All-Conference in baseball, softball
Hiwassee Dam – Hiwassee Dam sophomore Olivia McNabb led the way for local all-Smoky Mountain Conference selections, as she was named the softball Pitcher of the Year.
McNabb threw 112⅔ of the Lady Eagles’ 127 innings this spring, pitching to a 1.99 ERA while striking out 154. She was also the team’s best hitter, batting .478 with six home runs and 32 RBI.
Seniors Payton McNabb, Allison Stiles and Kiera Taylor were also named All-Conference. All three were middle of the lineup bats, with McNabb batting .429 with a home run and 25 RBI, Taylor hitting .400 with 14 RBI and Stiles batting .286 with six home runs and 26 RBI.
Freshman Brinkley Payne, sophomore Sky Taylor and junior Katie McNabb were honorable mentions. Payne batted .333 with a home run and 18 RBI in her first varsity season, Taylor batted .243 with four RBI, while McNabb hit .190 with six RBI.
For Hiwassee Dam baseball, junior Clay Davis and senior Evan Hedrick were named All-Conference, while sophomore Trenten Beavers and senior Tanner Taylor were honorable mentions.
Davis batted. 431 with a home run and 20 RBI, and had a 3.53 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 37⅔ innings pitched. Hedrick batted .404 with seven RBI, stole 17 bases and had a 3.03 ERA in 32⅓ innings pitched. Beavers was the Eagles’ catcher and batted .336 with a home run and 13 RBI, while Taylor played five positions in his senior season and batted .265 with seven RBI.
For Murphy softball, seniors Riley Dockery and Jersey Schwalm and sophomore Julia Dockery were named All-Conference for the second straight season. Schwalm was Murphy’s main pitcher this season, throwing to Riley Dockery at catcher, while Julia Dockery was a standout at shortstop. Senior Ansley Hogsed and junior Sanai Wilson were honorable mentions, playing left field and center field, respectively, for Murphy this season.
For Murphy baseball, seniors Cole and Ty Laney and freshman Robert Turner were named All-Conference,
while seniors Mason Cook and Isaac Cole were honorable mentions. The Laney brothers provided steady play for the Bulldogs, with Cole batting .333 with 7 RBI and pitching to a 3.85 ERA and striking out 59 batters in 36⅓ innings pitched, and Ty batting .259 with a home run and 10 RBI.
Turner made an immediate impact in his first varsity season, batting .338 with a home run, 13 RBI, 20 stolen bases and had a 1.93 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 32⅔ IP. A Hayesville transfer, Cook batted .294 with a home run and 8 RBI while playing on the left side of the infield. Cole batted .309 with two home runs, 22 RBI and pitched a team-high 37⅔ innings.
Andrews junior Kinleigh Queen was named softball honorable mention. Queen switched from catcher to shortstop this year, and provided good leadership for a young Lady Wildcats’ team.
In baseball, Andrews senior Isaac Weaver was named All-Conference, while sophomore Braxton Rickett was named honorable mention. This is Weaver’s second straight All-Conference nod, and he had a team .415 batting average, 10 RBI and pitched 21 innings for the Wildcats this spring. Rickett batted .342 with a home run, nine RBI and had a team-best 4.76 ERA in 42⅔ innings pitched.