Murphy – Head coach Adam Clonts knew Rabun Gap would be a challenge for his Bulldogs, and was proven right on April 4. Murphy was overmatched against the private Georgia boarding school, having some bright spots before falling 14-2 in five innings.
“Traditionally in the past when we’ve played them they’ve been a very, very, very good team,” Clonts said. “And history repeated itself today with a team that was tough outs throughout the lineup 1-9, played very good defense and had a really good pitcher on the mound.”
Clonts made it a point to schedule some bigger and challenging schools in non-conference play to give his team a different look from what Murphy (7-4 overall) sees in the Smoky Mountain Conference. While Rabun Gap (7-5-1) is in a different class because of its ability to pull in kids from around the world, three of the four other schools the Bulldogs are playing in non-conference games are bigger than Murphy.
The Bulldogs have gone 2-2 in those games, beating Smoky Mountain twice while losing to Union County, Ga., and Tuscola.
“We’ve scheduled some larger schools with overall much better offensive lineups and much better pitching,” Clonts said. “We’ve seen that when playing these schools in these non-conference games, I feel like (it) is really helping us to battle through conference.”
It was going to take a really good effort to beat the Eagles, and Murphy didn’t make enough plays to keep the game competitive. Armani Guzman singled with one out in the top of the first, then stole second and third. Joe Swain’s throw to third was high and
Guzman scored to give Rabun Gap a 1-0 lead.
The Eagles scored five runs in the second inning, all of which came with two outs and were unearned runs. Once Rabun Gap adjusted to Briggs Cornwell’s velocity, they were able to make solid contact all over the field.
“We made a few mistakes in the field on routine balls that we just can’t make,” Clonts said. “You give a team like this four, five, six outs an inning, they’re going to score 5-6 runs an inning and that’s kind of reflective of what happened today.”
Murphy had just two hits on the afternoon, including a two-run double by Swain in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to 6-2. The Bulldogs had runners on second and third with one out after Dominick Rummler followed Swain by reaching on a dropped third strike, but couldn’t score. Rabun Gap added four more in the top of the third, and Cornwell was pulled for Cole Laney.
Laney was hit hard in the fourth, as the Eagles added four more runs to put the game into mercy rule territory. Rabun Gap made contact and Laney struggled to throw strikes at times, but was able to work out of a bases loaded jam to keep them off the board in the fifth inning.
Despite the tough loss, Murphy is still in good shape heading into spring break. The Bulldogs are in second place in the Smoky Mountain Conference standings at 5-1, and both Swain County (6-1) and Hayesville (4-1) already have one loss.
Murphy split its two games against Swain County this season, and will play Hayesville on May 3 and 5. Swain County beat Hayesville 4-0 on Apr. 7 and will play the Yellow Jackets again on May 6. This means the Bulldogs still have a shot at the conference championship, which was one of their goals heading into this season.
“We’re in the right spot to be in,” Clonts said. “We win out, we win the conference championship. It’s simple as that.”