MARYVILLE – BIG HIT WHIT!
It felt like 2024 at Scotland Yard on Sunday as
Ashton Whiteaker belted a line drive over the left-center field wall to secure the win and a sweep for the Maryville Scots against Oberlin. Whiteaker has not missed a beat since helping Maryville win the conference title just eight months ago. The Scots catcher is batting fourth on the team with a .353 average and a 1.206 OPS, six games into his senior campaign.
"Having 'Whit's' (Whiteaker)'s presence in the dugout is big," Scots head baseball coach
Clint Helton said. "He's not much of a talker, but how he carries himself speaks volumes. He loves competing and being challenged."
Scots Strike First
Maryville jumped on the Yeomen's starter, Samuel Labrecque, early to plate four Scots in the bottom of the first.
Zach Devries started the Scots' run with a leadoff walk, followed by a free pass for Det Detwiller.
Jacob Johnston flied out before Labrecque issued another walk to
Ashton Whiteaker, loading the bases and setting up
Frank Derner for an RBI single. The inning concluded with an RBI single by
Cody Meier, a walk to
Matt Hall, and a single by Reese Jordan to flip the lineup back to Devries, who grounded out.
Maryville led 4-0.
Oberlin responded over the next two innings, plating two in the third and three in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead.
Austin Suttle started the game for Maryville, allowing five runs in 2 and 1-3 innings. Suttle previously pitched in relief against Fontbonne, tossing three scoreless innings.
Ninth-Inning Heroics
The ninth inning belonged to Maryville as
Mitchell Grannan picked up his second win of the season. Grannan entered the inning with the score still 5-4. He struck out the first batter, Zach Masnikoff, walked the next batter, and then delivered two straight strikeouts to set up Maryville's walk-off victory. This is Grannan's first season in the closer role after previously serving as a starter in his junior and senior seasons.
"Our bullpen did a good job of holding them since the third inning," Helton said. "It's great to have a guy like 'Mitch' (Grannan) at the back end. There are a lot of guys you can go to, but having No. 3 out there gives your team confidence."
Following Grannan's strong half-inning, Maryville's Dettwiller and Johnston drew two straight walks to set up Whiteaker for the walk-off home run.
Maryville improved to 6-0 on the season and hosts Hanover and Oglethorpe next weekend in the Maryville College Scots Invitational. Here's the schedule:
Friday, February 28
4 p.m. -- Hanover vs. Oglethorpe (home team)
Saturday, March 1
1 p.m. – Hanover at Maryville
4 p.m. – Oglethorpe at Maryville
Sunday, March 2
Noon – Hanover at Maryville
3:30 p.m. Oglethorpe at Maryville
