Neal Wachob • Clay County Progress Hayesville first baseman Landon Cheeks goes airborne to snag a throw against Murphy.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Editor
Hayesville reaffirmed its standing as baseball kings of the Smoky Mountain Conference by outscoring Murphy, 23-5, in a pair of convincing victories last week.
The double whammy gives the defending SMC champions a sparkling 7-0 win/loss conference record in the conference and sets the stage for a showdown of SMC unbeatens when Hayesville and Andrews meet twice two weeks from now.
“It was a great way to finish up the first half of the season before spring break with two wins against a good team,” Hayesville Coach Joe Jack Sellers said. “Hopefully the layoff won’t affect us when we get rolling back on the 14th. We need to finish the second half strong to prepare for the playoffs.”
A deep run in the playoffs could be possible if the Yellow Jackets continue to play hardball as well as they did against Murphy last week.
Hayesville 11,
Murphy 3
Hayesville employed small ball to obliterate a 1-1 stalemate in the sixth inning of an SMC matchup at Murphy on Thursday.
The Yellow Jackets went from spinning their wheels to cooling their heels by sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring 7 runs in the sixth and then kicked the prone ’Dogs three times in the seventh for a convincing 11-3 take down.
Hayesville began to turn the tide when Jackson Sellers led off the sixth by walking on four pitches and Brady Reynolds moved him along with a perfect bunt third base side.
After getting an out, Murphy self-destructed.
First, a wild pitch allowed the runners to advance. Next, the Bulldog center fielder botched Landon Cheeks’ fly ball and Sellers and Reynolds scored. Hayesville 3-1. Rhett Sellers then walked on a 3-2 count.
After a second out, Hayesville’s lumber company appeared.
Cheeks scored to extend the lead to 4-1 when Rob Barter legged out a hot shot to shortstop. Sellers and Barter came home when Ben Bethel scorched a bullet to deep center and never paused at first on the way to a second base. Bethel scored when Peyton McGaha smoked a worm-burner under the second baseman’s glove to push the lead to 7-1. McGaha stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored when Jackson Sellers grounded to third and arrived at first a blink before the ball smacked the glove – or perhaps the throw pulled the gloveman off the bag.
The seventh inning brought another round of Hayesville hitting and Murphy mishaps.
The Jackets extended their holdings to 11-1 on singles by Adrian Fuentes, Cheeks, Micah Moss and Bethel, along with an infield error, an outfield blunder, a walk and a wild pitch.
Five Jackets had at least two safeties in Hayesville’s 14-hit parade.
McGaha sizzled with three hits, including a double, and two stolen bases, giving him a team-high 11 and he hasn’t been caught, as he extended his hitting streak to six games. McG is punishing pitching to the tune of .650 during the streak.
Bethel also continued hitting like a house afire. ‘Ethyl’ Bethel blasted a single and double for three RBIs to maintain his .500 batting average. He’s had at least one hit in 10 of 11 games.
Cheeks messed up Murphy with three RBIs on two hits and scored twice as he extended his hitting streak to four games.
Barter raised his average to .395 by cracking two hits.
Reynolds pushed his average to .391 with two hits.
Rhett Sellers crossed the plate twice.
Hayesville’s hurlers were also superb.
Jackson Sellers, he of minuscule 0.58 earned run average, clinched the decision by striking out eight, scattering five hits and surrendering just one run before reaching his pitch count with two outs in the sixth inning.
Cheeks finished up in fine fashion without giving up an earned run.
Hayesville 12,
Murphy 2
Reynolds was masterful on the mound, allowing just one earned run and five hits, retiring 11 consecutive batters, striking out six and going the distance.
The tall cool one also helped himself by driving in a pair of runs and fielding his position flawlessly.
Meanwhile, Reynolds’ supporting cast delivered plenty of punch.
McGaha and Barter stroked two hits apiece and Bethel, Cheeks, Jacob Cody, Fuentes, Reynolds and Jackson Sellers each had one hit.
The biggest pop was Jackson Sellers’ perfectly-placed frozen rope to the right field fence in the first inning that chased Barter, Bethel and McGaha home as Action Jackson high-tailed it all the way into third base.
He wasn’t there long. He put Hayesville on top 4-0 when he came home on Reynolds’ sacrifice grounder.
McGaha also ripped an impressive three RBI triple. That prodigious poke extended the lead to 11-2 in the sixth. McG came in on Fuentes’ base knock up the middle.
The Yellow Jackets also tallied three runs in the second when Bethel and Micah Moss walked and scooted home when McGaha cracked a single. McG scored on Reynolds’ single.
Hayesville went up 8-0 in the third when Cheeks singled, took second on a wild pitch and scored on Cody’s looping single down the third base line.