Cherokee – After winning an eight-inning nail-biter over Cherokee at Konehete Veterans Park on March 21, the Murphy softball team knew it had work to do at the plate. The Lady Bulldogs struggled to make adjustments to Lady Braves pitcher Mahala Allison, being impatient at the plate instead of waiting for pitches to drive.
Those two days of practice paid off when the two teams met up again in Cherokee on Friday, with Murphy blowing past the Lady Braves for a 17-3 win.
“We worked hard (March 22) and Thursday in practice on hitting the style of pitching that pitcher throws,” head coach Billy Dockery said. “And they did great. They took what we learned in practice, applied it in the game and put on a hitting show.”
Cherokee (5-2 overall, 2-2 Smoky Mountain Conference) entered the week undefeated, but the Lady Bulldogs handed the Lady Braves their first loss of the season thanks to a walk-off hit by freshman Paisley Johnson. In Smoky Mountain Conference play the past two seasons, two teams usually play each other twice in the same week, and Murphy (3-3, 2-2) made sure it got off to a better start in the rematch.
Julia Dockery led off the game by driving a pitch over the left-field fence. The next batter, Sanai Wilson, hit one over the center-field fence.
“I think the leadoff batter just sets the tone,” Julia Dockery said. “And that just set the tone for the whole game.” Cherokee, though, responded in the bottom of the inning, with a two-run double tying the game and then a double to left by Paytyn Barker putting the Lady Braves on top. After that inning, Billy Dockery switched pitchers, subbing in Johnson in the circle for Julia Dockery.
With pitcher Jersey Schwalm missing the last three games with an injury, Murphy’s has had several players playing out of position when Dockery is in the circle. The defense tends to be better with her at shortstop, like she was for the last four innings.
Cherokee never adjusted to Johnson, as the lefty gave up just three hits and struck out four in the final four innings. She also helped her own cause in the top of the fifth, crushing a two-run homer to center to give her a greater margin for error when finishing off the mercy-rule win.
“She’s doing a great job hitting and on the mound for us all year,” Billy Dockery said. “She continues to grow every game and get better every game.”
Murphy broke the game open with 11 runs in the top of the third inning, sending 14 batters to the plate. An RBI single by Johnson tied the game, then two more runs scored when Aiden Smith and Taryn Morrow reached on errors.
Back-to-back singles by Ansley Hogsed and Charlie McDaniel extended the lead to 7-3, then Murphy added a run when Morrow scored on a wild pitch. A two run double by Wilson made the Lady Bulldogs’ lead 10-3 and chased Allison, with Barker taking over in the circle. It didn’t matter to Riley Dockery, who crushed a Barker pitch well over the left-field fence for a three-run blast.
Murphy would add another in the fourth when Smith scored on a wild pitch after leading off the inning with a double, then three in the fifth on an RBI single by Dockery and a home run by Johnson. After the first inning, Cherokee did not have a runner advance past second base the rest of the game.
With a team that brought back all but one starter from last year, but is still a bit young grade-wise, Murphy is just looking to grow throughout the season.
Julia Dockery said two humbling losses to Robbinsville – on March 14 and 16 – showed the team what improvements it needed to make, especially in terms of energy and focus. The Lady Bulldogs hosted Franklin late Monday, then have other non-conference games scheduled for today at Smoky Mountain and Copper Basin, Tenn., on April 3, before returning to conference play with games against Andrews on Tuesday and April 6.
“From the beginning of the season, I think we’ve grown a lot,” Julia Dockery said. “We came closer and decided we actually want to work, and decided to get our head in the game.”