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Jones Robinson gets ready to catch the ball at third during a recent home game against the Wildcats
Gary Ayers
news@thesmokymountaintimes.com
The Maroon Devil baseball team wrapped up the penultimate week of the regular season is resounding fashion by sweeping Murphy with a 13-8 road win following an 18-7 win Tuesday at Swain.
The red-hot Maroon Devils have won five straight and eight of the last nine games heading into the final week of the regular season.
After whipping the Bulldogs in five innings in the 18-7 home win, Swain’s Lawson Woodard pitched a complete game seven innings for the road win Friday. Woodard gave up only eight hits and only two earned runs while striking out nine Bulldogs and giving up only two walks. Meanwhile, the Maroon Devil bats continued their strong hitting, pounding out 13 hits while drawing eight walks with four extra-base hits and a .371 team batting average.
Bradyn Ruais led the offense with a 4-5 day at the plate with two RBI’s while scoring three runs.
Catcher Carter Hayes went 2-5 with two RBI’s, two runs scored and one triple. Freshman Jones Robinson was 2-4, scoring one run with a double and one RBI. Woodard helped his pitching effort by scoring two runs with one RBI and a big double.
Another freshman, Will Holden, had two RBI’s while smacking a double and scoring once. Forrest Shuler scored twice as Swain scored five runs in the fourth and sixth innings.
And adding to the freshman barrage, Ayden Smiley went 3-5 with four big RBI’s and a double while scoring a run. It was a big week for Smiley, who was a leader in the jayvee team win over Invest Academy of Asheville 6-3 as Smiley hit a home run that cleared the left-centerfield fence over 330 feet away.
“We ended up with two quality wins over a solid Murphy team,” said Head Coach Mike Varano. “Friday’s game we went up 6-0 and ended up making some mistakes along with Murphy capitalizing on their opportunities. They tied the game at 6-6. We didn’t hesitate to understand if we just do our job good things will happen.”
“Lawson Woodard had the best outing we have seen all year on the mound as he pitched a complete game with nine strikeouts and only two walks while giving up only two earned runs. If we can continue to play like we have been and clean up just a few mistakes we are a very hard team to beat,” Varano said.
Murphy
The Maroon Devil baseball team continued its’ winning streak with a 10-0 shutout on the road at Andrews Monday. Swain has now won six straight and nine of their last ten games heading into the last week of the regular season with only games vs. Hiwassee Dam remaining. Swain is now tied with Robbinsville for second place in the Smoky Mountain Conference standings with a 7-3 conference slate and 11-4 overall.
Freshman Will Holden had a stellar day on the mound and at the plate with a complete game of six innings pitched giving up only one hit while striking out six Wildcats and allowing only three walks.
Holden also scored three runs with a hit and an RBI at the plate. Another freshman continued with his hot bat as Ayden Smiley went 3-4 with a big home run, three RBI’s, three hits while scoring one run.
Catcher Carter Hayes had a big day going 2-4 with a double and scoring two runs as he ran wild on the base paths with three stolen bases.
Lawson Woodard contributed two hits with a double as did Forrest Shuler who had a double with two RBI’s on a 2-4 performance. Rowan Ellis also got in on the doubles feast with his own as Swain pounded out four doubles on the day with a team batting average of .433.