Murphy – The Lady Bulldogs advanced to the second round of the state 1A playoffs with a 2-0 win over Gray Stone Day, only to fall to arch-nemesis Robbinsville in the second round 12-6.
On May 7, Paisley Johnson shut out Gray Stone Day (5-12) as she was backed up by tenacious defensive play from Murphy (13-6). The Lady Knights started the game with a leadoff single, but the base runner was stranded on third base with two put outs and a strikeout to end the inning. The Knights threatened again in the second inning with back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, but Johnson struck out the next batter and her teammates did the rest to strand both runners.
The Lady Dogs were held in check for the first two innings, but Callie Rumfelt ended that in the third inning. She reached on a one-out single, stole second base and scored as Emma Hensley’s doubled with two outs to give Murphy a 1-0 lead going into the top of the fifth.
After shutting down the Knights in the top of the inning, Johnson helped her own cause as she led off the bottom of the fifth with a double. The pinch-runner for Johnson later scored to give Murphy a 2-0 win.
Rumfelt led the Lady Dogs at the plate as she went 2-2 and scored a run. Johnson was the winning pitcher, as she faced 26 batters and gave up no runs on four hits, walking none while striking out seven. Murphy’s defense was almost flawless, committed just one error.
Murphy traveled to Robbinsville (22-2) in the second round of the playoffs Friday to face a familiar foe. The Lady Dogs jumped out to an early lead when Hensley hit a round-tripper in the first inning to give Murphy a 1-0 lead.
That was the only inning Murphy would enjoy a lead for the rest of the game. After holding the Lady Black Knights scoreless in the first, Robbinsville scored two runs to take a 2-1 lead going into the third inning.
Murphy would score two runs in the top of the third to take a brief 3-2 lead. Julia Dockery led off with a single and Emma Laney walked, both later scoring when Johnson singled.
Robbinsville stormed back in the bottom half of the third when Memory Frappe homered with two runners aboard to give Robbinsville a 5-3 lead. The Lady Knights would add two more runs in the inning to lead 7-3 at the bottom of the third.
Robbinsville extended its lead to 9-3 in the bottom of the fourth, adding two more runs. Murphy made one more challenge in the top of the fifth, when Rumfelt led off with a walk, Julia Dockery singled and Emma Laney walked to load the bases.
Johnson scored Rumfelt and Dockery with a double to close Robbinsville’s lead to 9-5. Laney scored on Gracie Thrasher’s sacrifice fly to pull Murphy within three, but that’s where the rally ended.
Robbinsville brought on ace pitcher Naomi Taylor to shut down the Lady Dogs. In the last two innings, she gave up no runs on no hits, walked three and struck out two. Meanwhile, Robbinsville added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to net the 12-6 final.
Murphy finished second in the Smoky Mountain Conference for the year behind Robbinsville. The Lady Black Knights are the only team from the conference that remain in the 1A playoffs.
The good news for head coach Billy Dockery is the Lady Dogs have a lot coming back next year. Murphy will say goodbye to three seniors in Rumfelt, Taryn Morrow and Sania Wilson, but many stat leaders on the team will return next year.
Dockery, a junior, led the Lady Dogs in batting at .453 and on-base percentage at .523 OBP. She is the leader for stolen bases as well with 14.
Johnson, Murphy’s ace pitcher and home run leader, is only a sophomore. She had as ERA this year of 2.31 and is ranked 17th in the state and second in the Western 1A Division for strikeouts with 184. She also led the Lady Bulldogs in home runs with four.
In addition to those leaders, several other underclassmen have the future looking bright for the Lady Diamond Dogs.