Baseball Game Preview: Murphy Bulldogs vs. Swain County Maroon Devils

The Murphy Bulldogs will venture away from home to face off against the Swain County Maroon Devils at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Murphy has given up an average of 11.7 runs per game this season, so hopefully the team got some pitching drills in this week.

Things were looking good for Murphy after they put the first points on the board on Tuesday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They came up short against Swain County, falling 24-4. The Bulldogs haven't had much luck with the Maroon Devils recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.

For Swain County's part, the team relied heavily on Ayden Smiley, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, four runs, and five RBI. Smiley has become a key player for Swain County: the team is undefeated when he posts at least three RBI, but 0-3 otherwise. Will Holden was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three runs and four RBI.

Swain County always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .617. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April of 2024.

The victory (which was Swain County's third in a row) raised their record to 4-3. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 9.33 hits in those games compared to only 4.75 in the others. As for Murphy, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 2-5.

Friday's match might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Murphy has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .441. However, it's not like Swain County struggles in that department as they've averaged .493. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.