Memphis, Tenn. – The Maryville baseball team continued its early season offensive explosion as the Saints pounded out 16 hits to defeat Christian Brothers University 9-6 Wednesday afternoon in Memphis, Tenn.
Danny Covert got Maryville going in the first inning with the Saints' seventh double of the series and scored on a
Cody Klotz single to right field to stake Maryville to an early 1-0 advantage.
Connor Markell opened the top of the second inning with a single to left field and moved to second base on a
Garrett Taylor full-count single to left center. After a
Troy Payton walk to load the bases,
Zack Ruckman slashed a double to score a pair and give Maryville a 3-0 lead.
The Bucs cut into the Saints lead in the bottom of the third, but Maryville got the run back in the fourth as the Saints took advantage of three CBU fielding errors to take a 4-1 lead.
CBU managed to tie the contest at 4-4 after a three-run outburst in the home half of the fifth inning, but the Saints came right back to re-take the lead in the top of the sixth as #Camdon Mercier# opened the frame by taking first on a Buc's error and then Taylor and Payton hit back-to-back doubles to give Maryville a 6-4 lead. The Saints added two more runs in the inning as Covert drilled a triple down the right field line to score Payton, and then came home on a Klotz single to give Maryville an 8-4 advantage.
The Bucs cut into the Maryville lead in the home half of the seventh by scoring a pair of runs and loaded the bases with one out, but
Alec Harris came in for the Saints and slammed the door on the CBU uprising with a pair of strikeouts to keep Maryville ahead 8-6. The Saints added an insurance run in the ninth to extend their winning streak to six games and improve to 8-5 on the season.
Justin Laffleur earned the win in relief as he pitched 1.1 innings and struck out a pair of CBU batters. Covert led the Saints attack by going 3-for-5 with a run batted in and he scored three times. Taylor also went 3-for-5 on the afternoon while scoring two runs and Klotz joined the hit parade with three hits and a pair of RBI's.
The Saints open up Great Lakes Valley Conference action on Saturday, March 11, as Maryville takes on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in a four-game set with a double-header beginning at noon.
