Swain County Downs Murphy In Game One, Game Two On Thursday For All The Marbles

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Flip Watson Field- The Swain County Maroon Devils got the best of the Murphy Bulldogs last night, as they took advantage of five Bulldog errors on their way to an 8-4 victory.

Gabe Lillard was on the mound for the Maroon Devils and he showed off his best stuff, striking out 7 Murphy batters through 6 innings and only allowing 1 run on 9 hits. Ronnie Griggs came on in relief of Lillard and slammed the door on the Bulldogs, as he pitched a near-perfect bottom of the seventh to end the game.

Lillard helped himself out at the plate, going 2-3 with 3 RBIs and a Triple. Aiden Southards also had multiple hits on the evening as the Sophomore went 2-4 with the bat in his hands.

Even though the Southpaw didn’t allow a single earned run, Cole Laney took the loss for the Bulldogs. He allowed just 2 hits through five innings and struck out 7 Swain County batters. Four unearned runs came across the plate thanks to 5 Bulldog errors.

 

The Maroon Devils win didn’t just improve their standing in the SMC, they also helped out the boys from Clay County as Hayesville took sole possession of first place in the conference thanks to the Bulldogs loss.

As far as the Maroon Devils and Bulldogs are concerned, however, Thursday’s rematch will have a lot on the line. The winner of Thursday’s game two will move into second place in the Smoky Mountain Conference Standings, with the Bulldogs having a possibility of moving into a tie for first depending on how the Robbinsville-Hayesville series goes. (Swain lost both games vs Hayesville, therefore Hayesville owns the tiebreaker no matter what.)

If Murphy defeats Swain on Thursday and Robbinsville takes one of their two games vs Hayesville, then the Dogs and Jackets will be tied for first.

 

Robert Turner Shines As Murphy Completes 7th Inning Comeback To Knockoff Hayesville

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Hayesville, NC- The two top teams in the Smoky Mountain Conference took to the diamond last night as Hayesville hosted Murphy in game one of the conference rivals’ two-game series.

Braxton Cherry started the game for the Yellow Jackets, and the ace had a great outing on the mound. The lefty last 6 innings while allowing just 2 runs on five hits and striking out 7.

Cole Laney toed the rubber for the Dogs, allowing 4 runs (0 Earned Runs) on three hits over five innings while striking out 8 Hayesville batters. Robert Turner came on in relief and picked up the win for the Bulldogs as he threw two innings of perfect baseball, allowing 0 runs on 0 hits while striking out 3.

Turner was also the leading force at the plate for the Bulldogs as he went 4-4 on the evening, including a double and 2 RBIs.

 

Recap:

Hayesville jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning as they plated three runs due in part to Dakota Matheson’s RBI triple. The Jackets would tack on one more run in the bottom of the fifth inning and all things were coming up Hayesville as they headed into the final inning with a 4-1 lead over the Bulldogs.

Zack Skogen led off the top of the seventh inning with a single to left field which gave the Bulldogs a sign of life. Mason Thrasher then drew a walk which brought former Hayesville Yellow Jacket Mason Cook to the plate and Cook wasted no time with the bat in his hands as he was able to line-drive a single to left field and make it a two-run ballgame.

With the pressure mounting, freshman Robert Turner stepped up to the plate for the Dogs with two runners on and one out in the inning. After quickly getting ahead in the count 2-0, Turner centered up a fastball to center field that scored both base runners and tied the game at 4 runs a piece.

After a Cole Laney single, Turner was now on third base as the potential game-winning run as Isaac Cole stepped into the box. Isaac Cole seized the opportunity with a sac-fly to center field that allowed the Bulldogs to take the lead, 5-4.

Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning the Bulldogs fate relied on freshman Robert Turner once again, as the righty took the mound needing only three outs to come away with a victory.

Turner slammed the door shut on the Jackets in the final half-inning, setting Hayesville down in order thanks to two strikeouts and a flyout.

