Maryville College right-hander Seth Debity pitched a complete game gem to enable the Scots diamondmen to defeat Piedmont College 3-0 in their USA South opener in Demorest, Georgia on Friday evening.

Debity, a senior from Madisonville, Tennessee, allowed only two hits while striking out a career-high 11 Lion hitters.

MC and Piedmont battled through a scoreless six innings before the Scots pushed the first run across the plate. In the top of the seventh inning, Chris Ervin walked and was sacrificed to second by Dan Oaklief. With two outs, Robbie Young delivered a pinch-hit double to score Ervin.

While Debity was dealing on the mound, Maryville tacked on a pair of insurance runs(both unearned) in the eighth inning. Logan Jenkins reached first base on a Lion miscue. Zack Blonder stroked a two out single. Ervin promptly singled driving in Jenkins. Blonder later scored the Scots third run of the game after an error by the Piedmont catcher.

Debity stepped on the mound in the ninth seeking a complete game shutout. He recorded a strikeout, a pop up, and induced a groundball to shortstop to help MC begin the season 1-0 in league play and advance the Scots win streak to nine consecutive games.

Maryville (9-2, 1-0 USA South) tallied three runs on six hits. Logan Jenkins was 1-for-4 with a run scored. Robbie Young was 1-for-1 with the game-winning RBI. Chris Ervin, the Scots designated hitter, finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Senior first baseman Zack Blonder went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Debity advances his record this season to 3-1 with 27.1 innings of work. He has faced 101 batters, striking out 25. He presently sports a 1.32 ERA while opponents are only hitting .188 against him.

Maryville will step on Piedmont's Loudermilk Field on Saturday for another USA South battle with the Lions. First-pitch is slated for 3:00 in Demorest, Georgia.