Hayesville – All game against the Yellow Jackets, Hiwassee Dam answered the bell.
The Eagles punched first, then got back up off the mat when Hayesville answered back. They regained control and went back on the offense, then rallied again when Hayesville came close to delivering the knockout blow. Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets had one more counter. It was enough to best the Eagles 12-11 with a walkoff hit in the bottom of the seventh.
“I told them all along that they’re better than they have been playing,” Hiwassee Dam head coach Jerry Kilpatrick said. “That any team can be beat at any time, and they have the capability of playing with anybody when they put everything together.”
A sacrifice fly from Peyton Hunt gave Hayesville an 11-10 in the bottom of the sixth, and Eli Roberts struck out the first two Hiwassee Dam batters in the top of the seventh, putting the Yellow Jackets on the brink of a 12th straight win. But Michael Simms singled down the right-field line, and Clay Davis hit a shallow fly ball to center that dropped in for a base hit.
The ball rolled under Hunt’s glove, and Simms scored to tie the game. Hiwassee Dam never got an out in the bottom of the seventh, as Dakota Matheson reached on a
hit by pitch, Connor Bradley walked and Avery Leatherwood’s single scored Matheson to win the game.
After beating Cherokee 12-2 on June 2 and going toe to toe with the No. 3 1A team in North Carolina according to MaxPreps, Kilpatrick think his team is starting to realize they can play better than their 2-9 record. That’s started in practice where the coaching staff has been holding players more accountable and making sure they’re always ready for the next play.
“You can’t blame others if you make a mistake,” Kilpatrick said.
“You forget about the play, you don’t take it with you to bat with you, if you strike out, you don’t take it in the field with you. You just make the next play, make the next pitch, make the next out.”
It was senior day at Hayesville (12-0 overall, Smoky Mountain Conference), though Hiwassee Dam (2-9 overall, Smoky Mountain Conference) quickly reminded the Yellow Jackets there was a game to play by scoring two runs in the top of the first. Evan Hedrick led off with a double, then Connor Davis reached on a throwing error and Hedrick scored.
Back-to-back singles by Seth Hooper and Simms allowed Davis to score. He would reach again on an error in the second inning and come around to score on a single by Hooper.
As expected, Hayesville had an answer. The Yellow Jackets scored one in the second, then broke through for five runs in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead. But Hiwassee Dam answered again, taking advantage of an off day for Hayesville pitching.
Before this contest, the Yellow Jackets had given just eight runs in their past nine games. They opted not to use ace Jeremy Stewart, and the Eagles took full advantage.
A two-run double by Hooper in the top of the fourth cut the lead to 6-5, and Hooper tied it by scoring on passed ball. The Eagles put four more on the board in the fifth inning, with RBI singles from Hedrick and Hooper and a two-run double by Simms.
Hayesville rallied back to tie the game at 10, eventually setting the stage for a dramatic seventh and final inning.
“They played hard today,” Kilpatrick said. I can’t ask for no more from what they’ve done today. They’ve really come along.”