The Murphy Bulldogs will be playing in front of their home fans against the Hayesville Yellowjackets at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Murphy is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 10 runs per game this season.
Last Friday, it was a hard-fought match, but Murphy had to settle for a 6-5 defeat against Hiwassee Dam. That's two games in a row now that Murphy has lost by just one run.
Murphy saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Zack Hogsed, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
Even though they lost, Murphy didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 13 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Hayesville had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.6 runs), and they went ahead and made it ten on Monday. They had just enough and edged the Indians out 9-8.
The team relied heavily on Michael Mauney, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last eight times he's played. Peyton McGaha was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Murphy now has a losing record at 4-5. As for Hayesville, they pushed their record up to 10-2 with that victory, which was their sixth straight at home.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Murphy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Hayesville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Murphy came up short against Hayesville when the teams last played back in April of 2023, falling 7-2. Can Murphy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
