FYN Sports SMC Baseball Awards
Sports, Team FYN Sports, TeamFYNSports June 28, 2021
The book has closed on another baseball season for the Smoky Mountain Conference. It didn’t end how anyone wanted it to, with teams losing to Charter schools in the playoffs, but it was nice to see the boys back on the diamond. Our FYN Sports writers got together and compiled a list of players we deemed worthy for all conference honors. The players are named below, and were chosen based on their season statistics and their contributions to their team as a whole.
Player of the year: Connor Bradley
Bradley was a menace at the plate for the Jackets this year. He led the state in home runs, while also managing a .636 batting average. He had 6 homers and 19 runs batted in as Hayesville’s leadoff hitter, and helped his team to a near perfect regular season.
Pitcher of the year Jeremy Stewart
Not sure if there is much debate about this one. Stewart was far and away the best pitcher in the conference this year. He was 7-0 on the mound for the Jackets, while posting a .87 ERA over 48.1 innings pitched and striking out 62 batters. He only allowed 6 earned runs the entire year. If Hayesville had 1 more Jeremy Stewart, they would have walked away with the state championship this year.
Catcher:
Avery Leatherwood, Hayesville, .407 AVG/17 RBI
Infield:
1B Briggs Cornwell, Murphy, .395 AVG/18 RBI/4 HR
2B AJ Weaver, Andrews, .465 AVG/13 RBI
SS Jeremy Stewart, Hayesville, .421 AVG/24 RBI/3 HR
3B Caleb Allen, Murphy, .380 AVG/12 RBI
Outfield:
OF Connor Bradley, Hayesville, .636 AVG/19 RBI/6 HR
OF Dawson Hensley, Murphy, .500 AVG/23 RBI/10 2B/2 hr
OF Payton McCracken, Murphy, .500 AVG/9 RBIS
Utility:
Jeb Schuler, Robbinsville, .568 AVG/7 RBI/2 HR
Gabe Lillard, Swain, .545 AVG/7 RBI
Kayden Brock, Robbinsville, .441 AVG/14 RBI/1 HR
Pitching staff:
Jeremy Stewart, Hayesville, 7-0/.87 ERA/1 No Hitter/6 Earned Runs over 48.1 innings/62 Ks
Jeb Schuler, Robbinsville, 2-4/1.27 ERA/7 Earned Runs over 38.2 innings/51 Ks
Carson Taylor, Swain, 1-2 1.54 era 6 ER 27 innings
Briggs Cornwell, Murphy, 2-0/1.77 ERA/6 Earned Runs over 23.2 innings/2 complete games/2 no hitters
Murphy vs Hayesville Game 2 Preview and Predictions
Sports, Team FYN Sports, TeamFYNSports June 7, 2021
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.
Dogs roll on 6-3 over Swain, move to 5-1
Sports, Team FYN Sports, TeamFYNSports May 21, 2021
Photo credit BT Douthit
The Murphy Bulldogs and the Swain County Maroon Devils faced off Friday night in a Smoky Mountain Conference battle. The Dogs came out on top 6-3 thanks to some big time hits from Senior Dawson Hensley, who drove in 3 runs on the night. Hensley is off to a superb start to the year, going 10-20 at the plate with 8 RBIs and 7 doubles.
Isaac Cole got the win on the mound for Murphy, giving up 2 runs on 1 hit over 2 and 2/3rds innings. Cole Laney and Dawson Hensley came on in relief. Hensley threw for 4 innings and struck out 5 while allowing 1 run.
Murphy tallied 10 hits in the game. Hensley, Payton McCracken, and Caleb Allen all collected multiple hits for the Dogs.
Up next for Murphy is an away game at Robbinsville on Tuesday.
Smoky Mountain Conference Baseball Preseason Rankings & Awards
Sports, Team FYN Sports, TeamFYNSports April 21, 2021
With baseball season about to be kicked off in North Carolina High Schools, FYN Sports writers came together to give you our thoughts on the upcoming season. With no baseball season last year, we are not really sure what to expect for the 2021 season. We talked to players and coaches around the league, and this is the best preview that we could come up with.
Here are the FYN Sports SMC Preseason Rankings:
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Murphy
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Rosman
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Hayesville
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Swain
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Robbinsville
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Andrews
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Hiwassee Dam
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Cherokee
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Blue Ridge Early College
FYN Sports Preseason Conference Player of The Year-
Dawson Hensley from Murphy High School
Hensely, a Young Harris College commit, was 3-1 on the mound in 2019. He boasted a 4.20 ERA, and also struck out 26 batters over 18 innings and held batters to a .269 batting average. Hensley is also a menace at the plate. In 2019 he batted .491 in 64 plate appearances, bringing home 27 RBI’s, while also hitting 11 doubles and 2 Homers.
