Break Out the Brooms!

Montgomery, Ala.  -  The Scots leap to first place in the CCS standings after a sweep of Huntingdon this weekend. MC took down the Hawks in both games today, winning the first 14-10 and the second 6-5. 

Nic Mirabella and Caleb Jinks both earned victories on the mound today. The starters combined to pitch 12.1 innings, striking out 10 batters. Relief pitching was just as strong, with Mitchell Grannan and Xavier Resto pitching in the first game (3.0 innings, three strikeouts), and Austin Suttle closed out the series with a 2.2-inning outing, striking out two of the eight batters he faced, and gave up just one hit, earning the save. 

Game One

Reece Jordan was lights out for the series, hitting lead-off all every game and getting a hit to start all three games. Jordan was the first to score for the Scots on the day, getting home on an error by the third baseman in the top of the first. Huntingdon would counter in the inning, scoring twice, once on a triple and again on a wild pitch. 2-1 Hawks after one. 

Jordan batted in Matt Hall in the second inning to tie things up after Hall hit a triple to get 90 feet from home. The Hawks would again score twice in the inning, this time on two singles that scored runners from third. 4-2 Huntingdon.

The third and fourth innings were quiet for the Scots, but Huntingdon would tack on a run in the fourth to go up 5-2. Ashton Whiteaker would come home after the Scots loaded the bases and Brayden Evans walked. Matt Hall would single up the middle next at bat to score Zach Devries from third and Nick Curry from second. Hall would steal second and advance to third after the catcher overthrew the second baseman in an attempt to catch Hall stealing, which allowed Brayden Evans to score from third with ease. 7-5 Scots after five. 

Frank Derner and Zach Devries would each hit two-run bombs in the sixth inning, bringing in Colin Dunworth on the first and Det Dettwiller on the second to put Maryville up 11-5. Huntingdon added a run in the inning on a hard hit double through the right side, 11-6 after six. 

They would hit another double in the seventh that scored one more, narrowing the lead ever so slowly. 11-7. 

Zach Devires hit his second two-run homer of the game in the top of the eighth, bringing home Det Dettwiller again and putting the team up 13-7. The Scots loaded the bases and walked a runner home in the bottom half of the inning, giving the Hawks another one-run inning. It was 13-8 after eight. 

Ashton Whiteaker hit a sac-fly to right field, bringing home Reece Jordan for an insurance run in the ninth. 

Huntingdon would look to make things interesting, scoring twice in the bottom of the ninth and threatening to add more, but couldn't overcome the deficit. Scots win.

Game Two

Reece Jordan once again opened the scoring for the Scots in the game, being brought home on a Daniel Montaña single. Colin Dunworth then scored on a fielder's choice to put MC up 2-0 after one. 

Frank Derner hit a solo home run over the wall in the third inning to increase the Scots' lead. Thanks to an error and a double, Huntington tied the game at three apiece after three. 

Neither team would break through the tie until the seventh inning, when Maryville would get three runs home. Reece Jordan reached home thanks to an error on the pitcher after Colin Dunworth bunted and advanced all the way to third on the error. Dunworth came home on a Frank Derner single through the left side. Whiteaker would score on a Zach Devries sac fly to right field, putting the Scots up 6-3. 

Five straight plays put runners on for Huntingdon in the bottom half of the inning, four of which were singles (the other was a fielder's choice). The Hawks plated two runs in the inning to get within one run, 6-5. 

Austin Suttle would come in to pitch in that inning, getting the last two outs on a double play. He would then pitch the last two innings, giving up only one hit on eight batters faced, striking out two, including the final out of the game to complete the sweep. 

Some impressive stat lines throughout the series for the Scots:

Reece Jordan: 9/13, seven runs scored, two RBI, two stolen bases, and only one strikeout.
Colin Dunworth 8/14, seven runs scored, two RBI, four walks, two stolen bases, and only one strikeout. 
Frank Derner: Two home runs, four RBI, three runs scored, four walks.
Zach Devries: Two home runs, five RBI, three runs scored.
Matt Hall: Five hits, two RBI, three runs scored.
Ashton Whiteaker: Four runs scored, four RBI

The Scots are off midweek and will travel to Asbury on Friday and Saturday for a three-game conference series. 

With the wins, Maryville improves to 18-8 overall and 5-1 in conference play, tied for first with LaGrange. Huntingdon falls to 16-9 and 5-4 in the CCS.