MC Softball Team looks to finish season strong
The Maryville College Softball Team (18-16, 9-11 USAS) is 1-3 in the month of April. Maryville’s lone win ended an eight-game losing streak. On Saturday, April 1, the Lady Scots traveled to face the Salem College Spirts in a USA South Conference double-header. Trailing 1-0, Maryville cashed in seven runs in the top of the forth inning that would propel them to a 7-5 win over the Spirits.
In the top of the fourth, freshman Mercedez Strambler and Aly Snider both singled. With two runners on, sophomore Alexus Murray hit an RBI-double that scored Strambler. Then, sophomore Christen Torres hit a two-RBI-double, which put Maryville up 3-1. After a two-out Salem error, and a steal by freshman Ashton Hayden, senior Jenna Roberts stepped up to the plate and delivered.
A two-RBI-single put Maryville up 5-1. With Roberts on first base, junior Rachel Taylor delivered a RBI-double that scored Roberts. Then, freshman Morgan Brewer hit an RBI-single that scored Taylor, and the Lady Scots went into the home half of the fourth with a 7-1 lead. Salem would crack a three-run dinger in the bottom of the fourth inning, which cut Maryville’s lead to 7-4. Sophomore Casey Jolliff would only give up one run in the bottom of the seventh, and earned the save. The Lady Scots fell 8-0 in five innings, in the second game of the day.
The next day, April 2, Maryville traveled to Piedmont College for a USA South Conference double-header. The West Division Regular Season Champions defeated Maryville 1-0 in game one, on an RBI-single in the bottom of the fourth.
In the second game of the day, Piedmont would go into the fourth inning with a 2-0 lead before Morgan Brewer would hit an RBI-single that scored Roberts, and Maryville cut the deficit to one. In the top of the fifth inning, Strambler would score an unearned run off a wild throw on Freshman Christina White’s single to center, and the score was tied at 2-2. The Lady Lions would add two runs in the bottom of the fifth, and Piedmont led 4-2.
In the top of the sixth, a Taylor RBI-single scored Jenna Roberts from second, before Aly Snider’s sac-fly scored Taylor, and Maryville rallied to tie the game at 4-4. Piedmont brought a run across in the home half of the sixth inning, and led 5-4. In the top of the seventh inning, Strambler led off for Maryville and hit a solo blast to left-center, which tied the game 5-5.
However, in the bottom of the seventh, with a runner on second, a Piedmont RBI-single would defeat the Lady Scots in walk-off fashion.
With only two regular season games left, the Lady Scots will head into the USA South Conference Tournament as the sixth seed in the West Division. Their first round match-up will be against host and top-seed Piedmont College. First pitch for game-one is scheduled for Saturday, April 8, at 2:00 p.m., and game two at 4:00 p.m. If necessary, game three will be Sunday, April 9, at 1:00. Maryville needs to win two out of the three-game series to advance to the double-elimination, six-team tournament at Shuford Softball Complex in LaGrange, Georgia.