 

 

Bulldogs Advance to Second Round After Hard Fought Win

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Photo courtesy of BT Douthit

 

The 11 seeded Murphy Bulldogs baseball team advanced to the second round of the NCHSAA 1A State Playoffs after a hard fought 13-10 victory on the road against Starmount.

A back and forth game from start to finish, the Bulldogs headed into the final inning down 9-7. Joe Swain led off the top of the seventh with a solo shot to left field, making it a 9-8 ballgame. Payton McCracken then drove in Braden Rumfelt to tie things up at 9 all. The tie didn’t last long however, as Senior Jesse Kephart busted the game wide open with a 2 run double.

The Dogs wound up scoring 6 runs in the final inning and beating Starmount 13-10.

Briggs Cornwell started the game on the mound for Murphy, lasting 4 and 2/3rds innings, allowing 6 hits and 7 runs while striking out 8.

Dawson Hensley was credited with the W for the Dogs, pitching 1 and 2/3rds, allowing 1 hit and 3 runs while striking out 2. Cole Laney recorded the last 2 outs on the mound for the Dogs, earning him the save.

Up next for Murphy is Uwharrie Charter Academy out of Asheboro, North Carolina. Uwharrie is the number 3 seed, and the third ranked team in the state according to MaxPreps. The Eagles are were 11-1 in the regular season, and are coming off of an 11-0 shutout victory over Chatham Charter in the first round. Stay tuned to Fetch Your News for our second round playoff preview featuring Murphy and Uwharrie.

 

Murphy Baseball 1st Round Playoff Preview

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Photo credit- BT Douthit

 

The Murphy Bulldogs finished the regular season at 12-2 overall, with their only 2 losses on the year coming to conference foe Hayesville. The Bulldogs drew the number 11 seed in the random draw for the playoffs this year, meaning they will be on the road for basically the entire playoffs.

In the first round, Murphy will be headed to Boonville, North Carolina to face the number 6 seed Starmount. Starmount finished the year 12-2, and 2nd in the Mountain Valley Conference.

According to MaxPreps rankings, the Bulldogs are the better team. Murphy is ranked 8th in 1A, while Starmount is ranked 11th. However, this is definitely not the first round matchup the Bulldogs had in mind after a phenomenal regular season.

Starmount

The Rams 2 losses on the year came against the number 1 ranked team in 2A, the West Wilkes Black Hawks. The Rams are outscoring their opponents by 70 runs on the year, averaging nearly 9 runs per game while only giving up 3.9 runs per game.

From the information that I could gather being that they don’t have their stats listed on MaxPreps, Denver Stokes is the main man for Starmount. He leads the team in Batting Average, Hits and RBIs, while also leading the team in innings pitched. On the mound, Stokes has thrown 39 innings while boasting an ERA of 1.44.

It is likely that either Denver Stokes or Sterling Holbrook will be on the mound for the Rams against Murphy.

Murphy

The Dogs have had a great regular season, aside from the two bumps in the road against former number 1 team in the state Hayesville. The wire-to-wire game against Hayesville the second time out was an awesome game to watch, yet unfortunately for the Dogs it ended in a Hayesville walkoff win. Knowing that you have what it takes to go toe to toe with the top team in the state however has to boost your confidence. The usual in Dawson Hensely, Briggs Cornwell and Caleb Allen will have to have good days at the plate for the Dogs to get a W here against Starmount, and I don’t think that will be a problem. The only thing Murphy should be worried about is their bullpen. They have gotten some strong starts out of some younger guys in the past few games, but their bullpen can’t seem to shut the door on teams completely. They will need a very strong pitching performance all around to beat a high powered, offensive minded team like Starmount on Tuesday.

Prediction

Dogs- 9

Rams- 8

I think this one will be fairly high scoring and come all the way down to the wire. Murphy is going to be traveling and the Rams will have that homefield advantage, so we will see if Murphy can stay in it early. If they do, I think they come away with a 9-8 victory and advance to the second round. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Hensley or Cornwell go yard in this one.

