MARYVILLE – With
Brecca Williams, it is tough to know where to start.
Do you begin with the fact that she has started all 158 games in which she's played in a Maryville Scots uniform? How about that she has maintained at least a .500 batting average
this entire season? Or that she is officially a .400 career hitter?
In college?!?!
Let's focus on another remarkable milestone: 200 hits. Williams surpassed that career plateau during Saturday's doubleheader sweep of Wesleyan. The Scots won 12-2 and 10-0, both games shortened to five innings by the run rule. Williams combined to go 4-for-5 and now has 202 hits in 505 career at-bats.
Do that math, and that comes out to an even .400.
"Brecca is a pretty good ball player," Scots head coach
Jill Moore said with a smile. "We gave her a ball after the game and it's hard to put into words what she means, not only to this program, but to every team she's been on.
"That's a young woman who has played nearly every single game since her first year here, and I've moved her to different positions. I've moved her place in the lineup and she says, 'Yes, Coach; whatever I need to do, I'll do it.'"
Williams on this day batted second in the first game and leadoff in the second game. She finished with four of Maryville's 16 hits for the day and scored four of the team's 22 runs.
"You don't get to coach very many players as special as
Brecca Williams," Moore said. "We gave her a nice moment today after the game, and no one is more deserving than her."
Dickinson Times Two
Maryville's slugging sister combo of Paige and
Sydney Dickinson had been threatening to homer in the same game, and it finally happened during Saturday's opener.
Paige went deep with a three-run shot in the third inning that made it 11-2 Scots. She missed a grand slam when
Catie Zani scored on a wild pitch just one pitch earlier. Sydney followed in the fourth inning with a solo pinch home run, her third round-tripper of the season – all in the last five games.
After that hit, Sydney had her average up to a season-high .233. Paige leads the team with four home runs and 33 RBIs after belting a pair of long balls over the weekend.
"Paige and Syd are hitting their stride really nicely right now when we need it, especially when we know we're going to have to put up quite a few runs," Moore said. "To get 6 and 15 going at the same time – they're going to be tough outs and it's nice to get those balls to leave the park."
Scots Have Won Seven of Eight
Maryville's pitching was solid Saturday.
Jacey Goetzinger hurled four innings in Game 1 for her fourth victory, with
Tia Stewart closing it out with a scoreless frame.
Paige Dickinson went the route for a five-inning shutout in Game 2 to also earn her fourth victory.
"We did exactly what we needed to do," Moore said. "We know our backs are up against the wall a little bit, so we stuck to our plan. We scored enough runs to be able to push the game through, but our pitching staff was unbelievable today. Paige's start, a shutout – we haven't thrown a shutout in a while – so it was a big pick-me-up for our team for her to go out and be lights-out today.
"Jayce gave us a great start, and Tia came back with some good stuff to end it. I was happy with how our pitching staff bounced back today."
The Scots have won seven of their last eight games and stand 14-16 overall. It is the closest Maryville has been to .500 since opening the season 1-7. MC is 6-4 in the Collegiate Conference of the South heading into Tuesday's important doubleheader at Covenant (9-21, 0-8 CCS). Start time is 3 p.m. on Lookout Mountain.
Maryville still has games against top-of-the-conference teams Belhaven (23-7, 10-2 CCS) next Saturday and Piedmont (21-11, 9-1 CCS) on April 18 for Senior Day.
"We've got to take care of business," Moore said. "We know what we need to do, we know what we're up against, so we're going to show up, we're going to play our game and get back after it."
