Robbinsville – The Lady Knights’ Ally Ayers hit a popup on the third-base side, and Murphy pitcher Julia Dockery sprinted to make the play.
After a few steps, she dove to her left and got her glove on the ball. Unfortunately, the ball trickled out into foul territory and Ayers reached base.
It was just one of those days for the Lady Bulldogs, who struggled at the plate and on defense in a 12-1, five-inning loss to Robbinsville on March 22. It was Murphy’s first loss this season.
“Our age showed a little bit tonight,” head coach Billy Dockery said. “We were a young team, put a lot of pressure on our defense. They showed their youngness. Told them just like I would tell anybody sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, it just matters what you do after it.”
The Lady Bulldogs (3-1 overall, 2-1 Smoky Mountain Conference) had won their first three games this season, but knew Robbinsville would be a step up in competition. The Lady Knights (4-1, 2-0) are the defending Smoky Mountain Conference champions and have seven seniors in their starting lineup. Murphy has just one senior on its 11-player roster.
The Lady Bulldogs were short-handed as well, with pitcher Jersey Schwalm still out with a back injury. That meant a second straight start for freshman Julia Dockery, who never really settled in and didn’t get much help from her defense either. Murphy committed three errors, and made some questionable plays on some fielder’s choice ground balls.
“They hit the ball hard and made us make errors and confusion,” Dockery said. “Running the basepaths good caused a lot of confusion. They put the ball in play and that puts a lot more pressure on our defense than what we’ve seen in our first three games.”
An RBI groundout gave Murphy a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but it was all the Lady Knights after that. They loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning, though Julia Dockery struck
out Ivy Odom, and her sister Riley picked off Aynsley Fink at third from behind the plate. Patience Frapp followed with a two-run double to left, and Robbinsville never trailed again.
The Lady Knights put four on the board in the second inning, scoring one on a fielder’s choice and three when Zoie Shuler put a 1-2 changeup over the center-field fence. Murphy, meanwhile, struggled against Robbinsville pitcher Memory Frapp, who gave up just three hits and struck out seven in five innings.
The Lady Knights scored six more in the third inning, taking advantage of two Murphy errors to extend the inning. Odom’s two-run double extended the lead to 12-1, and Robbinsville held the Lady Bulldogs scoreless in the next two innings to preserve a run rule victory.
Friday’s game was closer, but the Lady Knights still came out on top 8-5. Murphy led 2-1 after three innings before Robbinsville scored three in both the fourth and fifth innings to take a 7-2 lead. The Lady Bulldogs would score three in the bottom of the seventh inning, but it was too little too late.
Despite two tough losses, Dockery knows playing Robbinsville will still be a good experience, especially with the youth on Murphy’s roster.
“For the future it’s great. It’s a hard pill to swallow now right in the moment,” he said. “I had a freshman pitcher on the mound tonight. Had a freshman third baseman. Mostly sophomores, even a junior catcher. From one end to the other, it’s good for them. Good tough experience, it’s hard in the moment.”
The Lady Bulldogs traveled to Cherokee on Tuesday, which took place after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press. They travel to 4A school North Buncombe on Thursday, then host Cherokee at Konehete Park on Friday.