The Skinny:
Sidwell earned a solid victory in a low-scoring affair with Maret highlighted by a stellar complete game performance from Sophomore starting pitcher Chase Plebani.

Synopsis:
The Quakers struck first once again in similar fashion to the Potomac game 2 days prior. Leadoff batter Nick Roman got the crowd going early by smashing a double over the left fielder's head on the second pitch of the game. After that it was the Quakers' patience that was their greatest weapon. Stern and Stevens both worked walks to load the bases with no outs, setting up an rbi walk from Matt McLaughlin. Then Chase Plebani, after falling behind in the count, poked an effective 2-strike curveball towards the left side. Sam Stevens, running from 2nd to 3rd, managed to avoid being struck by the ball and in the process, disrupted the 3rd baseman's route to make the play. By the time the shortstop fielded it, everyone was safe on what was recorded an infield single. Brett Perrin mustered an rbi fielder's choice to put the Quakers up 3 before Maret had even walked up to the plate.

With Sophomore Chase Plebani on the mound, this proved all the offense Sidwell needed. Plebani gave up only 3 hits over his 7 innings, striking out 7. He did walk 5, but no runners scored as a result of reaching on a walk. Maret's only run came in the bottom of the 6th on a towering solo homerun to centerfield. Plebani has been nearly unhittable this season, and now has a 0.68 era, with opposing hitters batting only .135 against him.

Not to be forgotten, Sidwell's defense was once again solid, making all its routine plays save one, but the lone error proved meaningless as Plebani worked out of the jam.

Analysis:
Playing at Maret's new turf field at Jellef Rec. Center, one might have expected a high-scoring affair. The right field fence lies only about 225 ft away from home plate, but features a very high net. Straightaway center field is around 300 ft away. Several fly balls hit to right field easily carried the fence, although they landed foul. But counteracting the shortness of the fence was the effect of turf in creating true bounces for infielders. Games played on turf fields typically feature few infield mistakes, leading to overall lower scoring games, as was the case today.

The key for the Quakers, much like against Potomac, was their patience in the first inning. While they were unable to chase Maret's starting pitcher, he threw a lot of pitches and was forced to leave after 5 innings. Sidwell's 6 hits put pressure on Maret, but did not directly lead to any runs. Sidwell has learned early on that not giving opponents free bases on walks and errors is crucial to winning games in the MAC. They won't be able to score 10 or more runs in every game by hitting .250 as a team (currently at .252), but with good pitching and stingy defense, Sidwell has the potential to win a lot of games.

Looking Ahead:
Sidwell is now 2-0 in the MAC with 2 wins against traditional top-half of the MAC teams. If they can beat Flint Hill on 4/12, they will really be in the driver's seat to win the MAC regular season title. Next up for the Quakers is a Tuesday tilt with St. James, whom Sidwell has had little trouble with recently. That being said, the Quakers need to make sure they stay focused, as every MAC game is important and nothing should be taken for granted. Sidwell then has an out-of-league contest with an unfamiliar opponent, Bishop Ireton, on Friday.