Murphy – Head coach Billy Dockery thinks spring break might have been just what his team needed. The Lady Bulldogs had dealt with some injuries the weeks before, and an 11-5 loss to Franklin on April 4 extended the team’s losing streak to five after a 3-0 start.
However, Murphy was able to get back into the win column on April 19, topping Cherokee County foe Andrews 11-1 win in six innings.
“We’ve been looking for that win,” Dockery said. “We’ve been looking to turn things around and get everybody healthy. And spring break gave everybody the break they needed to get rested up and reset and get back on the field.”
The Lady Bulldogs (4-5 overall, 3-4 Smoky Mountain Conference) entered the season with 11 players on the roster, so couldn’t afford to have players get hurt. However, pitcher Jersey Schwalm aggravated a back injury the second week of the season against Swain County, and first baseman Reagan Peterson was hurt the following week against Robbinsville.
Then the next week against Cherokee, outfielder Taryn Morrow had a fly ball hit her head and had to miss two games. That left Murphy to finish one game against the Lady Braves with only eight players, and had to bring in freshman Addie Johnson and sophomore Saige Kent to fill out the roster.
Though Peterson is still out, both Morrow and Schwalm are back in the lineup. Schwalm pitched four innings against Cherokee on April 1, then battled through six innings against Franklin three days later. Against Andrews (2-11, 1-7), Schwalm settled in early and was excellent by the end, finishing with 11 strikeouts.
“Her pitching’s good,” Dockery said. “And it allows other kids to be in the positions they’re used to being in and the positions they need to be in on defense. It just makes our defense come together as a whole.”
Andrews scored one run in the top of the first inning, and didn’t get a runner to third base the rest of the game. In both the third and sixth inning, Riley Dockery threw out runners trying to steal third.
Murphy answered back with three runs in the bottom of the first. Julia Dockery led off with a triple to left field, and Riley Dockery brought her home with one out to tie the game. The Lady Bulldogs took the lead on an RBI single from Schwalm, who would score later in the inning.
Murphy would add two more runs on RBI singles from both Dockery sisters in the second inning, then two more in the third on an RBI double by Aiden Smith and an RBI groundout by Morrow. Smith would go on to give the Lady Bulldogs the mercy rule with a bases-loaded single that just got into the outfield grass in the bottom of the sixth.
Murphy beat Andrews 17-3 on Friday to move to .500 on the season and in the conference. The Lady Bulldogs never trailed, and led 10-3 after six innings before striking for seven runs in the final frame. Julia Dockery had three hits and three runs batted in, while Riley Dockery, Charli McDaniel and Smith had two hits each.
Murphy travelled to undefeated Hiwassee Dam on Tuesday, which took place after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press. The two teams will meet again Friday at Konehete Park, and the Lady Bulldogs will wrap up the regular season next week with games against Hayesville on Tuesday, May 3, and Thursday, May 5.
With his team almost fully healthy, coach Billy Dockery thinks Murphy’s best softball is still ahead of them.
“We had a bad go of it the first half of the season, but we still can be in the top 2 or 3 seeds in the conference if we win out,” Dockery said. “I think they can win out, they just have to find it in themselves to do it.”