The last time we played baseball in the SMC, Rosman took home the conference championship while Murphy and Hayesville were right on their heels at no. 2 and no. 3. Rosman finished the 2019 season 14-2 in conference, while Murphy and Hayesville were 13-3. Rosman has lost two of their top players to graduation in Tanner Ruff and Brennan Chapman, which leads me to believe they are going to take a step back a little this year. Hayesville has also lost some of their guys to graduation, and are also losing one of their starters because wrestling season and baseball season coincide this year.
Murphy- The Bulldogs are returning their top guys this year in the Rumfelt twins and our Preseason Player of The Year Dawson Hensley. I believe that if this team plays up to their potential and is able to squeak by teams early in the year when they may be missing players due to football, then they could run the table. Hensley is a Young Harris commit, and we look to see him lead his team to a deep playoff run this year. Kellen Rumfelt will not return until after football season for the Dogs, but he is going to be one of the key pieces of this team. Hensley led the team in batting average (.491) and RBI’s (27), while Kellen Rumfelt was right behind him batting .407 with 21 RBI’s. A big Win for the Dogs this year is going to be getting back Briggs Cornwell. Cornwell was injured in the last full season that was played, but he still hit .655 with 3 Homers and 23 RBI’s. Speaking of injuries, JR outfielder Payton McCracken was injured during this years football season, but should return midway through the baseball season and will make an immediate impact on this team with his return.
Rosman- We talked about Rosman losing some guys and maybe taking a step back this year, but they do have some returners that are going to lead this team back to a top finish in the SMC. Talon Lance and Randy Moretz will be the returners with the most experience this year for the Tigers. Lance batted .316 in the 2019 season and played in 21 games, while Moretz batted .250 and played in 17 games.
Hayesville- The Hayesville Yellow Jacket team has a lot of unknowns going into this season as it has been two years since they have had a baseball season. They do have the longest-tenured coach in the conference in Jeff Vardo and a strong tradition. They have two constants in their senior leaders Connor Bradley and Jeremy Stewart. Bradley will lead the team’s offense, his sophomore year he had a .646 batting average with 6 home runs. Stewart is the ace of the pitching staff who recently committed to Middle Georgia State to pitch at the next level. They also have a strong sophomore class that the last time they were on the diamond won the middle school conference. With Bradley’s home run potential and an ace like Stewart they may not be favored to win the conference but can potentially beat any of the opponents on their schedule.
Swain- I would look for Damion Lossiah and Carson Taylor to be the leaders of this Swain County baseball team. Both of those guys were by far and away the best athletes on the football field for the Devils this year, and I think that will translate over to the diamond. Lossiah batted .463 with 23 RBI’s in the 2019 season as a Sophomore while Taylor batted .250 through 12 games as a Freshman.
Robbinsville- Robbinsville was 7-9 in 2019, and finished 5th in the conference. This year I think we will see much of the same, although I do think that they could beat Swain and finish in 4th this year. Jeb Shuler, Rossi Wachacha and Kayden Brock will be the main returners for the Black Knights this year. If I were to guess, Brock will be the Ace for Robbinsville on the mound. In 2019 Jeb Shuler batted .463 over 60 plate appearances while Wachacha batted .429. Robbinsville is another team that will be effected early on by guys still playing football and missing the first few baseball games.
Andrews- Andrews is a team that could definitely make a push this year. They are a young team and they know how to win, they proved that this football season. Spencer Bateman is the number 1 returner for the Cats. Bateman batted .403 with 14 RBI’s in 2019. Isaac Weaver is a Sophomore this year and has not played a Varsity season yet, but I would look for him to have a good year. He is a very good athlete. the thing that is going to hurt the Wildcats the most is pitching. They may able to string together some good games offensively, but their pitching is suspect.
Hiwassee Dam- Went 5-11 in conference in 2019, I cannot imagine that they improve on that much this year. I could be wrong however, there are no stats listed online to know who is retuning and what they are losing.
Cherokee- Not known for their baseball prowess, Cherokee is always at the bottom of the conference in baseball season. They only won one game in 2019, and with a year off with no practice and no clue what they will be returning, I cant put them much higher than 8th in our rankings.
Blue Ridge Early College- BREC also only won one game in 2019. They split with Cherokee, so perhaps they could jump to eighth in the rankings this year if they manage to sweep Cherokee, but dont expect much more than that.