With spring break last week, there were no high school games featuring teams in the Cherokee Scout’s coverage area. Though it feels like spring sports just started, the season is coming rapidly to a close, with two or three weeks left in the regular season for most teams.
Here’s how the things are shaping up in each sport.
Baseball
After some struggles in non-conference play, Murphy remains in the hunt for the Smoky Mountain Conference title at 7-5 overall and 6-0 in conference play.
Seniors Isaac Cole (.333, 2 HR, 15 RBI) and Cole Laney (.333, 4 RBI) have been big contributors at the plate and on the mound, with senior Ty Laney (.312 HR, 7 RBI) and junior Zach Skogen (.333, 10 RBI) also providing a boost in the lineup. Freshman Robert Turner has also made an immediate impact in his varsity career (.308, HR, 6 RBI, 2.74 ERA, 30 strikeouts in 15⅓ innings pitched).
The schedule gets tougher for Murphy after the break. The Bulldogs’ six conference wins have come against the fifth- through seventh-place teams in the conference, and they still have two games each remaining against the other three teams in the top four.
That started with a trip to Hiwassee Dam after the Scout’s press time Tuesday. The Eagles are 4-6 overall and tied for third place in the conference with Swain County at 3-3.
The high point of the season so far was the Eagles’ 4-1 win over Swain County on March 14, their first over the Maroon Devils since 2017. Senior Evan Hedrick (.400, 5 RBI, 2.47 ERA in 17 innings) and junior Clay Davis (.400 HR, 9 RBI, 4.27 ERA, 24 Ks in 19⅔ IP) are playing big roles so far, with sophomore Trenten Beavers (.379, HR, 9 RBI) growing into his role as a catcher.
The Eagles are likely out of the conference title race, but still fighting for a playoff spot in the final weeks.
Andrews already has a win this year under new head coach Brian Wilson after losing every game last season, but the Wildcats are a young and raw team struggling with consistency. Senior Isaac Weaver (.421, 5 RBI) and sophomore Braxton Rickett (.333, 3 RBI, 2.52 ERA in 16⅔ IP) have been bright spots.
The Lady Eagles (7-3 overall) – who also hosted Bradley Central, Tenn., on Monday – entered the break with four straight mercy-rule wins to remain unbeaten in conference play (5-0). Hiwassee Dam has tough outs up and down the lineup, and are hard to beat when Olivia McNabb is on her game in the circle.
The Lady Bulldogs (7-4, 4-2 conference) have also won four games in a row, finding their footing after a bumpy 1-3 start to the season. They’ve adjusted with senior pitcher Jersey Schwalm limited due to injury for much of the early part of the season, with Paisley Johnson and Julia Dockery stepping up in the circle and that duo and Dockery’s older sister, Riley, getting it done at the plate.
Murphy (No. 11) and Hiwassee Dam (No. 12) are neck and neck in the state’s RPI rankings and on the bubble for hosting in the first round of the state 1A playoffs.
Andrews opened the season with a win over the Asheville Trailblazers, but has lost nine straight entering the break.
Track & field
There are nine female athletes and seven male athletes who have qualified for regionals so far this season, along with three school record breakers.
At Andrews, Kylie Donaldson has qualified for both the girls long jump (15 feet, 11.5 inches) and triple jump (33’3), while Demi Davis (31’0), Rylie McDonald (30’5.25) and Alexis Beasley (30’1) hit the mark in the girls shot put. For the Wildcats, Samuel Preston has qualified in the triple jump (41’0), Logan Shuler has qualified with a new school record in the high jump (6’1), Isaac Weaver has qualified in the shot put (45’4.5), and cross-country state champion O’Malley Salinas has qualified in the 1,600-meter (four minutes, 45.77 seconds) and 3,200-meter runs (10:34.64).
At Murphy, Jordan Oliver leads the way by qualifying in the wheelchair shot put (8’1), wheelchair discus (17’0) and 100-meter wheelchair dash (37.95). Oliver won the 100-meter wheelchair dash at last year’s state championship. Also qualifying for regionals for the Lady Bulldogs is Corinne Cotton in the 400-meter (1:03.78) and 800-meter run (2:39.59), Calista Rumfelt in the high jump (4’10) and Aiden Smith in the discus (98’8).
Cotton’s 400-meter time and Smith’s discus throw are the best in the conference, with Smith also ranking first in the 1A West region. Smith is the defending conference champion in the event.
For the Bulldogs, Brady Grant has qualified in the 100-meter dash (11.17) and Cameron Grooms has qualified in the 400-meter dash (51.68). Grooms is the defending conference champion and qualified for the state meet in the event.
At Hiwassee Dam, Ethan Russell has qualified for regionals in both the 1,600-meter (4:47.01) and 3,200-meter runs (10:42.00). Tri-County’s Fern Crayton has done the same in the 800-meter (2:43.35), 1,600-meter (5:51.29)
and 3,200-meter run (13:13.67). The Jaguars have also had two athletes break school records, with Sebastian Clevez setting new marks in the boys 100-meter (12.31) and 200-meter dash (24.74), while Jaden Crocker has done the same in the girls 300-meter hurdles (1:02.60) and discus (79’10).
The conference championship will be held Wednesday, May 3, at Cherokee, while the 1A West Regional Championship will be held Saturday, May 13, at East Burke. The top four in each event at regionals will qualify for the state championships Friday, May 19, at N.C. A&T in Greensboro.
Soccer
After dropping its first two games of the season, Murphy has gotten a result in six of its last seven games, going 5-1-1 in that stretch. The Lady Bulldogs still mainly play through senior Cat Barreiro and junior Lailee Holloway, but head coach Kim Brownlee has been impressed by the play of freshmen Brooklyn Johnson, Leah Beebe and Kaydence Walton.
Murphy faced a tough match at Highlands after the Scout’s press time Tuesday, but the Lady Bulldogs have four straight home games before ending the regular season with a road trip to Swain County on Monday, May 8.
Tri-County Early College has been mercy-ruled in four of its five losses. The Lady Jaguars will look to avoid that over the coming weeks.
Softball
Both Hiwassee Dam and Murphy are trending in the right direction, meeting for the first of two games this week after the Scout’s press time Tuesday.