coming in to save it was big for us."
Ackerman went the distance against Webster, allowing just one run on four hits and striking out a season-high nine. She walked one while improving to 2-1 on the season.
The Scots snapped a scoreless tie in the third inning on
Cierra Hudson's first collegiate home run leading off the frame.
Emily Hill added an RBI-single in the fourth to make it a 2-0 game, and then Maryville doubled its advantage thanks to sacrifice flies from
Micayla Clark and
Courtney Baine in the fifth.
After Webster got one back in the top of the sixth, Maryville answered in the bottom half with Hudson doubling home
Campbell White, who had worked a two-out walk.
Home-Run Hudson!
Hudson was the hitting star, going 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two driven in. Baine also went 2-for-2 with an RBI, and it was Hill and
Paige Dickinson adding the other Maryville base hits.
"Cierra has just completely owned her role of center field and has stepped into her own as a hitter," Moore said. "Hitting her first home run at exactly the right time, and it was a no-doubter. She was a spark for us all day.
"She has been our most consistent hitter, and she keeps coming through for us."
In Game 2, Maryville and Rhodes traded runs in the first. The Scots scored when
Sara Koonce tripled and came home on Baine's sacrifice fly. Maryville took the lead in the fifth when White singled and later scored on an error.
The Scots scored three big runs in the sixth, aided once again by a Rhodes error. But Maryville sent eight batters to the plate and
Brecca Williams delivered the key hit with a two-run single.
The Lynx scored twice and had the tying runs aboard in the last of the seventh before Hoschak shut the door, getting the final out to ground into a force play at second.
Same Three Teams Sunday
The temperature at first pitch Saturday was in the 20s, and it will be another frosty one Sunday morning when the Scots play Webster at 10 a.m. and Rhodes at noon.
The Scots improved to 4-2, with Rhodes now 2-6 and Webster 1-1. Rhodes defeated Webster 9-1 in Saturday's other game.
