GREENSBORO, N.C. – Maycin Brown transformed her first career Southern Conference postseason contest into a personal highlight reel – especially on defense.
The sophomore third baseman sparkled in her postseason debut to help UNC Greensboro (UNCG) subdue feisty Mercer, 3-2, in a sweetheart of a softball semifinal contest Thursday at the UNCG Softball Stadium.
The Spartans (32-15 overall) advance to play Friday at 12:30 p.m. against Western Carolina or Chattanooga.
Mercer (23-22) had the tying run on base in each of the final three innings, causing serious nerve discomfort to Spartan supporters.
Fellow Spartan sophomore
Morgan Scott finished her 19th complete game with a flourish by striking out the side in the seventh inning. In earning her 18th win this season, Scott had with 12 strikeouts, her fifth double-digit performance this season.
In between a pair of dynamite defensive plays, Brown launched a game-tying solo home run in the fourth inning, a much-needed salvo after Mercer grabbed a 2-1 lead in the top of the inning. It took Brown five pitches to erase Mercer's lead.
UNCG senior centerfielder
Makenna Matthijs had three hits to lead the UNCG offense and raise her season average to .371. In extending her hitting streak to 13 games, Matthijs' short blooper down the leftfield line scored
Brooklynn Maxwell with what proved to be the winning run.
Maxwell singled with two outs and
Melanie Darges followed with a walk to set the stage for Matthijs. Darges gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second inning.
"It was exciting and awesome to be out there with my best friends," Brown said. "We trusted that Morgan would get us through this game and that our offense would work together to find runs to put on the board. It's been a fun time and I am ready to do more."
Doing more for Brown would be like driving the team bus for UNCG's next road trip or cooking a five-course meal for each of her teammates.
She did plenty against the Bears as every play mattered.
Brown's warm-up act was catching a foul ball against the fence to end a Mercer threat in the third inning. We mentioned her eighth homer of the season already, a 2-2 change-up that Brown demolished over the right centerfield fence.
Her grand finale was a web-gem to cherish.
It will forever be known as "The Spartan Toss."
With one out in the sixth and the tying run on third base, Mercer tried a suicide squeeze bunt attempt to tie the game. Despite a fast runner on third base, Brown denied the Bears using her cat-like quickness, alert thinking, and accurate arm.
Brown pounced on the bunt, catching it with her left hand and firing a one-handed strike with her right hand to
Delaney Cumbie, who applied the tag for the out. It was very Derek Jeter-esque from the 2001 playoffs against Oakland (youngsters may want to google that one).
"I knew she was going to bunt," Brown said nonchalantly. "I just trusted Delaney behind the plate to put a good tag on her and get out of the inning. It was awesome. We do a lot of squeeze plays before our practices and it was a lot of instincts and trusting my toss was going to be good and Delaney was going to make a good tag."
Scott did the rest as she struck out four of the final five batters she faced.
While the Spartans have gotten plenty of deserved attention for their offensive exploits, they have been strong defensively during this stretch of 14 wins in their last 15 games. Even though a fourth-inning error fueled Mercer's two-run fourth inning, the Spartans didn't get rattled and remained focused to move a step closer to their goal.
"We know we need to make plays on defense, and I thought we did that today," UNCG head coach
Janelle Breneman said. "We talked all week about and prepared for Mercer's short game and speed because that's their go-to. We knew they would try to use their short game. We had to be ready for the little stuff.
"Maycin was ready, and her jump was awesome. She is an athletic kid. She got it in and out of her glove with a perfect toss to Delaney, who was ready. It was a sweet play, and I can replay it. They had to be on top of their game and perfect to get a big out there. I thought we made some huge defensive stops and that was a great play to stop their momentum."
