It was a tough week for the Murphy baseball team, as the Bulldogs lost both games of a home-and-home series against Smoky Mountain Conference opponent Swain County.
To start the week, they hosted Swain County and lost 24-4 in the five-inning game on March 18. The Dogs took an early lead with one run in the opening
inning.
After a scoreless second frame, Swain’s bats got hot. Swain took the lead in the top of the third with four runs, then added seven more in the top of the fourth.
The Dogs slightly closed the gap with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, but Swain still led 11-4.
To make matters worse, Swain added 13 runs in the top of the fifth to lead 24-4. The game ended in the bottom of the fifth inning, as the Dogs couldn’t get anything going to extend the game.
Murphy’s four runs were scored by Zack Hogsed, Colton Morgan, Aayden Williams and Michael Brown.
The Dogs traveled to Bryson City on Friday for the second game in the series and fell 11-8.
The Dogs started the game with one run in the top of the first, but Swain fought back to take the lead with four runs of their own in the opening frame.
After a scoreless second inning, the Dogs made it a one-run game with two runs in the top of the third inning. The one-run difference didn’t last long as Swain added three more in the bottom of the third to lead 7-3.
Murphy added two more runs in the top of the fourth, but Swain scored another run in the bottom of the fourth to lead 8-5. Swain extended the Maroon Devils’ lead over the next two innings with two runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth to lead 11-5 heading into the final frame.
The Dogs were able to rally for three innings in the top of the seventh, but couldn’t add enough to keep the game alive. Hogsed and Adam Cook had two runs each on Friday. Williams, Grayson Hall, Peyton Bain and Alex Roldan each had one run.
The Dogs travel to Georgia to take on Rabun Gap-Nacoochee at 5:30 p.m. Friday for their next game. On Tuesday, they will play host to Robbinsville at 4:40 p.m. in the first of a two-game series.