MONTGOMERY, Ala. – An early wake-up call was no problem for these Maryville Scots on a mission.
Maryville made it three wins in three days in the Alabama capital city and earned a berth in the championship round of the Collegiate Conference of the South Softball Tournament with a 4-2 victory over Piedmont on Friday. The Scots are the only undefeated team remaining in the field.
Friday's semifinal round game against Piedmont saw a first pitch at 11 a.m. local time, which meant the Scots had to move and shake the cobwebs out after Thursday's 13-inning thriller against the No. 6 team in the country in Belhaven. They also needed another victory to not only advance to the title round but also to avoid playing a second game later Friday afternoon.
Not that Maryville head coach
Jill Moore thought that would be a problem.
"The biggest thing is when you have team of good people, a culture of good women, good things happen," Moore said. "And that came out today. Whatever we felt, we found ways.
"Whatever is left, you've got to bring to the field every day. We brought it and it worked out for us."
Ackerman Goes to 19-4
Having
Megan Ackerman in the circle provides an added layer of comfort to Moore. Ackerman pitched her 18th complete game of the season – less than 24 hours after throwing 198 pitches in the 13-inning win over Belhaven – and earned her 19th victory. She scattered six hits and should have pitched a shutout, but she and her coach are taking the W no matter how it occurred.
"Megan threw us outs to win a ballgame today," Moore said. "She is a workhorse; she is made for this. Our defense played great today. We got a double play,
Sara Koonce throwing those two runners trying to steal early really stifled their running game, and Megan threw us outs. She just threw us outs."
The Scots were in control pretty much throughout this one. After slumbering through a couple of innings to start, Maryville struck first with two runs in the third inning.
Ava Whitmire reached second on a blooper to shallow left-center that was ruled an error, and then
Cierra Hudson advanced her to third with a ground out.
Brecca Williams hit a chopper to shortstop that could not be handled as Whitmire raced home. Then Koonce doubled into the left centerfield gap and Williams scored all the way from first to make it 2-0.
Clutch Hit from Woodruff
MC made it 3-0 in the fourth.
Bailey Myers walked and advanced 60 feet when
Micayla Clark was hit by a pitch. After Myers moved to third on a fly out, Clark stole second and the Lions threw the ball into center field. Myers trotted home with Maryville's third run.
Piedmont made it a game in the sixth when Megan Steinmeyer delivered a two-out, two-run single to center. But the Scots answered in the bottom of the frame on
Kaitlin Woodruff's run-scoring single to center that plated Clark, who had doubled and moved to third on an error.
Two ground outs and a foul pop made quick work of the Lions in the seventh and the Scots had their 4-2 victory, the program-record 32nd of the season.
Maryville Softball Winningest Seasons
2024 – 32-11
2018 – 31-14
2019 – 29-11
2023 – 27-15
2003 – 26-10
Clark finished the game 2-for-2 with a run scored as the Scots were credited with just four hits. Koonce with her double and Woodruff her RBI-single accounted for the other two.
"Micayla has been clutch for us in so many situations," Moore said. "And I am happy for Kaitlin with that big run-scoring hit in the sixth. That gave us some breathing room."
Maryville plays at 11 a.m. Central time (that is one hour earlier than previous listings!) Saturday in a rematch of last year's CCS softball tournament final against No. 6-ranked Belhaven. The Blazers on Friday won twice, beating Huntingdon 10-0 in a 6-inning no-hitter and then taking care of Piedmont 5-1 in the losers' bracket final.
Maryville goes into the final with no losses; Belhaven has one.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
| Opening Rounds | Wednesday, May 1 |
| Time: 11:00 am |
Game 1 |
No. 4 (Piedmont), 8 v. No. 5 (LaGrange), 7 |
Host: Huntingdon |
Watch Live |
| Time: 3:00 pm |
Game 2 |
No. 3 (Maryville), 9 v. No. 6 (Agnes Scott), 1 |
Host: Huntingdon
Live Stats |
| Quarterfinals | Thursday, May 2, 2024 |
| Time: 10:00 am |
Game 3 |
No. 1 (Huntingdon), 1 v. Piedmont, 3 |
Host: Huntingdon |
Watch Live |
| Time: 1:00 pm |
Game 4 |
No. 2 (Belhaven), 3 v. Maryville, 6 |
Host: Huntingdon
Live Stats |
| Time: 4:00 pm |
Game 5 |
Agnes Scott, 2 v. Huntingdon, 10 |
Host: Huntingdon |
Watch Live |
| Time: 7:00 pm |
Game 6 |
LaGrange, 3 v. Belhaven, 8 |
Host: Huntingdon |
| Semifinals | Friday, May 3, 2024 |
| Time: 11:00 am |
Game 7 |
Piedmont, 2 v. Maryville, 4 |
Host: Huntingdon |
Watch Live |
| Time: 2:00 pm |
Game 8 |
Huntingdon. 0 v. Belhaven, 10 |
Host: Huntingdon |
| Time: 4:00 pm |
Game 9 |
Piedmont, 1 v. Belhaven, 5 |
Host: Huntingdon |
| Finals | Saturday, May 4, 2024 |
| 11:00 am |
Game 10 |
CHAMPIONSHIP: Maryville v. Belhaven |
Host: Huntingdon |
Watch Live |
| 3:00 pm |
Game 11 |
If Necessary Game |
Host: Huntingdon |
