By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Michael Mauney and Braxton Cherry lived up to the promise of the numbers they wear by providing a one-two punch that staggered visiting Andrews, 10-0, in Hayesville’s first Smoky Mountain Conference contest Tuesday.
Mauney, wearing No. 1, kicked off Hayesville’s hit parade with an inside park homerun in the first at bat of the game, belted a double, blooped a single, drove in 3 runs, scored twice, stole a base, and fielded his position (second base) flawlessly.
Cherry did his numeral 2 proud by tossing a one-hit shutout, striking out six and cracking an RBI double. He also picked off first base the Wildcat who spoiled his no-hitter with a weak squib single in the third inning.
Mauney’s rounder-tripper, a wicked line drive that rolled all the way to the fence in rightcenterfield ignited an 8-run slugfest in the first inning of the season on the Hayesville diamond.
With one run in and one out, Avery Leatherwood crushed a pitch for a double, Kyle Lunsford followed with a bloop single to right and stole second, Cade Denton walked, and Dakota Matheson legged out an infield (and later stole third) – all before the second out. Hayesville led 5-0 by then.
The first-frame fireworks continued when Kyle Sheehan walked and pilfered second, Kendall Boyer singled, Mauney cracked a two-run double, and Cherry added a two-bagger to bring home Mauney with the eighth run.
A good portion of the explosion resembled batting practice, but the Yellow Jackets also benefited from 2 passed balls and a throwing error. Yet all 8 of Hayesville runs were earned.
The rest of the game was relatively quiet.
“We hit some good baseballs; they just caught them,” Hayesville Coach Joe Jack Sellers remarked.
Cherry departed after throwing just 10 pitches in the first, 17 in the second, and 14 in the third. Reliever Chance Hughes struck out 4 and allowed just one hit.
Mauney led Hayesville with 3 hits and 3 RBIs, and in runs with 2, an honor he shared with Denton. Matheson and Lunsford who had 2 steals apiece as the Yellow Jackets were 7-of-7 in the theft department.
“It was a good win, good win for the kids. They needed that,” Coach Sellers said.
The victory went a long way toward removing the stiing of a season-opening, 8-2, loss to 3A Tuscola in which Hayesville managed just 5 hits – two by Logan Caldwell, who is out for a few weeks after suffering an injury in an all-star basketball tournament over the weekend.
“Logan was one of our bright spots, had a great game against Tuscola,” Coach Sellers stated. “It’s a good thing we have depth.”
Cherry also looked good, scattering 8 hits, striking out six, and issuing just two walks over 7 innings. It would have been a command performance if Tuscola’s Jeff Benson had stayed home. Benson drove in 5 runs with a homerun and 2 doubles.
“The entire team had a little bit of nerves,” Coach Sellers said. “First game, playing a really good program, Tuscola, a 3A school, under the lights. We don’t play under the lights.”
All in all, Hayesville represented.
“I thought Braxton finished well,” Coach Sellers said. “Cade Denton played really well, hit the ball. Michael Mauney got a hit. Peyton McGaha — he’s a freshman — put the ball in play every time, he just didn’t get a hit. We played great defense. Our defense looked pretty solid. Dakota Matheson at shortstop had a really good game. He’s really improved.”
Cherry is expected to pitch Thursday when Hayesville travels to Andrews for a rematch.
Next week, Hayesville (1-1 overall, 1-0 SMC) travels to Swain on Tuesday and hosts Swain on Friday.