Lady Jackets finding their way on softball diamond

  • Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Jasmine Brooks, No. 3, and Junior Raylyn Taylor, No. 11, await the throw from the plate during a Pisgah steal of second.
    Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Jasmine Brooks, No. 3, and Junior Raylyn Taylor, No. 11, await the throw from the plate during a Pisgah steal of second.
  • Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Hayesville freshman Lillie McClure, No. 12, tries to beat a throw home against Pisgah.
    Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Hayesville freshman Lillie McClure, No. 12, tries to beat a throw home against Pisgah.

    By Gary Corsair

    Sports Writer

     

    Hayesville outscored Pisgah from the third inning on, but the Lady Yellow Jackets couldn’t overcome a strong start by the Bears, who scored 6 runs in the first two frames on the way to an 8-4 softball win in the Black-and-Gold’s season opener.

    The loss confirmed what Hayesville Coach Marissa Peck already knew — that wins against more experienced teams may be hard to come by until the Lady Yellow Jackets get some experience under their belts.

    “It was our first week with our entire team and our two pitchers with basketball only ending the Friday before,” Peck said. “We have a young team with only three returning who saw significant time last year and one returning after missing all but a few games from shoulder surgery.”

    Hayesville may be young, but they come ready to play.

    The Lady Jackets rapped 8 hits, same as Pisgah. Seven Hayesville players hit.

    Gracelynn Anderson headed the hit parade by going 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored.

    “We have asked some ladies to step up and play positions they haven’t played before and they are working hard to make the adjustments,” Peck stated. “I have been pleased with the leadership of our lone senior Gracelyn Anderson.”

    Hayesville also had 1 single apiece from Jasmine Brooks, Madison Graves, Lillie McClure, Daylyn Murray, Mallory Peck and Raylyn Taylor, who also had an RBI. McClure also drove in a run.

    “We struggled at the plate with too many strikeouts. Overall I saw some positive things from our defense. Just got the entire team for practice on Monday due to basketball and am looking forward to having the team in full capacity,” Peck said.

    Hayesville plated 1 run in the first, 2 in the second and 1 in the fifth, but were hampered by five errors on defense that contributed to 5 unearned runs.

    A similar scenario led to a 13-3 loss to Cherokee on Thursday.

    “We struggled with pitching and passed balls early which led to one bad inning. Gracelynn Anderson made some big plays defensively that were stellar. We had less strikeouts as a team,” Peck said. “That said, Pisgah and Cherokee are good teams. We made some mistakes and got behind early in each of the games. I felt like we settled down and played better defense as games went on.”

    Hayesville hopes to perform well on offense and defense at Andrews Thursday and on Friday when the Wildcats visit Hayesville.

    “We are working hard and trying to build upon some of the things we instilled last year, basic fundamentals, stressing effort and attitude. The conference is always tough, but we will work to continue to improve and continue to try and change the culture of the program,” Peck said.