By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Senior Lila Roberts extended her hitting streak to five games and upped her batting average to .381 Tuesday against visiting Hiwassee Dam.
Roberts’ single in the bottom of the fourth also contributed to Hayesville’s lone run in a 12-1 loss to the hard-hitting Eagles, who lead the Smoky Mountain Conference with a 4-0 record.
The Lady Yellow Jackets were in an 8-0 hole when the top of the batting order got busy and ended the shutout. Hayesville loaded the bases when its three top hitters reached base. Addie Bunch, .400, and Faith Odell, .421, were hit by pitches and Roberts singled — all with no outs.
Bunch scampered home on Gracelyn Anderson’s ground ball to first base, but Hayesville left two stranded as Eagles hurler Olivia McNabb recovered and struck out two of the next three batters.
While Roberts kept her hitting streak alive, Odell’s run of consecutive games with at least one hit ended at five.
Robert’s single and a base knock by Daylyn Murray were Hayesville’s only hits against the hard-throwing McNabb, who whiffed nine batters in four innings.
Hayesville, 2-4 overall, 2-3 in the conference, look to avenge the loss when the Lady Jackets travel to Hiwassee Dam on Thursday.
Swain 5, Hayesville 0
Swain County hurler Rylee Rawls had all of her pitches working at Hayesville last Friday, but the determined Lady Yellow Jackets fought valiantly before falling, 5-0.
Rawls struck out 11 and yielded just two hits, but Hayesville refused to let Swain put together big innings like the Maroon Devils did in a 14-4 triumph just three days earlier.
“We didn’t give up as many runs as we did earlier in the week. Offensively, we just couldn’t put enough hits together to make it happen today,” Hayesville Coach Marissa Peck said. “We had a few good things happen, we just couldn’t get anybody across the plate today.”
The Lady Yellow Jackets kept things close with timely defensive gems, like a sweet pitcher-to-catch double play in the first inning when Bunch speared a liner and whipped the ball to Odell for a tag at the plate. Anderson took care of the next two batters by fielding grounders and shooting down the runners to limit Swain to a lone run.
Hayesville turned another double play in the third when Bunch got the batter and Odell cut down a Maroon Devil trying to steal third. In the seventh, Anderson and Roberts displayed superlative hustle chasing a foul pop-up.
Anderson finished with six putouts, while Roberts had five, and Taylor took care of business on all four balls hit her way.
“I feel like our defense is where it needs to be. We’re not making the errors that we were making, so I feel like that’s improving. Now we just have to get that offense going,” Peck remarked.
Hayesville actually had the tying run on deck in the sixth inning. Odell gave Hayesville hope when she socked a line drive single with one out. Roberts then lined out to third base for the second out, but Bryleigh Krieger kept hopes alive with a smash down the line that was too hot for the third baseman to handle. Unfortunately, Odell and Krieger were stranded when Rawls ended the inning with a strikeout.
Odell and Roberts, one and two in the batting order, not only accounted for Hayesville’s three hits, they were the only Yellow Jackets to put the ball in play every time they batted. Roberts lined a single to right in the first inning and smacked a double to start the fourth.