Murphy – Both Murphy and Robbinsville went into their regular-season finale riding losing streaks, the Bulldogs at six and the Black Knights at 2. Robbinsville also entered the series in second place and left in third place in the Smoky Mountain Conference.
Murphy would end their losing streak, as the Dogs swept the Black Knights 16-7 on May 1. They followed that up in Murphy with a 6-5 win on Thursday thanks to a walkoff RBI by Alex Roldan.
On May 1, Murphy (6-10) didn’t take long to get started, as the Dogs exploded for five runs in the first inning. Tommy Crapse got on base via getting tagged by a pitch. He then stole second base and scored on an Adam Cook single.
Zack Skogen followed that up with a single, and Caleb Kephart reached on an error to load the bases. Zack Hosed walked to score the second run, and Charlie Morgan drove in Skogen when he reached on a fielder’s choice. Morgan and Kephart scored when Aiden Williams reached on a two-out single to give Murphy a 5-0 lead.
Colton Morgan retired the Black Knights (10-7) in the bottom of the first inning with no damage done. Robbinsville’s pitcher settled in after the first, and the new hurler for the Knights retired Murphy in order the next two innings. Meanwhile, Robbinsville started chipping away, adding one run in the second, then three more in the third, to cut Murphy’s lead to 5-4.
Murphy added three more runs, helped by three Robbinsville errors and back-to-back singles by Skogen and Kephart, to give the Dogs an 8-4 lead going into the bottom of the fourth. The Knights would add a run in the bottom of the fourth, and another in the fifth, to close Murphy’s lead once again to 8-6, which was as close as they would get.
Both teams went down quietly in the sixth, then Murphy exploded for eight runs as the Dogs batted around in the seventh inning. Hunter Stalcup started things off with a leadoff single and scored when Charlie Morgan singled. Williams walked and Crapse followed that up with a two-out single that scored both Morgan and Williams.
Alex Roldan singled to score Crapse, and Cook reached on a Black Knight error to score Roldan. Skogen singled and Stalcup reached on an error on his second time at the plate that inning. Zac Hogsed, who hit a sacrifice fly his first time up in the seventh, got a single to score the last two Murphy baserunners, which gave there Dogs a 16-6 lead.
Caleb Kephart came on in the sixth inning to relieve starting pitcher Charlie Morgan, and he held the Knight to only one run in the bottom of the seventh. Morgan picked up the win, as he went five innings and gave up six runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out three batters.
Kephart was credited with a save, as he gave up one run on three hits. He struck out two and did not issue a walk.
Murphy committed five errors, but they weren’t at critical times during the game. The Dogs’ bats saved them, as they batted to a .342 average, with Crapse and Williams both going 2-3 at the plate.
Robbinsville senior pitcher Ethan Orr was determined to keep the Dogs from having batting practice against him in game two Thursday, and for the most part he was successful. He held the Dogs to two runs on three hits through six innings.
Both Murphy runs came in the second inning. Cameron Clem got on with a one-out single, stole second base and later scored on a Hunter Stalcup double. Stalcup would later score on a wild pitch from third base. That tied the score at 2-2, as the Knights had put up a run in the first and second innings.
After those two runs, Murphy pitcher Tommy Crapse held the Black Knights in check until the sixth inning, when two Murphy errors allowed a run to score to give the Knights a 3-2 lead. Robbinsville would add one more in top of the top of the seventh to take a 4-2 lead.
Orr had given up two hits since the second inning as he entered the bottom of the seventh, when Hunter Stalcup and Aiden Williams led off the seventh with back-to-back singles. Stalcup scored on Williams’ single. Williams scored when Charlie Morgan reached on an error and that tied the score at four apiece.
Crapse advanced Morgan to second base on a sacrifice fly ball. With the winning run on second with two outs, Alex Roldan stepped up to the plate. He delivered a walkoff RBI single into left-center filed to give the Dogs a 5-4 win and sweep of the Black Knights.
Carson got the win, as he gave up one run on no hits. He walked two and struck out two. Crapse came away with no decision; in six innings, he gave up three runs on two hits, and only one of those runs was earned. He walked three and struck out three.
Hunter Stalcup went 2-3 at the plate, had two RBI and scored two runs. Roldan went 2-4 with the game-winning RBI.
Coach Tyler Edwards was smiling after the two wins.
“I wish we had played like that the last four weeks,” yea said. “We would have had a lot more wins and finished higher in the conference, but I couldn’t be happier with the way that battled back, especially late in the game like that.”
Edwards said he was happy for his baseball team’s seniors. The win gave Murphy a fourth-place finish in the Smoky Mountain Conference behind Swain, Robbinsville and Hayesville.