Photos courtesy of Brooke Leatherwood

 

Clay County- The Freshman and Junior heavy Hayesville baseball team is using their youth to their advantage this year. With a roster made up of 2 Seniors, 7 Juniors, 2 Sophomores and 8 Freshmen, the Jackets find themselves undefeated 3 games into their short season.

For a team that only returned 2 pitchers who threw a total of 5 innings last year, their 3-0 start has been impressive to say the least. Last year the Jackets relied heavily on Jeremy Stewart to fulfill their duties on the mound, and banked on Connor Bradley to come up clutch at the plate. With those two gone on to college, some new names have taken their place.

It seems the workhorse on the mound this year is going to be Junior Braxton Cherry, who missed all but one game last year due to a lingering injury. Cherry has started 2/3 games so far this season, and is boasting a 2.1 ERA through 6.2 innings while only allowing 3 hits and 7 walks while striking out 8. As far as efficiency goes, Freshman Kendall Boyer has been a stud so far for Hayesville. He’s thrown 8 innings in relief, allowing no earned runs on 5 hits while striking out 8 and only giving out 3 free passes. Tate Roberts and a handful of other freshman have also tossed a couple innings this year, and having this depth could really help the Black and Yellow come playoff time.

At the plate, Juniors Avery Leatherwood, Dakota Matheson and Kyle Lunsford are the guys opposing pitchers hate to see. All of the aforementioned are batting .500 or above so far this year, and are serious threats every time they dig in. Matheson leads the team in batting average and also has batted in 3 runs already this year, while Lunsford leads the team in RBIs with 4. Leatherwood, who also handles the catching duties for Hayesville, is 4-for-8 on the year with a triple and 3 RBIs to his name.

While Leatherwood is a problem for opposing teams at the plate, he perhaps poses the biggest threat when he’s behind it. Runners around the SMC have found out quickly that running on number 12 is easier said than done. With a pop time arguably the fastest in the Western part of the state and an arm that could hold the same claim, Leatherwood is a lethal weapon.

Though this team may look a little different from last year’s, they’ve already proven they’re out for blood (and another Smoky Mountain Conference Title). With 11 games left to go, it’s going to be fun to see the young Jackets evolve and elevate their game as the year goes on. The Jackets will take the field for the 4th time this year on Friday at home against Andrews. Buckle up folks, it looks like it’s going to be another fun year for the Jackets on the diamond.