Murphy vs Hayesville Game 2 Preview and Predictions

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Photo courtesy of BT Douthit

 

The Hayesville Yellow Jackets and the Murphy Bulldogs will be facing off on Tuesday, June 8th in what is the de-facto conference championship. Hayesville comes into the matchup undefeated (12-0) having beat Murphy (10-1) earlier in the season by a score of 10-1. Don’t be fooled by that score though as Murphy’s football team was coming off of a deep run into the playoffs, causing some players to miss some time.

 

The First Matchup:

Post-game article from the first game https://claync.fetchyournews.com/2021/05/15/yellow-jackets-take-a-bite-out-of-the-bulldogs/

The story of the first game was not just the Yellow Jacket offense but Jeremy Stewart on the mound for Hayesville. He absolutely shut down the Bulldogs and never really gave them an opportunity in the game. Isaac Cole started for Murphy and had a rough outing- walking three, giving up six hits, and six total runs with four of them being earned in 3.1 innings. Jesse Kephart came on in relief and pitched better, while giving up five hits he had no walks allowing only 1 earned run. The defense for Murphy was less than ideal in this game, giving up 6 unearned runs. Offensively Murphy only got two hits total. Hayesville got three hit games out of both Avery Leatherwood and Connor Bradley to pace the offense. All this led to Hayesvilles lopsided 10-1 win.

 

Round 2:

What/Who to watch for from Murphy:

Who is going to be on the mound for the Bulldogs is the biggest question heading into this one. Isaac Cole leads the Bulldogs in innings pitched with 17. Unfortunately, he does have the highest ERA on staff with a 4.12. Senior Dawson Hensley has a 2.63 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched with a staggering 26 strikeouts. Junior Briggs Cornwell has thrown 13 innings on the year and has yet to allow a single earned run for a 0.00 ERA while striking out 21. It will be curious to see who gets the start for the Dogs. If it were me, I would like to see Hensley, Cornwell and Kephart all get some innings. Playing Hayesville you need guys on the mound with experience and “Swagger” and those guys have it. Ride the hot hand. Offensively Hensley leads Murphy with three home runs on the year and has a .500 batting average. As well, Payton McCracken leads Murphy in batting average at .516 from the leadoff spot. I also think McCracken could be the ace in the hole that could come on a give you an inning or two on the mound, even though he hasn’t pitched this year. 

What/ Who to Watch for From Hayesville:

We know barring something crazy Hayesville will start Jeremy Stewart on the mound. He has an insane 0.39 ERA with 36 innings pitched on the year with 45 strikeouts. Offensively Hayesville is led by leadoff hitter senior Connor Bradley who leads all of 1A in home runs with 6 averaging 1 every other game. As well, sophomore catcher Avery Leatherwood has been solid behind the dish for Hayesville and is second on the team with a .467 batting average. 

 

Keys to the Game:

Murphy:

  • Murphy is oging to have to play a perfect game defensively if they want to come away with a W in this one. No matter who is on the mound, you have to back your guy up and make plays so that you can ensure you dont give up any free runs. 
  • Obviously giving up 10 runs is a big deal and you can argue about who should be on the mound all you want, but that won’t matter if the Dogs offense puts up another stinker offensively like they did the first time out. Dawson Hensley is the spark plug for the Bulldogs offensively, but Murphy is also going to need seniors Caleb Allen and Jesse Kephart to step up if they want to come away victorious. 

 

Hayesville:

  • Pitching performance: Can Hayesville get a similar performance from Stewart they got in game 1. If they do Hayesville will be really tough to beat.
  • Production outside of the top 3 in the lineup: Hayesville bats Bradley, Leatherwood, and Stewart 1-2-3 in the lineup and all are hitting above .400. Outside of that Hayesvilles offense has been timely this year but not super consistent. If they can get some big hits from their 4-9 it will bode well for the Yellow Jackets.

