Murphy – The “Lady Diamond Dogs” softball team made short work of the Lady Jackets last week, dispatching Hayesville 10-4 in the first game at Murphy and 16-0 in game two at Hayesville.
Paisley Johnson continued her dominance on the mound for Murphy (11-1). She held Hayesville (1-9) to only three runs in the two games, all of them unearned.
The Lady Dogs’ bats got going early in game one on April 16, as Emma Hensley got a one-out single in the first inning. She then stole second base and later scored via an Emma Laney single. Murphy led 1-0 at the end of the first inning.
Hayesville’s hitters were set down in order the first five innings. Johnson struck out the side the first three innings, whiffing the first 11 batters she faced. She finished the day with 16 strikeouts.
After only one run in the first two innings, Julia Dockery brought the fans to their feet with an inside-the-park-home run to start the third inning to give Murphy a 2-0 lead. Following that, the Lady Dogs’ bats were held in check until the fifth inning.
That’s when Callie Rumfelt led off with a single. After two outs, Laney and Johnson walked to load the bases.
Taryn Morrow came to the plate. She had grounded out and flew out during her last two plate appearances, but she made up for it with one swing – a grand slam home run.
Her four-RBI hit blew the game open for the Lady Dogs. Sania Wilson singled to keep the inning going, later scoring on a Gracie Thrasher double to give Murphy a 7-0 lead.
The Lady Jackets closed the lead, with help from three Murphy fielding errors, adding three runs in the sixth to make it a 7-3 game. Murphy added three more in the bottom half of the sixth to make it a 10-3 lead before Hayesville add one more in the seventh to net the final.
It took Murphy only five innings to put away the Lady Jackets in game two on Friday, as they beat Hayesville 15-0 in five innings under the mercy rule. Johnson was again dominate on the mound, whiffing seven of the first nine batters she faced before finishing with 10 strikeouts.
Thrasher got Murphy going in the second inning with a leadoff double. Johnson walked and Aiden Smith singled to score Thrasher. A two-out double from Dockery scored Johnson and Smith to give Murphy a 3-0 lead.
Murphy batted around in the third inning. Emma Laney got on base with a leadoff walk. With two outs, Sania Wilson homered to give Murphy a 5-0 lead.
Johnson walked, then Smith and Rumfelt followed with back-to-back singles to score Johnson. Dockery doubled to score Smith and Rumfelt. At the end of the third inning, Murphy led 8-0.
Murphy added five more in the fourth. Laney led off with a walk, followed by a single by Morrow. Thrasher doubled to score both Lady Dogs’ base-runners.
Wilson liked the looks of that first home run so much that she hit another. This time it was a two-run shot.
Callie Rumfelt kept the Lady Dogs’ scoring in the fourth inning going, as she got a two-out double and later scored via a Dockery double. That gave Murphy a 13-0 lead.
The only Hayesville threat came in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Mallory Pack led off with a single and Gracelynn Anderson walked, giving Hayesville two base-runners. The hope was short-lived, as Johnson struck out the next three batters.
Murphy finished the game in the fifth with three more runs before shutting down Hayesville to net the final.
The Lady Diamond Dogs face their toughest tests in the Smoky Mountain Conference the next two weeks. Murphy has a two-game series this week against Swain, then follow that up with Robbinsville next week.
“These two teams will be some of the best offensive teams we have faced this year. We beat Swain last year and lost both games to Robbinsville,” head coach Billy Dockery said. “Not only are these teams good offensively, but they also have some of the best pitching we will see all year. Both games are going to be tough, but we will just get ready to face the challenge.”
The Murphy softball team will host Swain at 4:30 p.m. Friday.