Murphy – The Murphy “Diamond Dogs” fell to Hiwassee Dam twice in one week, as the Eagles swept the Dogs by scores of 5-4 and 6-5.
In the first game on April 2, Murphy (4-5) jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the game. Tommy Crapse reached base via being hit by a pitch. After Crapse stole second base, Alex Rolden singled to score Crapse.
Adam Cook followed that up with a single, and Murphy had two base runners with no outs. Zack Skogen reached on an error that scored both Rolden and Cook to give Murphy a 3-0 lead.
Murphy pitcher Alex Rolden held Hiwassee Dam (4-4) scoreless for the first three innings, as he only faced the minimum of nine batters. The only problem for Murphy was that Dawson Headley settled in after the first inning and held Murphy in check for the next three innings as well.
Hiwassee Dam leadoff man Kyle Taylor got on base, but was later caught stealing. An error and a walk gave the Eagles two base runners, as Trenten Beavers and Clay Davis got aboard. Two more Murphy errors enabled the Eagles to close the lead to 3-2 at the top of the fourth.
Hiwassee Dam pitching held Murphy in the bottom of the inning, and actually took the lead in the top of the fifth as they added two more runs. Kyle Taylor, once again,
got things going for the Eagles in the fifth inning as he got a one out single. Beavers followed that up with another single and Davis singled to score Taylor. Hiwassee Dam’s scoring continued when Dawson Headley hit for a two-out RRI single to bring Beavers in and the Eagles took the lead 4-3.
Murphy would tie things up in the bottom of the fifth as Alex Rolden reached on an error to start the inning. After being moved around the base path and he later scored on a Cameron Clem sacrifice fly to tie the score at four apiece. Murphy walked the first three batters. The fourth batter up for the Eagles was Taylor and he singled to score Cole Elliot from third base. Murphy did get out of the inning without any further damage, but just couldn’t generate any more runs.
Kyle Taylor was the winning pitcher for the Eagles. He gave up four runs on four hits. He walked four and struck out two. Zack Hogsed was the losing pitcher in his relief effort. He gave up one run on one hit, walked three and struck out one.
In game two on April 5, Murphy was held scoreless in the first three innings and the Eagles put together a solid third inning to take a 3-0 lead. Abel Penland reached on an error and after advancing on a fly ball, scored on a Trenten Beavers two-out hit. Two more Bulldog errors allowed Beavers and Clay Davis, who had also reached on an error, to score to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead after three innings.
Murphy got things going in the top of the fourth as Crapse walked to lead things off for the Dogs. Alex Rolden singled to move Crapse around the base paths. Adam Cook tripled to score both runners but was later picked off on the base paths. Zack Skogen later walked in the inning and with two outs Hogsed doubled to bring Skogen home, as Murphy tied things up in the top of the fourth.
Hiwassee Dam went quietly in the bottom of the fourth and Murphy jumped out to 4-3 when Hunter Stalcup reached on a fielder’s choice and later scored courtesy of two Eagle errors, but the lead wouldn’t last long. Trenton Beavers walked after two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Clay Davis followed with a single and Colton Berrong reached on an error to score Beavers. Dawson Headley followed that up with a two-RBI double to net the final 6-4.
Kyle Taylor was the winning pitcher for the Eagles. He went 5.1 innings, gave up four runs on four hits. He stuck out two and walked three. Alex Rolden took the loss for the Dogs as he gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Hiwassee Dam will take on Robbinsville on April 16 and 19 when they return from spring break. After spring break, Murphy will take on Hayesville on April 16 and 19