 

Predictions:

 

FYN Sports reporter Caleb Tallman- Hayesville 3 Murphy 1 

I think Hayesville will take this one with the final score being 3-1. Reason being is that I believe that Stewart is going to have his best stuff on the mound for Hayesville in this one, and the Dogs won’t be able to get much going offensively.  I’m also going to predict that Connor Bradley is going to add to his state leading home run total and put one over the fence to ignite Hayesville’s offense. 

 

FYN Sports Director Jake West- Murphy 6 Hayesville 5

Shocker, I’m picking Murphy and Caleb is picking Hayesville. Honestly though, the reason that I am picking Murphy to come away with a win in this one 6-5 is because of one kid- Dawson Hensely. For whatever reason, Hensley did not get to throw a single pitch for the Dogs in their first matchup with the Yellow Jackets. I think if he does get to step on the mound for this one, things will be completely different. The kid is a winner. With his refuse to lose attitude on the mound and some help from his buddies in McCracken and Allen, dont be surprised if Murphy pulls the upset. Don’t get me wrong, if the right guys aren’t put in the right spots kind of like we saw in the first matchup between these two teams, history will repeat itself and we will see Hayesville capture the SMC title. However, I believe that Murphy has learned from their mistakes and will walk away with a W. 

 

Murphy now ranked 5th in the state after 8th straight win

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Photo courtesy of BT Douthit

The Murphy Bulldogs baseball team has really found their groove since their game 3 loss to Hayesville. Since the 10-1 loss to the #3 ranked team in the state, the Bulldogs have bounced back and rattled off 8 straight victories.

Last night the Dogs had a double header against Andrews on the card. In the first game, Briggs Cornwell threw his 2nd no hitter in as many starts, pitching the full five innings while striking out 5 and allowing no hits and no runs. Payton McCracken and Isaac Cole drove in runs for the Dogs on their way to a 4-0 victory.

The second game of the double header was much of the same, with Murphy winning 12-4. Isaac Cole got the W on the mound, with Dawson Hensley coming on in relief. Payton McCracken, Joe Swain and Briggs Cornwell all had multiple hits for the Dogs.

Up next for Murphy is an away game against Cherokee on Friday, and then they’ll get their chance to avenge their lone loss of the season with a rematch against Hayesville next Tuesday.

Murphy Downs Robbinsville and Rosman on Back-to-Back nights

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Photo courtesy of June Hensley

 

The Murphy Bulldogs baseball team has had a full week already this week, traveling to and facing off against Robbinsville and Rosman on back-to-back nights. Their busy week won’t end today however, as they’ll see Rosman one more time on Friday to wrap up the Rosman-Murphy series for good, as Rosman is exiting the Smoky Mountain Conference next year.

A busy week, but a good week thus far for the Dogs, coming away with 10+ run victories in both matchups. They defeated Robbinsville 13-1, and Rosman 11-1, respectively.

In Murphy’s matchup against Robbinsville, Briggs Cornwell was on the mound for the Dogs and was nearly perfect. Cornwell tossed a 5 inning no-hitter against the Knights, with his only blemish being a walk that scored a run in the first inning. Cornwell also struck out 8 batters on the evening. Dawson Hensley, Joe Swain and Caleb Allen all had multiple hits for the Dogs.

Isaac Cole was on the mound for Murphy against Rosman. He surrendered 1 run on 2 hits over 5 innings while striking out 4. Hensley came on in relief and pitched the final 2 innings, striking out all 6 batters he faced. In the 11-1 win, Hensley and Briggs Cornwell hit back-to-back homers.

The Dogs will host Rosman tomorrow and look to extend thei

 

Dogs Back In Win Column After Beating Swain & HD

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Photo courtesy of BT Douthit

 

The Murphy Bulldogs dropped their first game of the season to conference rival Hayesville last Friday, 10-1. After that little bumb in the road however, the Dogs regrouped this week and picked up wins over Swain County and Hiwasse Dam.

