Murphy – Since losing to Hayesville on May 14, the Bulldogs’ baseball team has taken care of business. Murphy swept a doubleheader against Andrews on June 1, topping the Wildcats 4-0 and 12-4 in five-inning contests at Konehete Park.
“We’ve definitely been playing better,” Murphy head coach Adam Clonts said. “This was a good day for us.”
Since losing to the Yellow Jackets, Murphy (10-1 overall and in the Smoky Mountain Conference) has won eight games in a row, outscoring opponents 80-16. The Bulldogs came into this matchup as the better team, even if they didn’t quite put in a complete performance. The first game featured excellent pitching by Briggs Cornwell and enough offense, while Murphy jumped on Andrews (5-6) pitching in the second game and cruised to victory.
Cornwell kept the Wildcats on their heels from the first batter, and they never adjusted to his heat at the plate. He gave up no hits in five innings, with the only Andrews baserunners coming on two walks and a hit by pitch.
For Clonts, Cornwell’s performance is indicative of how his team is trying to round into form late in the season. With five players just off helping the Bulldogs win a state championship on the gridiron, Murphy has had to play three instead of the usual two games each of the past three weeks.
Some of those players also are finally getting over some ‘bumps and bruises’ from the football season, according to Clonts. That means they’re fully healthy again and can start to put all their energy into baseball.
“They’ve been able to really polish their skills, I guess you could say, and that’s been a huge contributing factor to our production these past couple weeks,” Clonts said. “We’ve just been able to finally have that consistently to learn from to build on.”
After a quiet showing in the first game, Murphy’s bats were hot in game 2, scoring six runs on seven hits in the first two innings. They would add six more runs in the top of the fifth, as Andrews struggled with pitching and manager Bryan Graves decided to save some of his better pitchers for a big game against Robbinsville later in the week. The Wildcats walked 11 batters in the second game after walking five in the first game.
“They’re a good team, they’re a top team and you’re going to have to play really well to beat them,” Graves said. “That’s where we’re at right now.”
After crushing Cherokee for the second time this season, 11-3, on Friday, Murphy will face Hayesville on June 8, which took place after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press. A Yellow Jackets’ win would mean they clinch the Smoky Mountain Conference championship, while a Bulldogs win means they would be tied atop the standings heading into the final game of the regular season.
Hayesville topped Murphy 10-1 in the team’s first matchup, but Clonts thinks his team is in a position to make this a more competitive game.
“If we build on today and have a good couple of practices,” he said. ”I like where we’re sitting going into next Tuesday.”