Play Picks up as the Sun Goes Down in Sylva

By Brandon Stephens

(Sylva) – – The Murphy Bulldogs Baseball team (1-0) is on a good start to the 2022 season with a 9-to-3 win over Smoky Mountain High’s Mustangs (1-1) Friday night in Sylva.  Both teams took a few swings, had a strike out, and left a man on base to close out the first inning.  During the second inning the bats and runners heated up to close out play with Murphy leading 4-to-3.  Murphy’s Center Fielder John Ledford sparked all scoring during the inning with a single that led to 2 RBIs, running Pitcher Isaac Cole and Left Fielder Isaiah Temple.  Braden Rumfelt (BR) made it to base on a fielders choice while Smoky Mountain chose to throw Will Carringer out at third, Ty Laney raced for home to score the last run of the inning.

Murphy Short-Stop Will Carringer Fields the ball as Smoky Mountain’s Brylen Conlin slides to second

There are no lights at Smoky Mountain, so it was up to Mother Nature to keep the game going.  As the sun set behind Webster and left night shade and shadows on the field, Murphy seemed to become more effective and efficient especially on defense.  Three Bulldog Pitchers (Isaac Cole, Cole Laney, and Briggs Cornwell) recorded at least 11 strike outs to hold the Mustangs to three runs while throwing only 55 pitches collectively.  Smoky Mountain had no luck loading the bases or getting any hits during the last three innings, pitched in transition from Cole Laney to Briggs Cornwell.  Cornwell pitched in relative darkness and appeared to have some fun on the mound.

Murphy First Baseman/Pitcher Briggs Cornwell on the mound at Smoky Mountain High

Back to Murphy Offense in the Fifth Inning, Temple had a stand-up double that ran in Catcher Joe Swain.  When the sun had finally set, Murphy recorded four runs in the 7^th Inning.  While running on any hit with two men out, BR’s first base hit sent the final runs to the plate.  Murphy held Smoky Mountain to 3 runs on 5 hits.  The Bulldogs had 9 runs and 10 hits.

Murphy met its goals set by Head Coach Adam Clonts.  “Not bad at all.  Great first game.  Three pitchers, Isaac Cole, Cole Laney, and Briggs Cornwell came in all three.  We were wanting to keep them at 60 pitches today.  The first two (Isaac Cole and Cole Laney) threw around 15 (each).  Briggs came in and threw around 25.  We played pretty good defense in the field.  We had good approach at the plate.  We did well overall for a first game,” Coach Clonts stated after the win over Smoky Mountain.  Our post-game interview with Coach Clonts can be heard at the link in this article.

The next game for Murphy will be on the road Tuesday (March 8, 2022) at Union County High (Georgia).

Friday night’s game was the second game for Smoky Mountain.  Thursday night the Mustangs defeated Swain County’s Maroon Devils 12-to-9 to open the season with a win.

Happy Birthday

Celebrations did not end with the Bulldogs winning its first game of the season.  Kellen and BR had their Birthday celebration too.  The Rumfelt twins are very talented in sports, academics, and performing arts.  BR sings the National Anthem like no other, and tonight Kellen had the bling.  A Happy Birthday wish and word with the Rumfelt boys can be seen at the link in this article. Happy Birthday Boys!

Picture Credit to BT Douthit.  Videos from Team FYN Sports Interviews on site – Brandon Stephens