Stewarts 13 Strikeouts Propel Hayesville to Round 2

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Hayesville

The Hayesville Yellow Jackets hosted the Christ the King Crusaders in the 1st round of the NCHSAA playoffs.

1st Inning:

In the top of the inning, Hayesville sent down the visiting Crusaders in order. With Jeremy Stewart starting on the mound striking out the first batter followed by a groundout and a flyout. In the bottom of the inning, Hayesville got off to a quick start, with Connor Bradley leading the game off with a double followed by an Avery Leatherwood single. Runners on 2nd and 3rd Jeremy Stewart grounded out to the shortstop but that allowed Bradley to score and Leatherwood to reach third. Clayton Vandiver singled to score Leatherwood. Then a few batters later Peyton Hunt singled to score Vandiver.

Hayesville

Kyle Lunsford 1st of 2 big hits in the game.

2nd Inning: 

The Crusaders doubled to start the inning looking to get back in it after getting down 3-0 early. That early double was too much for Stewart to pitch out of but he was able to limit the damage to just 1 run. Hayesville would go into the bottom of the 2nd leading 3-1. Connor Bradley would get walked to start the inning, then stole his way to third. Avery Leatherwood did his job hitting a deep ground ball to score Bradley giving Hayesville a 4-1 lead.

3rd Inning:

After a walk to lead off the inning Stewart shut down the Crusaders not allowing much of anything keeping Hayesvilles’ 4-1 lead. Cade Denton led off the inning with a grounder to the shortstop and flew down the line beating out the throw. Unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets the first base umpire was mistaken and called him out. A two-out walk drawn by Eli Roberts followed by a single from Dakota Matheson would put runners on first and third. The Crusaders would intentionally walk Connor Bradley to load the bases. A great sequence of pitches from the Crusaders would help them escape the inning unscathed.

4th Inning:

Jeremy Stewart was absolutely dealing in the 4th striking out the side in just 12 pitches. The Crusaders starting pitcher had found his groove as well though with a 1-2-3 inning of his own.

Hayesville

Dakota Matheson’s long at-bat leads to an RBI double.

5th Inning:

Stewart still pitching his best struck out the first two batters of the inning before a weak ground to third to end the inning. Peyton Hunt ripped a 1 out a single to get the offense going for Hayesville in the fifth. Hunt stole second then got to third a drop third strike. Dakota Matheson battled in one of the longest at-bats of the game before ripping an opposite-field double to score hunt giving Hayesville a 5-1 lead.

6th Inning:

Stewart was still dealing showing everyone he could carry his incredible regular season in an equally incredible postseason. He struck out the side for the second time in the game in the sixth inning. Kyle Lunsford got a two-hit single, then followed that up by stealing second. A passed ball let him get to third, then another passed ball got him in to score with a close play at the plate. This increased the Yellow Jacket lead to 6-1 going into the top of the 7th.

7th Inning:

Stewart struck the first two batters he faced before walking the last batter he would face running out of pitches. No problem though as Eli Roberts came in and quickly struck out the last batter he faced to end the game. 

Performance of the Game:

Jeremy Stewart threw 6 and 2/3 innings allowing only 1 run which was unearned. He also struck out an incredible 13 batters. His performance made sure the Crusaders never had a chance in the game. 

Interview with Stewart:

https://fb.watch/68VFavrlZZ/

Notable Hayesville Stats:

Connor Bradley: 1 double, 3BB, 1SB, 2R’s

Jeremy Stewart: 6⅔ IP, 13K’s, 1R, 0ER

Kyle Lunsford: 2/4 hitting 1SB, 1R

Dakota Matheson: 2/3 hitting, 1 RBI

Hayesville will face the winner of the 8/9 game either Mountain Island Charter or North Stanly. Check back tomorrow for a preview of Hayesville’s round two playoff game. To get updates or see how the Yellow Jackets have done tune in to all the latest FYN sports coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and at https://claync.fetchyournews.com/category/teamfynsports

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