Baseball Game Preview: Murphy Bulldogs vs. Hayesville Yellowjackets

For the second straight game, Murphy will face off against Hayesville. The Bulldogs will welcome the Yellowjackets at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Murphy has given up an average of 9.5 runs per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Murphy is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Hayesville just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They lost 17-5 to the Yellowjackets.

For Hayesville's part, they got a massive performance out of Kyle Shaheen, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. Shaheen has become a key player for the Yellowjackets: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 6-7 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Cooper Matheson, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.

Hayesville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .615. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .312 or higher in seven consecutive games.

Hayesville is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 12-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.0 runs over those games. As for Murphy, their loss dropped their record down to 7-11.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Murphy has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Hayesville struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.