Black Knights muscle into win column
Robbinsville – Finally.
Entering Tuesday’s home game against Cherokee, the Robbinsville varsity baseball team was winless. In 5-of-their-first-6 games, the Black Knights had lost by eight or more runs and opponents had outscored Robbinsville 84-15.
Once touted as Graham County’s “Diamond” Knights, the high school program has not reached the postseason since 2012. And after an 0-6 (0-3 in Smoky Mountain Conference play) start, the chances of the playoff drought coming to an end this season looked unlikely.
But hey, every comeback story has to have a turning point, right?
Winless no more, Robbinsville put together a spirited effort in the field, on the hill and at the plate against the Braves, shaking the monkey of its back once and for all with a decisive 12-7 win on Loudon Orr Memorial Field.
Lathan Buchanan had a breakout performance to help shoulder the load. The 6-foot-4 senior stretched for some spectacular receptions at first base in the game – a couple of snags would have turned Freddie Freeman’s head – but his bat made a difference, too. Buchanan went 3-for-4 at the dish, raising his average to .350 (second-best on the team) and roping the team’s second homer of the year in the bottom of the fifth, stamping a 6-run frame that blew a then-tied affair apart.
A man of few words, Buchanan did say after the triumph that the long ball was the first of his varsity career.
Elsewhere at the plate, leadoff hitter – and Tuesday’s starting pitcher – Graylen Orr connected for a 2-run single in the second, bringing courtesy runner Preston Phillips and Bryc Garrison across the plate. The multi-run hit broke the other tie of the game: a 1-1 deadlock, which occurred after Cherokee’s hurler Cavan Reed sprinted home on a pair of throwing errors in the top of the first, before Robbinsville’s Quinn Jumper dashed home on a Braves miscue early in the second.
Orr is now batting .368 for the Black Knights – leading the team – but his five innings of work on the mound ended up being for naught. Orr fanned seven Cherokee batters (four were caught looking) but the persistent visitors continued to chip away after Robbinsville pulled ahead 5-1 in the third, when Buchanan and Jumper both scurried home on another Cherokee error. A whopping eight fielding and throwing mistakes throughout the evening ultimately proved costly for the Braves.
Mili Garcia found his way to the plate on a passed ball in the fourth, before Xavier Otter sprinted across just two batters later on a wild pitch. Cherokee then forced the 6-6 stalemate in the fifth, when Garcia doubled in both Josh Phillips and Reed. Shiloh Woodson later delivered a one-out hit to drive in Otter.
Freshman Luke Lovin took over for Graylen Orr in the sixth and provided two solid innings of relief, only surrendering two hits and one unearned run in the seventh, when Zac Maney charged home on a wild pitch. Lovin had Robbinsville’s only double of the evening, which led off the home-half of the fourth.
The Braves cumulatively stranded seven runners throughout the game, but started off both the fourth and fifth with at least three consecutive hits.
Robbinsville finishes the season series with Cherokee by making the trip to Jackson County on Friday. First pitch is at 4:30 p.m.
Devils sweep
Coming off a 12-3 road loss to Swain County on March 21, Robbinsville was hoping to halt the rough start to the season when the Maroon Devils returned the favor by visiting Graham County on Friday.
After the first inning, things looked positive. Turpin reached on a fielder’s choice and later scored on an error, while classmate Knight delivered a 2-out double that plated Quinn Jumper.
In response, Swain County (3-6, 3-2) recorded a 5-run second; a 3-run fifth; and – with the game still in reach for Robbinsville – the Devils posted a 10-run sixth, putting victory firmly out-of-reach in an 18-2 Black Knights loss on Loudon Orr Memorial Field.
The huge offensive spurt in the sixth was highlighted by a 2-run Gabe Lillard home run. The senior Maroon Devil also doubled twice in the game, while Aiden Southards and Ronnie Griggs also turned in a pair of extra-base hits. Griggs had five strikeouts on the hill, turning in a 72-pitch, complete-game effort.
Knight’s RBI double was Robbinsville’s only 2-bagger of the afternoon. Knight finished with two hits to his credit; Turpin, Jumper, Adams and Ethan Orr also connected for hits.
Ethan Orr received the starting nod for Robbinsville, lasting 4 1/3 and blanking five Swain hopefuls.