Knights finish 3rd in standings, clinch playoff berth
Thirteen years.
Robbinsville can wait one more day.
Heavy rainfall across the state Monday flooded the field that was set to host the Black Knights’ first postseason game since 2011.
By virtue of Robbinsville’s third-place finish in the Smoky Mountain Conference – a by-product of a tough series with Murphy to end the regular season – the Black Knights loaded the bus right before Wednesday’s press deadline and pointed the transportation due east.
The end destination? Thomasville, where the Bulldogs (No. 9, 11-11) waited to defend their yard against Robbinsville (No. 24, 10-7) in the first step of the journey toward a state championship.
Dogs nip at the end
Now that the playoff monkey is off their backs, the Black Knights can put an unfortunate turn of events in the rearview mirror. Robbinsville had its May 1 Senior Night spoiled by an 8-run, top of the seventh from Murphy (6-11), as the Bulldogs prevailed 16-7.
The following day, the Knights held all the cards before the wheels fell off in the bottom of the seventh and Murphy surged back to win 5-4 at Chip Watson Field.
Dampening what could be Robbinsville’s final time on Loudon Orr Memorial Field this year was a series of miscues. By the seventh, Murphy’s five-spot in the top of the first was long gone: along the way in the rally, Quinn Jumper hit his first career varsity home run to cut the deficit to 5-4 midway through the bottom of the third.
The Bulldogs continued to play small ball, however and stayed one step in front until the seventh. When all was said and done, eight Murphy runs had came across the plate on just five hits; four errors helped moved baserunners around. Errors proved costly the next evening, as well. Robbinsville led 4-2 and needed just three outs to split the docket with the Bulldogs. Things simply got off course as the bottom part of the frame played out, with a 2-run miscue putting a damper on the Knights’ efforts.