Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Hayesville mound ace Mallory Peck throws heat during a recent warm-up. The Yellow Jacket hurler pitched well and fielded her position flawlessly in a 14-9 loss to Smoky Mountain.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
The Lady Yellow Jackets outscored Smoky Mountain 7-2 in the final two innings of softball Thursday, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a big inning by the Mustangs.
Smoky Mountain prevailed 14-9 on the strength of a five-run third and one run or more in all six frames.
Hayesville had an equally big inning in the top of the fifth.
Lily Chastain started the ball rolling by drawing a walk. Next, Raylyn Taylor reached on an error. Jasmine Brooks and Mallory Peck followed with back-to-back singles. Both scored on Smoky Mountain errors. Gracelynn Anderson scored the fifth run after also reaching on one of seven errors by the hosts.
“Offensively, we improved in the batters box,” Hayesville Coach Marissa Peck stated. “As a team we are still working on decreasing errors in the field. Pitchers worked hard to get ground balls but errors led to more unearned runs.”
The Lady Yellow Jackets committed 10 errors, which resulted in nine unearned runs.
On a positive note, Peck praised freshman Lillie McClure’s “great at bats.” The coach said, “She had three hits in big spots during the game. Anderson also hit for a triple early in the game. Jasmine Brooks and Mallory Peck also contributed with timely hits.”
McClure also had two RBI’s. Brooks, Peck and Maddie Graves each drove in a run and swiped a base.
Hayesville, 1-2 in Smoky Mountain Conference play and 1-4 overall, host Hiwassee-Dam on Thursday.