LYNCHBURG, Va. - A historic season for Maryville baseball came to an end against Emory in the Lynchburg regional semifinal, falling 6-3.
A tight game through the sixth inning, both teams struggled to plate runs, with the score sitting at 2-1 after six. The long run for the Scots through those innings came in the top of the sixth when Matt Hall singled, stole second, advanced to third on a sac bunt by Reece Jordan, and came home on a Jacob Johnston ground out.
Emory opened up the scoring in the bottom of the seventh, getting four runs across to take a commanding 6-1 lead.
Maryville would counter with two runs scored in the eighth. Mat Hall would get on base again, this time after being hit by a pitch. He would advance to second on a Reece Jordan single to right field, and then both would advance to scoring position on a Jacob Johnston single to right center. Frank Derner would bring home Hall and Jordan on a hard-hit single up the middle, bringing the tally to 6-3 after eight.
The Scots needed three runs to extend their season, but weren't able to do it, going three-up three-down in the top of the ninth to end the game.
Starting pitcher, Freshman Caleb Jinks, had another stellar outing, going six innings, allowing just one earned run, and getting two strikeouts. Jinks pitched his fifth game this season without allowing a walk and ended the season with the fewest walked batters in the conference.
Head Coach Clint Helton now owns the best winning percentage in Scots Baseball History, sitting at 134-87 after six seasons, good for a .606 win percentage.
This season for the Scots was one for the history books for many reasons. Take a look below for all of the incredible accolades and accomplishments this team has achieved.
Highest winning percentage in team history - .702
Most wins in team history - 33
Second-ever NCAA Tournament victory
Third-ever NCAA Tournament appearance
Back-to-back 30-win seasons
Back-to-back regular season championships
Back-to-back conference Coach of the Year
Conference Player of the Year
Led the conference in fielding percentage at .967
Conference Leaders
Batting
Colin Dunworth led the league in slugging percentage at .575, second in home runs with 7, and third in hits and runs scored with 62 and 46.
Reece Jordan was first in walks with 36, second in steals with 24, and second in hits with 66.
Ashton Whiteaker was first in home runs with 8 and second in RBIs with 40.
Zach Devries was second in walks with 34 (behind Jordan)
Pitching
Kyle Timko and Nic Mirabella were second and third in innings pitched with 77.2 and 75.1. Mirabella was second in strikeouts with 77. Mirabella was first in amount of looking strikeouts with 24, while Kyle Timko was right behind in second with 23.
Caleb Jinks was first in fewest walks allowed with 10, and Nic Mirabella was tied for first in fewest home runs allowed with 1.
Fielding
Zach Devries ended the season with a 1.000 fielding percentage. Frank Derner had the most putouts with 404 (101 more than the next most). Ashton Whiteaker was third in putouts with 283. Reece Jordan led the league in assists with 141 and Brayden Evans was second with 122. Frank Derner and Reece Jordan were first and second in fielding double plays with 33 and 28. Ashton Whiteaker had the second most runners caught stealing with 13.
