Neal Wachob • Clay County Progress Hayesville first baseman Danielle Anderson, No. 16, reaches for the throw from short stop Lucy Trout.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Editor
The high school softball season is young, but Hayesville has already matched last season’s win total of one.
The inexperienced Lady Jackets have improved quickly and more wins will follow if Coach Marissa Peck’s girls continue to compete like they did in a pair of games against Cherokee last week.
Cherokee 7, Hayesville 5
The Lady Jackets came within a whisker of winning two-in-a-row at Cherokee, but a seventh-inning rally died with two on and the tying run at the plate.
Yes, a whisker.
Hayesville’s impressive last-inning comeback with the Lady Jackets trailing 7-4 began with a prodigious poke by Caroline Wade, who motored into second base standing up. After Lillie McClure walked on a 3-2 count, Wade scampered home on Kara Bauer’s double — a one-out smash just beyond the center fielder’s reach.
With two out, Hayesville’s Brooklyn Smith blooped the ball just beyond first base for an apparent two RBI single, but the horsehide fell two inches foul. Back-to-back strikeouts clinched the win for Cherokee.
The Lady Jackets burst out of the gate with guns blazing. Micalynn McClure opened the contest with a solid double, but was caught stealing. Lucy Trout promptly doubled and Wade walked. Both crossed the dish on Danielle Anderson’s two-out single to right.
Hayesville added two more runs in the third when Trout and Lillie McClure singled and both scored on errors.
“I liked our defense at times. I liked the way we were swinging the bats,” Peck stated. “We had some errors in the outfield that cost us some runs. We also had some unfortunate calls in the field that didn’t go our way that led to some big second outs.”
One of the questionable calls came when Micalynn McClure was called out on a stolen base attempt in the fourth inning. Trout followed with a walk and Wade crushed the first pitch she saw into center field, a knock that would have surely scored Mighty Micalynn and given Hayesville a 5-4 lead. Instead, the Lady Jackets left two runners stranded and didn’t mark in the fourth.
The Lady Jackets belted 10 hits, including two apiece by Anderson, Micalynn McClure, Trout and Wade. Trout and Wade scored twice. Trout also had five assists.
Hayesville 5, Cherokee 4
The Lady Jackets trailed 2-0 before plating three runs in the fourth inning and two more in the sixth.
Trout swung the biggest stick for the victors, belting four hits in four at bats and driving in three runs. Two of those RBIs provided the margin of victory in the sixth inning. Fittingly, Trout also speared a hot line drive to end Cherokee’s seventh-inning comeback attempt. She also had four assists at shortstop.
Micalynn McClure also took care of business in a big way, whacking four hits in as many at bats and pitching a masterful three-hitter. She also fielded her position flawlessly with four assists.
Freshman Isabella Mintz proved to be like an additional lead off hitter by going 2-of-3 with a pair of runs hitting in the No. 9 hole. Mintz’s fourth-inning single was absolutely crucial since it came with two outs brought up Micalynn McClure, who singled and Trout, who knocked in Micalynn McClure and Trout.
Mintz came through again in the sixth inning, when she dropped the softball into shallow left field and took third on Micalynn McClure’s rap to left. Trout knocked in both runners.
Hayesville enjoyed its best day of the season at the plate with 13 hits and just two strikeouts.