Murphy – If it wasn’t one thing, it was another for the Murphy softball team in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A playoffs against Starmount.
The Lady Bulldogs struggled with defense, then couldn’t capitalize with runners in scoring position in an 11-5 season-ending loss on May 9.
“The way we’d been playing there the last four or five games at the season I thought we were good to go to make a good run,” head coach Billy Dockery said. “The energy just seemed a little different Tuesday. I thought nerves had a big part of it.
The Lady Bulldogs (12-6 overall) entered the playoffs on a five-game winning streak. However, they met their match against the Lady Rams (11-11 overall), who were more composed and took advantage of their opportunities more often.
Layken Mathis led off the game by reaching on an error and later scored on an RBI single by Molly Swain, but Jersey Schwalm put Murphy back in front in the bottom of the inning with a three-run homer. The sloppy defense, though, was a sign of things to come.
The Lady Rams scored three on the top of the second and never trailed again. Bella Stewart led off by reaching on an error. Payton Howell followed by laying down a bunt, and Schwalm’s throw to first sailed high, allowing Stewart to score. After Schwalm retired the next two batters, Mathis hit a two-run homer to put the Lady Rams back in front.
Murphy had runners reach base in the next three innings, but couldn’t capitalize. Their best chance came in the bottom of the second when, Ansley Hogsed and Ruby Boehm started the inning with back-to-back singles. That potential rally ended when Julia Dockery lined out to Mathis at shortstop, who fired to second to get Boehm and complete the double play.
Starmount finally broke the game open in the fifth, scoring five runs. Three runners reached on errors as Murphy’s fielding struggles continued. The Lady Rams had just three hits in the inning, the last by a two-run single by Paige
Gryder to extend the lead to 9-3.
“The defense was real shaky,” Billy Dockery said. “You could tell there were a lot of nerves. Everybody was playing tight.”
The Lady Bulldogs would trim the lead to 9-5 in the fifth with an RBI single by Schwalm, who later scored when Hogsed reached on a fielder’s choice. But it could’ve been more, as Murphy loaded the bases with no outs before stranding runners on first and third.
Starmount responded with two more in the sixth. Mathis led off the inning with a single, then stole second and scored on a dropped third strike throw to first. Swain would walk, and then scored when Smith singled and the ball wasn’t fielded cleanly. Only two of the Lady Rams 11 runs were earned.
The Lady Rams would fall to No. 4 seed Eastern Randolph (17-5) 9-0 in the second round Friday.
The loss meant a little more for some in the Murphy clubhouse, as Dockery has been coaching his older daughter, Riley, most years since she started playing, along with the four other Lady Bulldog seniors.
“That’s been the group I kind of followed all the way up through, and coached them since (they were) 8 years old,” he said. “So that was a pretty tough ending to that game.”