Murphy – The Bulldogs baseball and softball teams got wins last week that were needed for both teams.
The baseball team got their first two wins of the season as they defeated Smoky Mountain Conference opponents Cherokee. The softball team got their second straight win when they defeated Tellico Plains, Tenn., in their home opener.
Baseball
After three losses to start the season, the Bulldogs got into the win column in their first Smoky Mountain Conference game against Cherokee on March 10.
In their second five-inning game of the season, the Dogs were on the winning side this time, as they defeated the Braves 10-0. It was an electric start for pitcher Colton Morgan, who threw a complete game with nine strikeouts.
After a one-hit top of the first inning with Morgan on the mound, the Dogs’ bats went to work.
Zack Hogsed started with a single, then Alex Roldan also singled. After Adam Cook reached first on an error, Hogsed scored to make it 1-0. Morgan then had a two-RBI single to give the Dogs a 3-0 lead through the first inning.
In the top of the second, Morgan had three strikeouts and two walks to keep the Dogs in the lead. Morgan added another strikeout in the top of the third.
The Dogs’ offense was back at it in the third inning. With two outs, Peyton Bain reached first on a walk, then Morgan tripled to bring home a run. Cameron Clem then tripled to bring home Morgan to make it 5-0.
Morgan added two more strikeouts to his total in the top of the fourth.
With a 5-0, the Dogs’ bats stayed on fire in the fourth inning. Caleb Kephart started with a leadoff walk, then advanced all the way to third on two passed balls.
Nathan Skogen was then hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners before he stole second. With two in scoring position, Kephart scored on a Cherokee balk that also sent Skogen to third.
Hogsed then hit a RBI single to give the Dogs a 7-0 lead. After steals second, he advanced to third on a passed ball. Cook then hit an RBI to bring home Hogsed and give the Dogs a 8-0 lead.
Morgan then hit a ball to left field, but was caught out advancing to second. Despite getting caught out, two runs scored to give the Dogs the 10-0 lead.
In the top of the fifth, the Morgan closed out the game with two strikeouts and a fly out to throw a complete game and get the win for the Bulldogs.
Murphy scored 10 runs on seven hits and three walks. Hogsed and Morgan both had two hits. Cook, Hogsed and Godsey all scored two runs each.
The Dogs put on a base-running clinic with seven stolen bases, led by Clem with three. On the mound, Morgan only allowed two hits and one walk, with nine strikeouts to the 19 batters he faced.
On March 12, the two teams faced off again in Cherokee. To complete the sweep, the Dogs defeated Cherokee 17-3.
The Dogs’ offense got going right away to take a 10-0 lead through the first two innings. After adding two more in the top of the third, Cherokee got on the board with a run to give Murphy a 12-1 lead.
No runs came across home plate until the bottom of the fifth, when Cherokee scored two to extend the game. If a team if up by 10 or more runs through five innings, the game ends. Since Cherokee trailed by nine runs, the game went seven innings.
After giving up two runs in the fifth inning, Murphy turned around and added five more runs in the top of the sixth to lead 17-3.
The Dogs scored their 17 runs on only six hits, but were walked 16 times. They also racked up eight stolen bases, led by Adam Cook with three.
On the mound for the Dogs, Caleb Kephart threw five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks. He also had five strikeouts in the win. Peyton Bain also pitched one inning and didn’t have a hit, but had one walk.
On Friday, the Dogs traveled across state lines to take on Towns County, Ga., where they lost 11-0.
Towns County’s offense was going from the beginning as they racked up 11 runs in the first three innings.
Murphy struggled to get their bats going and only had one hit in the game by Aayden Williams. His hit came in the fifth and final inning of the game. Williams, and Caleb Kephart who was walked, were the only ones to get on base for the Dogs.
This week, the Dogs will travel to take on Brevard on Thursday. They will also travel Friday to Swain County to take on the Maroon Devils. On Monday, the Dogs will play their third straight road game when they travel to Rosman.
Softball
The Murphy varsity softball squad earned their second straight win as they defeated Tellico Plains 2-1 in their home opener.
It was a pitching battle and Murphy’s Paisley Johnson came out with the win.
The game started with 3½ scoreless innings until Gracie Thrasher started the rally for the Lady Dogs with a two-out solo home run to right center field.
After Thrasher’s homer, Johnson hit a double. Aiden Smith then hit a double to score pinch runner Aa’Liyah Grant to give the Lady Dogs a two-run lead.
The Lady Dogs held the Lady Bears scoreless until they hit a home run in the top of the seventh inning to make it a one-run game.
Following the home run, the Lady Dogs shut them down to prevent any kind of late rally to win the game.
With the 2-1 win, the Lady Dogs improved to a 2-1 record on the season in their three opening non-conference games.
The Lady Dogs will host their next non-conference opponent at 4:30 p.m. today, when they take on Smoky Mountain. On Friday, they will travel to take on Swain County. On Wednesday, March 26, the Lady Dogs will host Rosman at 4 p.m.