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Junior Gabe Lillard ready to steal third base. He had two stolen bases, two runs and three hits for the game on Friday.
Hannah Styles
hstyles@thesmokymountaintimes.com
The Maroon Devils started off the season by playing back-to- back games of baseball against Smoky Mountain and Franklin last week, which ultimately ended in two close losses.
On Thursday, Swain took on Smoky Mountain at home, where they just couldn’t break the Mustangs. The first inning ended with no score for either team and the second inning had a score for Smoky Mountain. In the fourth, both teams tied for points that inning with four each, but the Mustangs were still in the lead, 7-5.
In the fifth inning, Smoky Mountain scored three points to Swain’s one, to which the Devils answered with three points in the sixth to the Mustang’s one. One more point in the final inning led the Devils to fall by three points, 12-9.
Devils vs. Panthers
The next day, Swain played at home against Franklin and suffered a frustrating one-point loss. In the first inning, the Panthers shot up six points and Swain gained no points. In the second inning, the Devils put two up on the board, holding Franklin to no scores in that inning. Swain continued to catch up through the third and fourth innings and got seven points in the fifth compared to the Panther’s five. Ultimately, the game ended with Swain behind one point, 18-17.
Gabe Lillard and Cameron Blankenship stole two bases each, Ronnie Griggs, Carson Taylor, and Carter Hayes had one each, and Cooper Hyatt had an impressive four stolen bases.
Gabe Lillard had two runs, three hits, Will Jenkins and Finley Crisp had two runs, two hits each, Cameron Blankenship had three runs, three hits, Cooper Hyatt had one run, three hits, Carter Hayes had two runs, three hits, and Carson Taylor had three runs and two hits.
The Devils next game will be Tuesday, March 15 at home against the Murphy Bulldogs beginning at 4:30 p.m.