Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Hayesville's Peyton McGaha hits the dirt as he steals third base well ahead of the throw against Cherokee last Tuesday.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville’s hot-as-lava hit men are taking a well-deserved rest this week after wearing out Cherokee and Swain County pitchers in three games preceding spring break.
The Yellow Jackets ran their win streak to nine games by scoring 50 runs last week in a pair of 19-0 victories over Cherokee and a 12-10 triumph over Swain.
“We are playing good baseball,” Hayesville Coach Joe Jack Sellers said in a whopper of an understatement.
Good? Hayesville — a team with just one senior — is playing great.
The Yellow Jackets crossed the plate 77 times in their last five game, an average of 15.4 per, while allowing runs at a meager rate of 2.8.
That offensive average was bolstered last week as sophomore Jackson Sellers and juniors Michael Mauney and Chance Hughes led the charge.
Hughes, the team leader in doubles, produced 7 hits and 10 RBIs.
Sellers, tops the team in17 hits, 15 RBIs and batting average, .586 and second in slugging percentage, .655, had seven hits and six RBIs last week.
Mauney, second in batting average at .533 and team leader in slugging, .700 on base percentage, .643, 17 runs and 16 stolen bases.
Hayesville’s sweet-swinging sluggers do more than put the bat on the ball. The Yellow Jackets swiped 24 bases in 24 attempts in the three wins.
The young pitching staff, led by Sellers, .82 ERA and Cade Caruso, 2.10 ERA is doing the job.
“Our pitching is holding its own,” Sellers stated. “It’s pretty much an entire new staff minus Caruso and Hughes.”
Hayesville looks to extend its winning streak when Towns County visits Monday, the Yellow Jackets travel to Murphy on Tuesday and Murphy comes to Hayesville on Friday.
Here’s a summary of last week’s triumphs:
Tuesday
Hayesville 19,
Cherokee 0
The Yellow Jackets were smoking from the get-go in the four-inning game, scoring 4 runs on RBI singles by Sellers, Hughes, 2 runs and Cooper Matheson — all with one out — in the first inning and 9 more in the next frame.
The second inning was even more impressive. Peyton McGaha started the ball rolling by singling and stealing second and third. Tate Roberts and Matheson drove in runs with singles as Hayesville took advantage of four errors, a passed ball and a hit batsman.
Cherokee pitchers helped Hayesville’s 11-hit attack by walking 12 Yellow Jackets and hitting four batters with pitchers.
Caruso started and struck out five without yielding a hit in three innings. Mauney pitched two innings of no-hit ball and struck out three.
Leading hitters: Matheson 2-for-2, Hughes 2-for-3, McGaha 2-for-3 and Sellers 2-for-3.
RBI leaders: Hughes three, McGaha two and Sellers two.
Runs leaders: Kyle Shaheen 3, Robbie Barter 2, Mauney 2, McGaha 2, Carson Reece 2, Roberts 2.
Stolen base leaders: McGaha two.
Wednesday
Hayesville 12, Swain County 10
The score was tied 2-all after three innings, Hayesville broke the contest open with four in the fourth and six in the fifth to go up 12-5, but Swain rallied with five in the sixth.
“It was a tight game. To start, we pulled ahead and they came back to make it a close contest,” Coach Joe Jack Sellers said. “We hit the ball well. Except for one inning pitching and defense was good.”
Hayesville had 11 hits for the second game in a row and was once again helped by opposing pitchers. Maroon Devil hurls walked nine and hit two.
The defense helped Hayesville. The Devils committed six errors.
Sellers hefted the big bat, going 3-for-5 and driving in four runs.
Leading hitters: Hughes three (one double), Sellers three (one double), Shaheen two.
RBI leaders: Sellers four, Hughes two, Roberts two, Shaheen two.
Runs leaders: Mauney 3, Caruso 2, McGaha 2.
Stolen base leaders: Mauney four.
Friday, April 5
Hayesville 19,
Cherokee 0
The Yellow Jackets decided the outcome early with 8 runs in the second inning and then added 6 more in the third as they improved to 7-0 in the Smoky Mountain Conference and 9-2 overall.
Shawn Plummer, inserted into the starting lineup due to an injury to Dawson Devane, delivered in a big way with 3 hits and 3 runs and caught two fly balls.
Hughes and Roberts also had hot bats. They both had two hits, three RBIs, two runs and a double.
Mauney, Shaheen and Sellers had two hits apiece. Mauney swiped three bases in as many tries, scored 3 times and drove in 2. Shaheen also scored twice.
Mauney wasn’t the only bandit. Hayesville stole 13 bases. Sellers and McGaha were both 2-for-2 in steals. Both scored twice.
Hayesville’s pitching was also impressive. Caruso struck out three of the four batters he faced, Sellers whiffed four of the eight he faced and Brady Reynold kayoed four of the seven Braves who tried to hit him.