LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The Covenant baseball team salvaged the third and final game of a three-game conference series on Saturday afternoon with an 11-6 win over Maryville College. Maryville had taken the first two games of the series, but the Scots would not let the visitors complete the sweep.
With the win, Covenant moves back over .500 at 14-13 overall and 5-7 in league play. Maryville drops to 13-15 on the season and 2-4 in conference games.
Covenant took advantage of four walks and two hit batters issued by Maryville starting pitcher Garrett McDaniel in the first inning to score six runs. With one out, James Rollins started a streak of nine straight batters to reach base as he singled to left field. The hit for Rollins extended his hitting streak to 15 games. The Scots had just one other hit in the inning, a Jonathan Carter infield single, but neither one produced an RBI. Still, Covenant led 6-0 after one inning.
In the second inning, the Scots extended their lead to 10-0. Ben Chambers singled with one out and that was followed by back-to-back walks to Chris Rollins and Carter. Kurt Wiles then took a 3-2 pitch from Maryville reliever Taylor Denton and deposited just over the right field fence for a grand slam. For Wiles, it is his first homer of the season.
Maryville made things interesting in the third inning as Blake Gentry and Mikee Moore each had run-scoring hits to make it a 10-4 game. The visitors added another run in the fourth inning on a Cory Kopec sacrifice fly to make it 10-5.
The Covenant pitching held together, however, to secure the win. Starter Eddie Jamerson lasted just three innings after allowing four earned runs, but was picked up by reliever Alec Mitchell (2-0) who was credited with the win. Mitchell went 3.1 innings giving up one run on three hits. Brian Simons and Demarius Johnson combined to throw 2.2 innings of scoreless ball.
Chambers, Chris Rollins, and Carter each recorded two hits on the afternoon. Wiles went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks to go along with five RBIs. Sterling Witt and James Rollins added one hit apiece. Every starter had either an RBI or a run scored.
McDaniel (1-4) gets the loss for Maryville as he went less than an inning while surrendering six runs, though only three were earned, on two hits. Maryville then used six different relievers to finish out the game.
Covenant will return to action on Wednesday on the road at Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tenn. Game time is set for 4 p.m. The Scots will return to Chattanooga on Friday to play Emory University at AT&T Field at 4 p.m.
