Murphy – Since losing their opener to Swain County on March 15, the Bulldogs have done exactly what they need to do to stay in the race for the Smoky Mountain Conference championship.
Murphy hasn’t lost in conference play since, including a 12-9 win over Hiwassee Dam on April 26 and a 10-2 win over the Eagles on Friday. With a 15-1 win over Copper Basin, Tenn., on Thursday, the Bulldogs (12-5 overall, 9-1 conference) won three games in a week for the first time this season.
“We just took advantage of opportunities today and really all week,” Murphy head coach Adam Clonts said. “And scored runs when we had chances and executed well.”
With two conference games remaining, both Swain County (11-3, 9-1) and Murphy are tied for first with a 9-1 record. However, the two teams have games next week against very different conference opponents.
The Bulldogs hosted Hayesville (9-3, 8-2) on Tuesday, which took place after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press, then travels to the Yellow Jackets on Thursday. The Maroon Devils hosted Andrews (0-11, 0-10) on Tuesday, then travel to the Wildcats on Thursday.
Clonts thinks his team is in the right mindset heading into those two games, even if there are still some little things to work on. He wants his team to have consistent energy throughout the game and do a better job on the base paths. In the second game of the week against the Eagles (5-11, 3-7), Murphy had a runner caught stealing and another thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple.
However, the Bulldogs have everyone healthy and able to contribute. That makes Murphy’s strong lineup even more dangerous, and it showed against the Eagles. After Seth Hooper crushed an RBI double to give Hiwassee Dam a 1-0 lead in the top of the inning, Adam Sutton answered back with an RBI single to tie the game.
In the second inning, Payton McCracken ripped an RBI triple to left to give Murphy the lead and later scored on an infield single by Will Carringer. An RBI double from Sutton in the third pushed the lead to 4-1, before an RBI single from Braden Rumfelt and a two-run double by Sutton extended the Bulldogs lead to 7-1.
“This is I guess our second full week with everyone able to play at some capacity,” Clonts said “With that I think we came together quite a bit over the past couple weeks, more productive throughout the lineup.”
It’s been tough sledding for Hiwassee Dam since coming back from spring break, with four games against two of the top three teams in the conference. But the Eagles still have a small chance to sneak into the state playoffs, with games remaining against Robbinsville (7-9, 4-6).
The two teams played in Hiwassee Dam on Monday, the results of which were not available until after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press. They’ll play again in Robbinsville on Thursday.
“I’ve found that this team doesn’t quit,” Hiwassee Dam head coach Tommy Strickland said. “There may be lulls once in a while, but they still work hard.”