Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Tate Roberts bowls over the Mountain Island catcher to score the tying run.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville’s rousing, come-from-behind 8-3 win in the second round of the NCHSAA baseball playoffs at Scott D. Penland Field had all the thrills, chills and spills of a Joie Chitwood Thrill Show.
A terrific, sixth-inning collision at home plate starring Hayesville’s Tate Roberts in the role of human bowling ball tied the score at 4, sounded a death knell for Mountain Island Charter and led to umpire Tristen Smith ejecting the visitors apoplectic coach, a vocal fan and a player who complained after a called first strike.
Hayesville, 14 wins, 8 losses, trailed 4-3 and was six outs away from elimination when Roberts led off the bottom of the sixth by lining a two-strike pitch into center-field. Kendall Boyer’s picture-perfect sacrifice bunt moved “Sticks” to second.
Next, Chance Hughes fouled off three pitches and then drew a base on balls. Roberts tagged up with his GPS set for home when Dawson Devane smacked a fly to mid-left center.
The Raptors catcher blocked the plate and the players and the ball arrived at the same time. Something had to give and Tate’s transmission doesn’t go in reverse.
The ball popped loose during the impact, the umpire ruled “safe” and Raptors coach Josh Featherstone came unglued. A raucous row ensued in which Featherstone bumped Smith and was thrown out of the game.
Mountain Island’s fighting spirit seemed to leave with their coach. The Raptors pitcher suddenly couldn’t find the strike zone, throwing eight balls in a row in walking Cooper Matheson and Michael Mauney.
Talk about perfect scenarios. Bases loaded and Ben Bethel (.569 batting average, best on the team) at the plate. Benji didn’t disappoint. He hit the ball hard, Mountain Island tried for a force at second but Mauney beat the toss and Jacob Cody crossed the plate to put Hayesville on top 5-4.
Matheson came home on a balk and Jackson Sellers delivered a sizzler the second baseman couldn’t handle to score Bethel and Mauney and up the lead to 8-4.
Roberts, who came on in relief of Kendall Boyer with two outs in the sixth, nailed the coffin shut by
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striking out the final two batters in the bottom of the seventh.
The spirited Jackets were a welcome upgrade over the Hayesville squad that bungled and trailed 3-0.
“We battled. That team had a couple of breaks and we had a couple of boo-boos starting out,” Hayesville Coach Joe Jack Sellers said. “Kendall Boyer just shoved. He did a phenomenal job pitching and we finally battled and had a few things go our way in the last few innings; a couple of good hits. The kids persevered and really came through. It was a great job.”
The awakening began in the third when Devane drew a walk and took second on Brady Reynolds’ sacrifice. Mauney then legged out an infield hit, knocking the ball loose when he collided with the first baseman.
Bethel’s RBI grounder plated Devane. Mauney scored when Sellers ripped a single to deep center to know the game.
Kyle Shaheen then tomahawked a pitch for a double and motored to third base when the ball was misplayed. Roberts then walked on a 3-2 count.
The rally ended on a double-steal attempt when Shaheen ate dust on a headfirst slide as the catcher swiped at him an extremely close play at home and the ump signaled ‘out.’
Superb pitching by Boyer and by two of the best fielding plays of the season by Mauney — who grabbed a fly behind second and went tumbling in the fourth and made a sliding grab of a smokin’ grounder and a perfect throw in the fifth — kept Hayesville in the game.
Mountain Island Charter went up 4-3 in the fifth on a squib single down the right-field.
Sellers spearheaded the Jackets attack with two hits and three RBI’s in three at bats. Mauney added two hits, two runs and two steals. Bethel knocked in two runs.
Boyer pitched 5 2/3 smart innings, allowing just four hits and zero earned runs, while striking out eight.
Mountain Charter 003 010 0 = 4
Hayesville 003 005 0 = 8
Hits: Mauney 2, Shaheen, Bethel, Boyer, Roberts
Doubles: Shaheen
RBI: Bethel 2, Devane, Shaheen
Runs: Mauney 2, Bethel, Cody, Devane, Matheson, Roberts
Stolen bases: Mauney 2, Roberts
Sac: Bethel, Devane
Bases on balls: Bethel, Hughes, Matheson, Mauney, Roberts, Sellers
Hit by pitch: Devane