Bryson City – After winning a 4-3 nail-biter over Swain County on May 2, the Murphy softball team knew it would be another tight game when the two teams met on the road two days later.
It was another back-and-forth game until the Lady Bulldogs landed the final blow late, scoring two in the top of the sixth inning and then three more in the seventh for an 8-4 win.
“They’ve been playing with a lot of heart the last two games,” head coach Billy Dockery said. “Swain’s a tough team, so you just gotta get in there and dig it out, and they did.”
Before Murphy’s final push, neither team led by more than two runs. The Lady Devils made a little better contact off Jersey Schwalm early, plating one in the bottom of the second when Molleigh Woodard scored on a Maddie Spates groundout.
The Lady Bulldogs (11-5 overall, 8-3 conference) continued to grind out at-bats against Swain County (11-10, 5-7) freshman Rylee Rawls, with Ansley Hogsed hitting an RBI single in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 1. Then in the fifth, Schwalm slapped an RBI single to left, but the Lady Devil outfielder didn’t come up with the ball cleanly, allowing courtesy runner Olivia Raxter to score and double the Murphy lead.
Swain would put together a rally in the bottom of the inning. Hannah Shuler led off with a double and scored on a groundout by Kaley Parker. With two outs, Carley Teesateskie reached on an infield single, and then Rawls helped her own cause with a two-run homer to put the Lady Devils back in front, 4-3.
After grinding out at-bats against Rawls for much of the previous five innings, Murphy made the necessary adjustments at the plate in the final two innings. Hogsed reached on a one-out single, then with two
down Julia Dockery hit a two-run homer that rattled off the left-field foul pole to put the Lady Bulldogs in front, 5-4.
Schwalm would strand two Swain County runners in the bottom of the sixth, and Murphy would build off that in the top of the seventh. Not to be outdone by her younger sister, Riley Dockery, led off the inning with a home run to left field to double the Lady Bulldogs’ lead. Then with two outs, Aiden Smith singled to right field, Ruby Boehm tripled to left, and Hogsed singled to put two more runs on the board for the Lady Bulldogs.
Murphy would beat Hayesville (2-11, 2-10) the next day to end the regular season on a five-game winning streak. Billy Dockery said he’s seen more resiliency in his team late in the season, starting with an 8-7 win over Hiwassee Dam on April 20.
The Lady Bulldogs were down 6-0 in that game before storming back, and Dockery said if that had happened earlier in the year his team would’ve lost too much energy and not battled to the end. That changed down the stretch, and has put Murphy in a good spot for the playoffs, where the Lady Bulldogs are the No. 13 seed and hosted No. 20 seed Starmount in the first round after the Cherokee Scout’s press time Tuesday.
“I told them in the huddle I think we’re right where we want to be for the playoffs,” Dockery said.
“I think we’re learning what it means to dig and play these tough games.”