Gary Corsair• Clay County Progress Hayesville ace Jackson Sellers winds up to smoke a Murphy batter. Sellers improved his record to 5-1 with his second complete game Monday. He leads the Yellow Jacket staff with a 1.01 earned run average.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville smacked 14 hits, stole 17 bases, had a 5-run second inning and a 6-run sixth, but the Yellow Jackets’ resounding 11-1 win over visiting Robbinsville Monday was more than just a display of offensive might.
Hayesville’s defense was absolutely marvelous.
“We made some key defensive plays,” Hayesville Coach Joe Jack Sellers said after his team’s 13th consecutive victory.
Oh yeah, they did. Four were worthy of a SportsCenter Play of the Day segment. All four occurred with Hayesville leading 5-1. All four left Black Knights stranded. Three of the four ended the inning.
Defensive gem No. 1, third inning, one on, one out: Hayesville shortstop Tate Roberts gloves a hot grounder and whips the ball to Michael Mauney, who waltzes across the second sack for and shotguns the ball to Kyle Shaheen at first for the inning-ending double play.
Defensive gem No. 2, fourth inning, one on, two outs: A Hayesville throwing error gives the Black Knights a second baserunner, but only for a moment. Rightfielder Cooper Matheson, rushing in to back up the play, fields the ball when it caroms back into fair territory and rifles the pill to Mauney to catch a surprised Knight at second base for the third out.
Defensive gem No. 3, fifth inning, one on, two outs: Hayesville third baseman Chance Hughes sprints across 20’ of foul territory, never taking his eyes off a high, twisting pop-up and makes a spectacular catch at the fence.
Defensive gem No. 4, sixth inning, two on, one out, potential tying run on deck: Robbinsville slugger Tyton Teesateskie’s line drive down the third baseline is fair by inches and has “double” written all over it, but Hayesville left fielder Cade Caruso fields the ball on a dead run and rifles it to Mauney, who tags Teesateskie out five feet from second base.
Those were the golden gems. Impressive glove-work was also displayed by center-fielder Peyton McGaha, who made a nice running catch on the first at bat of the game and a backpedaling Mauney, who caught a pop-up on the outfield grass in the fourth inning. Catcher Dawson Devane didn’t let anything get past him.
Hayesville’s pitching was also noteworthy. Ace Jackson Sellers was incredibly efficient after giving up three hits and a run in the first inning. Sellers only threw 44 pitches in the final four innings and only surrendered two hits in the middle four innings of a six-inning game concluded early due to the 10-run rule.
The offense was potent. Again. Here’s a summary:
Hits: Mauney three, McGaha three, Caruso two, Sellers two, Devane, Hughes, Matheson and Roberts.
Runs: Mauney three, Devane two, Caruso, Hughes, Matheson, McGaha, Roberts, Sellers and Shaheen.
RBI: Caruso three, Mauney two, Matheson, McGaha and Sellers.
Doubles: Caruso two, McGaha and Sellers.
Stolen bases: Roberts four, Devane three, Mauney three, McGaha three, Shaheen two, Matheson and Sellers.
Last week, Hayesville also scored a pair of double-digits victories, 13-2 and 16-1, over Murphy.
Tuesday
Hayesville 13, Murphy 2
The Yellow Jackets took control in the second inning when Sellers opened with a single and took second on an outfield error, Hughes followed with a single and stolen base, Devane reached on a fielder’s choice and Matheson doubled down the left-field line to give Hayesville a 3-0 lead with no outs. Matheson came home on the fourth run when Mauney grounded out.
Hayesville gradually increased its lead by scoring between one and three runs in each of the final five innings.
Sellers struck out eight and scattered four hits to earn the decision.
Devane led the offense with three hits, three RBI, two runs and two steals.
Summary:
Hits: Devane - three; Caruso, Hughes and Sellers - two; Matheson, McGaha and Roberts - one.
Runs: Brady Reynolds - three; Caruso, Devane and Hughes - two; Matheson, Mauney, McGaha and Shaheen - one.
Doubles: Devane, Matheson and Sellers.
RBI: Devane and Roberts - three; Matheson - two; Mauney and McGaha - one.
Stolen bases: Devane, Hughes and McGaha - two; Caruso, Matheson, Reynolds, Roberts and Shaheen - one.
Friday
Hayesville 16, Murphy 1
The Yellow Jackets clung to a 2-1 lead after two innings before putting the game out of reach with seven runs in the third inning and another seven in the fourth.
Hayesville rapped 10 hits and stole 14 bases in as many tries in support of Caruso, who tossed a three-hit, seven-strikeout complete game.
Mauney led the hit parade with a double, two singles, three RBIs and two runs. Hughes smacked two hits, drove in four runs and scored twice. Roberts cracked two hits, knocked in three runs and scored three times. Sellers rapped two hits, scored twice and drove in a run. McGaha scored three runs and drove in a teammate.
Summary:
Hits: Mauney - three; Hughes, Roberts and Sellers - two.
Runs: McGaha and Roberts - three; Hughes, Mauney and Sellers - two; Caruso, Devane, Matheson and Shaheen - one.
RBI: Hughes - four; Mauney and Roberts - three; McGaha, Sellers and Shaheen - one.
Doubles: Devane and Mauney.
Stolen bases: Hughes, Roberts and Sellers - three; Devane two; Matheson, Mauney and McGaha - one.
Hayesville: 13-2 overall, 10-0 Smoky Mountain Conference, hosts Andrews on Thursday and travel to Robbinsville on Friday.