Late homer lifts Lady Knights to split with Bulldogs
Robbinsville – Tied 4-4 entering the bottom of the sixth, Friday’s Smoky Mountain Conference rematch between the Lady Knights and Murphy was in need of just one clutch hit from one clutch player.
With one out, Robbinsville senior Naomi Taylor answered the call.
The crowd peppered around Judy Nichols Memorial Field erupted when Taylor launched a no-doubter over the left-field fence. She went on to set down the Lady Bulldogs in order in the seventh, helping secure a 5-4 victory for Robbinsville.
Coming off a tough 10-5 road loss to the Bulldogs on April 1, the Knights were keyed in while taking the field for Friday’s return battle.
Murphy (6-5, 2-3) had other plans, scoring the first three runs of the game in the third. Emma Hensley sprinted home on a one-out wild pitch and hurler Paisley Johnson aided her own cause by later singling home Emma Laney and Julia Dockery.
Robbinsville (10-3, 6-1) bounced ahead with a four-run explosion in the fourth. Presley Caylor and Ella Atwell blistered a pair of back-to-back, one-out doubles to drive in Suri Watty and Caylor. Two batters later, the Lady Knights pulled ahead on a two-run hit from Lexie Williams – which scored Atwell and courtesy runner Sydney Adams.
The Bulldogs nabbed their final run in the fifth, when Dockery scored on the tail end of a fielding error.
The comeback victory was hot on the heels of a 12-2 taming of the Smoky Mountain Lady Mustangs (3-14) on April 3.
The visitors nabbed the lead in the first, when Riley Stokes hit a two-run homer. Robbinsville took one back in the home half of the frame – when Watty grounded out to score courtesy runner Anna Williams – but reserved its energy for a 10-run bottom of the fourth.
Liz Carpenter started the bombardment with a hit that scored Williams. Sophie Roberts flew out to plate Payton Odom and two batters later, Watty roped a hit to drive home Carpenter and Roberts.
With two outs, Daphne Barlow and Khaygen Buchanan produced consecutive doubles to usher Adams and Watty across the dish. Williams and Carpenter then managed to one-up everyone in the segment by launching a pair of two-run homers, sending the fans into a frenzy.
Robbinsville punctuated its victory with one more in the sixth, concluding the game early on a Carpenter hit that plated Buchanan.
Devils shunned
Bryson City – Taylor (8-2) struck out three and limited Swain County to just four hits in Tuesday's 7-0 road shutout of the Lady Devils.
Offensively, Robbinsville provided some early insurance when Watty drove a one-out hit to score Roberts. The Lady Knights then separated their final strikes of three runs each across the fourth and sixth, as Barlow flew out to bring in Lexie Williams; Adams doubled home courtesy runner McGuire; and Dreylee Webster singled to plate Adams in the fourth.
The final onslaught in the sixth began with Adams posting another RBI on a hit that welcomed home Caylor; Webster following with a groundout to send Barlow sprinting across the plate; and Lexie Williams getting a hit to bring in Adams.