Dogs Cant Get Bats Going Against Rosman
Murphy Bulldogs, Murphy High, Sports, Team FYN Sports April 29, 2019
The Murphy Bulldogs went up against the Rosman Tigers on Thursday at home, and were not ever really able to get any offense going, as they lost 11-0 to Rosman, the top team in the SMC.
Thursday evening game was between the 2 best teams in the Smokey Mountain Conference, and unfortunately the Dogs were just caught on an off night in their biggest regular season game of the year. Rosman got the offense rolling in the 1st inning, as they scored on a wild pitch, taking an early lead. It was all down hill from there for the Dogs as Rosman wound up pouring it on in the 5th inning, scoring 6 and sending the Dogs home early as the mercy rule took effect.
Payton McCraken and Joe Swain were pretty much the only bright spots in the Murphy offense as they both collected 2 hits a piece. Errors were the story of the day on defense for the Dogs as they got decent innings out of Josh Ott who started the day on the mound, but its hard to keep a team like Rosman from putting up runs when you have 5 self inflicted errors.
The Dogs have another conferece home game against Andrews on Monday, April 29th.
Murphy Baseball Opens Conference Play With a W
Murphy High, Sports March 14, 2019
The Dogs bats were hot on Tuesday as they piled on the runs against conference foe Hiwassee Dam. They racked up 17 runs on 14 total hits and won the game by mercy rule, 17-1.
Dawson Hensley started the game on the mound and was flashing some filthy stuff, striking out seven and only allowing one run on three hits through the 3 innings he pitched. Hensley’s day didn’t end on the mound however as he drove in 4 runs on 3 hits, coming up a double short of the cycle, hitting a triple in the second, a single in the third, and a home run in the fourth. 
In the bottom of the fourth, head coach Adam Clonts gave Elijah Davis the opportunity to see his first Varsity at bat and he made the most of it with a sacrifice fly out to left center, scoring Briggs Cornwell and allowing Eli’s name to be etched in the scorebooks for the first time.
Lucas Barolet, Briggs Cornwell, Dawson Hensley, Jesse Kephart, and Kellen Rumfelt all had multiple hit outings for the Bulldogs. The Dogs are set to play another conference game against Robbinsville on Friday March 15th, weather permitting.
Hensley Powers Dogs Past Andrews
Murphy High, Sports, Team FYN Sports April 17, 2019
Dawson Hensely was the life of the party during Mondays game against the Andrews Wildcats, as he drove in 6 runs on 3 hits to lead the Bulldogs to a 16-3 victory over conference foe Andrews.
Hensely got things started for the Bulldogs in the first when he doubled and drove in the first run of the game. Hensley kept it going with another double in the fourth and a grand slam in the fifth. In the sixth inning, Briggs Cornwell, Payton McCraken, Caleb Allen and Elijah Davis all drove in runs for the Dogs.
Kellen Rumfelt picked up the victory in the pitchers mound, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs over 3 innings, while fanning 8 and walking 1. He came on in relief for Josh Ott, who started the game for Murphy and gave up 1 run on 0 hits and struck out 5.
The Dogs bats were hot, racking up a total of 15 hits, with Cornwell, Hensley, Ott, and McCraken all having multiple hits for the Dogs.
Murphy Baseball Narrowly Escapes Hayesville, Thumps Cherokee
Murphy High, Sports, Team FYN Sports March 22, 2019
The 2019 Murphy Baseball team overcame an 8-1 deficit against the Hayesville Yellow Jackets on Tuesday night with the help of Briggs Cornwell’s hot bat; Then turn around and mercy rule the Cherokee Braves on Thursday to move to 3-0 in SMC play.
This past Tuesday evening at Konehete park, the Bulldogs found themselves in a 8-1 hole. The Bulldogs stayed patient in the fourth, scoring 4 runs after a couple walks and a Briggs Cornwell 2 RBI double to right.
Heading into the bottom of the 5th the Dogs still found themselves down by a single run, 8-7. With 2 quick outs already in the inning, Lukas Barolet saw his chance on a passed ball and scored from 3rd on a wild pitch tying the game up and giving the Dogs a chance for a 2 out rally with Cornwell back up to the plate after a Dawson Hensley walk. Cornwell took advantage of the opportunity with ducks on the pond, singling up the middle and driving in the go ahead run and allowing Kellen Rumfelt to advance to third and score on a wild pitch giving the Bulldogs a 10-8 lead heading into the 6th. 
A game as exciting as this one had to end with a little flare and it certainly did, as Hayesville’s Connor Bradley hit a deep triple to right field that scored Hunter Baldwin and cut the Bulldogs lead to 1 in the final inning of play. After Hayesville’s coach Jeff Vardo saw Murphy pitcher Lukas Barolet throw a few balls to Jeremy Stewart he played an agressive hand and sent Bradley home from 3rd on a passed ball, only for the Dogs to make an outstanding play at the plate and record the 2nd out of the inning. Barolet composed himself on the mound and struck out the final batter of the game, adding another W to the Dogs win column and sending the Yellow Jackets home with a 1-3 record.
After the nail biter on Tuesday, Murphy gave their fans a break in the following game against Cherokee, led by Caleb Allens 4 for 4 day. The Bulldogs had 4 players with multiple hits in the 16-1 blowout over the Braves, including Braden Rumfelt, Payton McCraken, Briggs Cornwell and Caleb Allen. The onslaught was sparked by Cornwells 1st inning 2 run homerun. Kellen Rumfelt was on the mound for the Dogs and allowed 2 hits and 1 run through 4 innings while fanning 2 Cherokee hitters.
The Bulldogs are 3-1 on the year with the only blemish on their record coming from their opener against Franklin.
