The high school baseball teams in Cherokee County have had mixed results so far this season. Murphy and Hiwassee Dam have positive records, while Andrews has fallen behind the curve.
The Wildcats’ baseball team has had a less-than-ideal start to their 2024 season. They are winless through nine games, with seven of those being against Smoky Mountain Conference squads.
Andrews’ conference losses have come in home-and-home series’ against Hiwassee Dam, Murphy and Robbinsville. They also have a loss to Hayesville, which the Cats will face again Thursday, April 25. Non-conferences losses came at the hands of Towns County, Ga., and Copper Basin, Tenn.
The Wildcats sit in sixth place at press time with an 0-9 overall record, 0-7 in the conference. Both Andrews and Cherokee have been held winless in conference play so far.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, Andrews will host Swain County on Friday at 4:30 p.m. After that, the Cats will play their final non-conference games at home versus Copper Basin and Union County, Ga., before they play Hayesville again. They will conclude the regular season with a home-and-home against Cherokee.
Wildcats head coach Brian Wilson said the team has had highs and lows this year.
“We have had some very bright moments as well as several dismal moments, I think the kids are working hard, but we haven’t reached our true potential as a team. We are young, so each game is still a learning curve for us,” Wilson said.
Freshman Ethan Sutton has stood out to him.
“I have had several players that have taken on unusual roles and really showed great potential in those roles. One of those players would be Ethan Sutton,” Wilson said. “Ethan has really stood out in his pitching performances to only be a freshman, he has shown signs of becoming a truly significant part of our pitching rotation for the future. He also platoons as a utility infielder and done very well at those positions as well.”
He said the upcoming slate of conference games will be a test of how far they have come this season.
“The contests with Union, Swain and Hayesville will be a good measuring block, and what we need to look at going into the off season. I love my team and look forward to the future as their coach,” Wilson said.
The Hiwassee Dam baseball team is 4-4 overall, with a 4-2 conference record. At press time, they are tied for third in the conference alongside Murphy, which has the same conference record.
So far this season, the Eagles have series sweeps against Murphy and Andrews. They lost both of their games to Hayesville, with their two other losses coming from non-conference opponent Towns County.
Kyle Taylor has been a standout player so far this season, leading the team in batting average at .435, with seven stolen bases, five runs scored and 10 hits. On the mound, he has a 2.03 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched.
Dawson Headley also leads multiple categories, such as six RBI, a .545 slugging percentage and three doubles. Trenten Beavers has a team-leading on-base percentage of .480 with a fielding percentage of .881. Colton Berrong is the only player on the team with a triple so far this season.
When the Eagles return to competition this week, they will face Copper Basin on Thursday, then have their second game against Robbinsville. Next week, they will take on their last non-conference opponent in Polk County. They will wrap up the regular season with two home-and-home series against Cherokee and Swain County.
With the same conference record as Hiwassee Dam, Murphy has also had a successful start to their season and will look to maintain that down the stretch.
The Bulldogs picked up conference sweeps of Cherokee and Andrews in the first half of the season, but fell to Hiwassee Dam for their two conference losses. In non-conference games, Murphy lost to Tellico Plains as well as a home-and-home series against Franklin to round out the 4-5 overall record.
Junior Adam Cook leads Murphy with a batting average of .531, has 17 hits, 18 RBI, a slugging percentage of .593 and two doubles. Tommy Crapse leads the team with a .615 on-base percentage and 17 runs scored. On the mound, Alex Roldan has a 5.00 ERA in 14 innings pitched, while Crapse has a 6.30 ERA in 10 innings.
When they return from spring break, the Dogs will take on Hayesville come Friday for the second game of their home-and-home series. They will also take on Swain County and Robbinsville in home-and-home series in the coming weeks.
Murphy will play one last non-conference game, against Polk County on Thursday, April 25.