Baseball Game Preview: Hayesville Yellowjackets vs. Franklin Panthers

The Hayesville Yellowjackets are taking a road trip to take on the Franklin Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Hayesville is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.1 runs per game this season.

Hayesville took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Swain County a 9-0 shutout. The victory continues a trend for the Yellowjackets in their matchups with the Maroon Devils: they've now won six in a row.

Ben Bethel

Runs

03/28/25 vs Swain County	2
03/25/25 @ Swain County	2
03/18/25 vs Hiwassee Dam	2
03/14/25 @ Andrews	2
03/12/25 vs Towns County	2
+ 2 more games

The team relied heavily on Ben Bethel, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-3. He has become a key player for Hayesville: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 2-4 otherwise. Kendall Boyer was another key player, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-4.

Franklin not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since March 4th. They put the hurt on Smoky Mountain with a sharp 16-4 win.

Hayesville's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-4. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.3 runs over those games. As for Franklin, their victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-6 and their overall record up to 4-7.

Hayesville suffered a grim 10-1 defeat to Franklin in their previous meeting back in April of 2017. Can the Yellowjackets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.