MARYVILLE – Coach Jill had to kiss the fish. That was the deal.
Maryville head coach
Jill Moore told her team after Monday's Game 1 win over Centre that if the Scots completed the afternoon sweep of the Colonels, she would kiss the new team mascot – that little fish swimming around in its tiny tank in the dugout.
You would have thought it was Moby Dick to hear the Coach's screams after she laid a pucker right on the gills. But those were the terms once Maryville completed its 14-6 and 5-1 victories here Monday afternoon.
"That was my fault," Moore said with a wry smile. "I said we had a dugout fish. I allowed it. And I said I would kiss the fish if we won two games. We won two games, and I don't back down from a bet.
"So I kissed it. And it was gross."
Second Sweep of Season
There were smiles and laughs all around – and why not? MC's second sweep of the season was just the tonic for a team that had dropped three straight and four of its last five.
The wins lifted Maryville to 9-15 on the season and were the perfect counter to Sunday's doubleheader loss against No. 10 Huntingdon. Centre is now 2-12.
"I'm proud of how we came out and bounced back today," Moore said. "We're in the thick of our season, going into conference play and coming off a hard day Sunday. We showed up and we showed the team that we can be. And the team that we are."
Maryville broke out the bats in Game 1, scoring 14 runs in just five innings on 11 hits. The top three in the order had two hits apiece, with
Jessica Harris going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBIs,
Brecca Williams 2-for-2 with three runs scored, and
Paige Dickinson 2-for-3 with two runs scored and four driven in.
The Scots scored four in the first inning, six in the third and four more in the fifth to shorten the game by the eight-run rule.
Maples Ends Game 1
Ryleigh Maples had a two-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs, while
Olivia Harris powered a bases-clearing triple to highlight that four-run first. Maples delivered the game-ending hit with her single to the fence, scoring Harris from third with the 14th run.
"We did a good job hitting in the first game," Moore said. "We were tough outs, and that's one through nine. We were tough outs and that's how we won the game."
Tia Stewart was the beneficiary of Monday's offensive outburst, pitching four innings for her fifth win of the season.
In Game 2, clutch pitching and timely hitting propelled the Scots past the Colonels.
Kaylee Peyret delivered a one-out double down the third-base line that scored
Catie Zani – who had doubled – and
Ashtyn Barga – who had singled – to snap the 1-1 tie in the fifth inning. Bloop RBI singles in the sixth by Maples and
Sydney Dickinson provided a buffer, and
Paige Dickinson allowed just one hit over the final two innings for her first save of the season. Dickinson in three innings in the circle for the day struck out three.
Goetzinger Growing in Confidence
Jacey Goetzinger is emerging as a reliable hurler, and she passed another test after tossing the first five innings of Game 2 to earn her second victory. The first-year from Middle Tennessee scattered one unearned run on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
"Coming back in the second game and giving up one run, I'm proud of our pitching staff," Moore said. "Jayce pitched well and then Paige came in and shut it down for us. We made mistakes (four errors in Game 2), but they didn't hurt us today and that was a big part of growth that we needed to see in a bounce-back day."
The Scots now embark on 12 Collegiate Conference of the South games over the next 25 days. First up is a doubleheader Saturday at Agnes Scott and a Sunday visit to Wesleyan. One question: Will the fish make the road trip?
"Anything for the team," Moore said. "These girls are great people. They work hard every day, and I'm happy to be the one who gets to watch them compete, learn and grow into really great people.
"So whatever I've got to do for them, I'm always all in and I'm going to do it."