Bulldogs Drop Conference Game Against Hayesville
Murphy High, Sports, Team FYN Sports April 21, 2019
Despite going up 2-0 in the first inning, the Dogs cant hold onto the lead and drop a conference game at Hayesville on Thursday.
Murphy started out the game just as they planned, hopping on the board first thanks to a 2 run Caleb Allen single. Unfortunately, after Allens 2 RBI single runs were hard to come by for the Dogs.
Hayesville jumped on top for good in the fourth as they scored 4 runs on a couple of singles from Elijah Deese and Hunter Baldwin. Deese singled on a hitters 3-1 count and Baldwin roped one on the first pitch he saw during his at bat. Dwain Cook led the Jackets on the mound, lasting 6 and 2/3rds innings while allowing 8 hits and 3 runs while striking out 10.
Josh Ott led things off for the Bulldogs on the mound, going three innings and allowing 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 4 and giving out 0 free passes. Dawson Hensley threw 3 innings in relief.
Despite the loss, Murphy collected 9 hits on the day with Allen, Briggs Cornwell, and Hensley all having multiple hits for the Bulldogs.
The Dogs are 2nd in the Smokey Mountain Conference behind the Rosman Tigers.
Dogs fall to Robbinsville 7-3
Murphy Bulldogs, Team FYN Sports April 6, 2019
Despite holding the Black Knights to only 4 hits on the day, the Dogs could not overcome the early deficit and suffered their first conference loss on the 25th.
Murphy jumped on the board in the first inning, as Briggs Cornwell doubled on a 1-0 count and scored 1 run, but their lead was short lived as the Knights scored 5 runs in the second inning.
Hunter Curtis started the day on the mound and it was a bit of a rocky one, as he gave up 7 runs n 4 hits over 2 innings while striking out 4. Kellen Rumfelt was brought on in relief and threw some quality innings, fanning 7 and walking 5 while not allowing a hit or run. Rumfelt also had a nice day at the plate as he went 2-3 with a triple and crossed the plate twice.
Dawson Hensley also tried to spark some offense for the Dogs as he went 2-4 with a double.
Despite the Dogs not playing their best ball, they’re still clawing at the top of the SMC leaderboard fighting with Rosman for that top spot.
Briggs Cornwell, Kellen Rumfelt, Dawson Hensley and Payton McCraken are all in the top 10 in the SMC in batting average and all are hitting over .460. Cornwell, Hensley and Rumfelt are also all in the top 10 in RBIs in the SMC, with Briggs Cornwell being in first with 19.
Hot Bats Lead Dogs Past Blue Ridge
Murphy High, Sports, Team FYN Sports April 18, 2019
The Murphy Bulldogs racked up 12 hits as they mercy ruled the Blue Ridge Early College on Tuesday.
Briggs Cornwell was hitting the cover off of the baseball as he drove in four on three hits in the 14-3 route. Cornwell drove in runs on a double in the first and third, as the Early College pitchers could not slow him down. He sparked things for the Dogs in the first, driving in 3 when he slapped a double to left field.
In the second, it was more of the same from the Bulldogs as they tacked on 5 more runs thanks to a triple by Payton McCraken, a single by Dawson Hensley and an error on a ball that Joe Swain poked into play. Hunter Curtis led the Dogs on the pitchers mound, allowing 3 hits and 3 runs over 5 innings and striking out 10.
McCraken, Hensley and Cornwell all had multiple hits for the Dogs.
Murphy Baseball Pounds Blue Ridge Early College 25-4
Murphy High, Sports, Team FYN Sports March 28, 2019
Despite Blue Ridge Early College scoring 4 runs in the 5th inning, the dogs handled things comfortably at home on Tuesday, bringing home the 25-4 victory.
Briggs Cornwell started things off as he usually does in the first inning, singling and scoring Kellen Rumfelt, sparking the onslaught of offense for Murphy. In the second inning, the Dogs scored 11 runs thanks to Joe Swain, Hunter Curtis, Kellen Rumfelt, Braden Rumfelt, Caleb Allen and Peyton McCraken all driving in runs in the inning. The dogs racked up 19 hits on the day with multiple players have multiple hits, including Braden and Kellen Rumfelt, Joe Swain, Caleb Allen and Briggs Cornwell. Kellen Rumfelt was a force, going 4-5 at the plate, singling in the 1st, doubling and singling in the 2nd and singling in the fourth.
Hunter Curtis toed the rubber for the Dogs, allowing one hit and no runs and no walks, while fanning 5.
Murphy Baseball Picks Up Another Conference Win
Murphy High, Sports, Team FYN Sports March 28, 2019
In Swain County on Friday the 22nd, the Dogs found themselves down again late in the game and just like last weeks game against Hayesville, they found a way to will themselves to a victory.
Josh Ott led things off for the Bulldogs on the mound and got through 5 and 2/3rds while striking out 5 Maroon Devils. The 6th inning is where things got rocky for the Bulldogs as they blew a 3-1 lead allowing Swain to score 3 runs.
That Swain lead didnt last long however as Dawson Hensley doubled on a line drive to center that brought home the tying run and also brought up slugger Briggs Cornwell, who had some late inning heroics last week when the dogs found themselves in a 8-1 hole against conference foe Hayesville. After 2 quick strikes on Cornwell he shortened up and poked one to right field, advancing to 2nd and scoring the game winning run. In the bottom of the seventh Dawson Hensley came out and pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out one and securing the victory for the bulldogs.
Murphy chalked up 6 hits in their conference win and Peyton McCraken and Dawson Hensley both had 2 hits a piece. Murphy advances to 4-1 on the year and 3-0 in Smokey Mountain Conference play.