In their game against Swain County, the Dogs and Maroon Devils were tied heading into the final inning. That all changed when Payton McCracken stepped up and ripped an RBI double on an 0-1 count that scored the go-ahead run. The Dogs would go on to win 9-7. Cole Laney got the win on the mound for the Dogs and Jesse Kephart was credited with the save. At the plate, Briggs Cornwell, Joe Swain, and Braden Rumfelt, all managed multiple hits for the Dogs. Cornwell and Swain both homered in the third inning.

In their bout against the Eagles of Hiwasse Dam, two Bulldogs pitchers combined for a 12-0 shut out victory. Briggs Cornwell got the start on the mound for the Dogs and threw 3 innings whole striking out 8 and allowing just 1 hit. Jesse Kephart came on in relief and struck out 4 while allowing just 1 hit. Offensively, Braden Rumfelt, Dawson Hensley, Caleb Allen, and Isaac Cole all managed multiple hits for the Dogs.

Up next for the Black and Gold is a rematch against Swain County on Friday.

Murphy Run Rules Cherokee Behind Hensley & McCracken’s Bats

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Photo courtesy of BT Douthit

 

Hunter Curtis was on the mound for the Dogs as they got their second game of the season underway against conference foe Cherokee. Curtis’ outing was all but perfect, pitching throwing all three innings of the shortened game while only allowing two hits and striking out four. The Dogs run ruled the Braves 15-0 in three innings.

The bats were hot all around for the Dogs. Preseason FYN Sports Player of the Year Dawson Hensely went 3-3 at the plate with three doubles and three RBIs. Payton McCracken was also a perfect 3-3 at the plate with 2 RBIs and a double. The Dogs collected 12 hits as a club.

Next up for Murphy is a game tonight against Hayesville. Hayesville and Murphy are both undefeated and most think that they will finish 1st and 2nd in conference, so this game will definitely be one to watch. Murphy hosts the Jackets at home tonight at 4:30.

Murphy Baseball Kicks Off Season With 20-7 Win Over Robbinsville

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Photo courtesy of BT Douthit

 

Murphy, NC- Murphy High School kicked off their 2021 season last Saturday against conference rival Robbinsville. Murphy’s bats got hot early, and they run-ruled the Black Knights 20-7 in 5 innings.

The game was played just mere hours after the two schools football teams faced off against one another in the Western Regional Championship game, so both teams were without some key players.

The Bulldogs collected 19 hits in the game. Jesse Kephart, Briggs Cornwell, and Caleb Allen all picked up multiple hits for their team.

In the second inning the Dogs really got things going offensively, tallying 12 runs. Braden Rumfelt, Joe Swain, Will Carringer, Jesse Kephart, Briggs Cornwell, and Caleb Allen all drove in runs in the inning.

Robbinsville scored three runs in the fourth inning thanks to Jeb Shuler and Ethan Orr both contributed in the inning with RBI’s.

Isaac Cole led the Dogs on the mound, going three innings and only allowing four runs on three hits and striking out four. Dawson Hensley and Hunter Curtis came on and threw some innings in relief.

Below are the season hitting stats for the Dogs through 1 game.

# Athlete Name Avg PA AB R H RBI
Team Totals .613 41 31 22 19 18
3 Jesse Kephart (Sr) .750 5 4 4 3 1
7 Caleb Allen (Sr) .800 5 5 3 4 3
13 Isaiah Templw (So) 1.000 1 1 1 1 0
18 Briggs Cornwell (Jr) 1.000 4 2 3 2 4
19 Abram Abling (Sr) .500 4 2 1 1 1
25 Joe Swain (Jr) .333 4 3 0 1 2
27 Dawson Hensley (Sr) .500 5 2 4 1 0
28 Isaac Cole (So) .750 5 4 2 3 3
33 Zachary Skogen (Fr) 0 0 2 0 0
35 Braden Rumfelt (Jr) .250 4 4 1 1 0
44 W. Carringer (So) .500 4 4 1 2 4

Up next for the Bulldogs, they will travel to Rosman on 5/4 to face the defending SMC Champs.

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