LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. – Maryville assured itself of no worse than a .500 Collegiate Conference of the South record after the Scots swept Covenant on Tuesday afternoon.
Maryville rolled 9-1 in the opener and 10-2 in the nightcap. The second game was shortened to five innings by the run rule.
The Scots have won nine of their last 10, improving to 16-16 overall. In league play, Maryville is 8-4 and in fourth place, with doubleheaders remaining against two of the league's top three teams in Belhaven (Saturday in Mississippi) and Piedmont (home on April 18 for Senior Day).
The visitors belted 26 hits over the 12 innings to support their 19 runs scored. And Maryville starting pitchers
Jacey Goetzinger and
Paige Dickinson delivered complete-game victories in the circle. It is the first time Maryville has delivered back-to-back complete games in a doubleheader all season.
Goetzinger (5-2) went 7 innings for her longest collegiate outing to date. The first-year pitcher from Christina in Rutherford County scattered one run on five hits, with three walks and one strikeout. Dickinson (5-3) pitched her second straight complete game, this time going 5 innings and allowing just two runs on eight hits. She walked two and struck out three.
Errorless Ball Backs Two Fine Outings
"Jacey and Paige gave us great outings in the circle," Maryville head coach
Jill Moore said. "They scattered a few hits but got some big outs when they needed them. Our defense was lights-out today, our pitchers gave them a lot of ground balls and we made the plays behind them."
Maryville played errorless ball in a doubleheader for the first time all season.
Offensively, Dickinson and
Brecca Williams led the way for Maryville. Williams was a combined 8-for-9 at the plate with three runs scored and four RBIs. She delivered three doubles and improved her numbers to a .598 batting average, .814 slugging percentage and .658 on-base percentage. Her OPS stands at 1.472.
The four-hit games were a season-high for Williams and the second and third four-hit games of her career. She also had that famous 5-for-7 onslaught in 13 innings against Belhaven in last year's CCS tournament. Her 27 RBIs are a career high.
Dickinson finished the day 4-for-9 with a pair of runs scored, a pair of doubles and four RBIs. She leads the team with 37 RBIs, just five shy of her 2024 total when she finished one behind
Sara Koonce for the team lead.
Top of Order Punished Covenant Pitching
"Brecca and Paige were a lethal punch today at the plate," Moore said. "They set the table and drove in runners. It was great to have them both on base back-to-back."
Ashtyn Barga finished 3-for-7 with two runs scored and an RBI, while
Ryleigh Maples,
Emma Blankenship and
Sydney Dickinson all contributed two hits apiece. Blankenship,
Campbell White and
Jessica Harris all scored two runs apiece.
On Tuesday, Maryville scored two or more runs in six different innings. The Scots through 32 games have scored 194 runs, or 6.1 per game. Compare that to last year's 35-13 team, which scored 299 runs in 48 games for 6.2 per game.
Saturday's first game at No. 12-ranked Belhaven begins at noon Central time. The Blazers enter at 24-7 overall and 10-2 in the CCS.
"I'm proud of our team and how we've continued to mature and learn," Moore said. "We have a big weekend coming up, and we're going to prepare the rest of the week."
