Photos by Carly Williamson and Connor Gahagan
MARYVILLE – That was a pleasant surprise!
Maryville earned an opening day split against No. 15 Berry here Friday, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 1 to steal a 6-5 victory. The Scots then battled to the final out in the nightcap before falling 3-1.
Last season ended with Maryville finishing one of the best campaigns in program history just a base hit shy of the NCAA Super Regionals. Berry defeated the Scots twice to take the trophy at the NCAA Montgomery Regional.
But that record-breaking squad went 35-13 and finished No. 21 in the final polls with EIGHT SENIORS in the lineup for the finale against the Vikings. How would this team fare with so many unfamiliar faces against another stout Berry squad?
"Our team exceeded my expectations by far today just by the way we responded," Maryville head coach
Jill Moore said. "We were playing the No. 15 team in the country, we're young with not a lot of returners. And we responded to the challenge I put to them. I was happy to see so many different contributors up and down the lineup.
"The biggest and most exciting element for me is our pitching. The staff stepped up and pitched today."
Stewart Sharp in Earning Victory
Moore expected
Whitney Carr to be the ace of this year's pitching staff. But Carr was injured in an offseason auto accident and will not return to the circle until 2026. That leaves junior
Paige Dickinson, sophomore
Tia Stewart and first-year
Sydney Dickinson to open the season.
And the early returns are encouraging.
Stewart pitched three innings in both games, earning a victory and allowing just one run on five hits total to post a 1.17 ERA for her combined effort. The sophomore came on in relief of MC starters
Paige Dickinson in Game 1 and
Sydney Dickinson in Game 2.
"We are putting pieces together and we are figuring out how we are going to win, and it's going to take all of us," Moore said. "It's going to take a lot of different players on the team doing different things, but they showed me today that they're up for the challenge."
Berry led 4-0 in Game 1 before the Scots clawed their way back.
Maryville scored twice in the fifth and once in the sixth but still went into the last of the seventh trailing 5-3. Stewart had just allowed a single and a double to open the top of the inning, but she limited the damage to one run and gave the Scots a chance.
Fortunate Break Sparks Winning Rally
MC earned a break when
Jessica Harris reached on an error to begin the rally.
Ryleigh Maples walked and then
Olivia Harris looped a single down the left field line to score
Jessica Harris, with the baserunners advancing 60 feet on the tardy throw home.
Kaylee Peyret reached safely via fielder's choice when the Berry defense fired home on her grounder despite Maples staying glued to third base. With the bases loaded and still nobody out,
Emma Blankenship singled up the middle to tie the game and
Ashtyn Barga followed with a looping base hit into left center to put Maryville in the win column.
The Scots in Game 2 spotted Berry another lead, this time 3-0. MC got one back on Peyret's RBI-double in the fourth, but the Scots left 10 on base and never could connect for the big hit.
Williams Still Hitting Despite Move to Shortstop
Brecca Williams picked up right where she left off last season, going 4-for-7 in the doubleheader with a double and a triple and two runs batted in. Williams, who has moved from third base to shortstop defensively, is batting .365 for her career with 132 runs and 153 hits.
Olivia Harris went 2-for-2 and drove in a run and Blankenship finished 3-for-6 with two runs scored and one driven home.
Tate Romero also came off the bench to assist behind the plate in both games and finished 2-for-2 in the batter's box.
For the doubleheader, Berry outscored the Scots 8-7, but Maryville posted a 16-14 edge in hits. Berry cracked two home runs, but total bases favored the Vikings just 22-21.
Next weekend, Maryville plays at the Emory Classic against the host Eagles and LaGrange. The teams play one game against the two other opponents both Saturday and Sunday. The Maryville game times are noon and 2 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. and noon on Sunday.
Maryville's two games against LaGrange will not count as conference contests.
"We are going to get better," Moore said. "We're going to go back to work, but I'm excited about this season. I'm excited."
