Photo courtesy of Joanna McMahan

With another year of baseball in the books in the Smoky Mountain Conference, it’s time for the end of the year awards to be given out. As always, our FYN Sports awards are different from those given out by the Smoky Mountain Conference coaches. These awards are just our way of looking back and showing some love to the best performers we saw this season. Our choices are made based on statistics and total team contributions as a whole.

TeamFYNSports SMC Player Of The Year: Carter Hayes

.452 Batting AVG / 28 Hits / 12 Doubles / 2 Home Runs / 33 RBI’s / .994 Fielding %

It might be a surprise to some that Swain County’s Carter Hayes was chosen to be our Player of The Year, but it’s not a surprise to anyone who watched him play ball this year. Hayes led the Smoky Mountain Conference in runs batted in with 33 (13 more than the man in 2nd) and boasted a .453 batting average that was good enough for third in the SMC. Hayes also posed a threat to opposing teams when he was behind the plate. In his 176 total chances in the field, the Sophomore catcher only committed 1 error all season long. If an opposing team runner was able to get on base Hayes held them in check most of the time, throwing out multiple guys from his knees this year and being responsible for more pickoff outs than I have ever seen. In a conference full of studs, Hayes stood out the most simply because of what he could do on both sides of the ball. And he’s only a Sophomore.

TeamFYNSports SMC Pitcher Of The Year: Charlie Collins

11 Wins / 1.03 ERA / 78 Strikeouts / 47.2 Innings Pitched

This choice should not come as a shock to anyone. Swain County’s Charlie Collins was by far and away the most dominant pitcher in the SMC this year, posting a 1.03 ERA and earning 11 total wins on the year. When Collins was on the mound this year, he was in total control of the game around him. Not only was he able to get the swings and misses (78 Strikeouts), he was able to induce a ton of routine ground balls and get out of innings quickly. The Junior pitcher has command and velocity, which are two things not often found in 1A pitchers. Charlie made our choice for Pitcher of The Year an easy one, and we can’t wait to see what he is able to do next year.

Catcher: Avery Leatherwood (Hayesville)

.522 Batting AVG / 24 Hits / 1 Double / 3 Triples / 20 RBI’s

First Base: Gabe Lillard (Swain Co)

.444 Batting AVG / 32 Hits / 8 Doubles / 3 Triples / 3 Home Runs / 19 RBI’s

Second Base: Braden Rumfelt (Murphy)

.449 Batting AVG / 31 Hits / 8 Doubles / 1 Home Run / 20 RBI’s

Third Base: Will Jenkins (Swain Co)

.433 Batting AVG / 26 Hits / 2 Doubles  / .521 On Base % / 18 RBI’s

Short Stop: Evan Hedrick (Hiwassee Dam)

.442 Batting AVG / 23 Hits / 3 Doubles / 1 Triple / .554 On Base %

Outfield:

Adam Sutton (Murphy)

.452 Batting AVG / 19 Hits / 5 Doubles / 11 RBI’s

Carson Tayor (Swain Co)

.414 Batting AVG / 24 Hits / 11 Doubles / 1 Triple / 2 Home Runs / 19 RBI’s

Mason Cook (Hayesville)

.333 Batting AVG / 15 Hits / 6 Doubles / .565 On Base Percentage

Utility:

Donald Bradley (Cherokee)

.392 Batting AVG / 24 Stolen Bases / 1.2 Strikeouts Per Inning Pitching

Isaac Weaver (Andrews)

.400 Batting AVG / 16 Hits / Wildcats #1 Pitcher (No Pitching Stats)

Lathan Buchanan (Robbinsville)

.364 Batting AVG / 20 Hits / 6 RBI’s / .978 Fielding %

Pitching Staff:

Isaac Cole (Murphy)

2.56 ERA / 38.1 Innings Pitched / 62 Strikeouts

Braxton Cherry (Hayesville)

2.97 ERA / 35.1 Innings Pitched / 44 Strikeouts

Briggs Cornwell (Murphy)

2.88 ERA / 41.1 Innings Pitched / 58 Strikeouts

FINAL SMC STANDINGS-

1. Swain
2. Murphy
3. Hayesville
4. Hiwassee Dam
5. Robbinsville
6. Cherokee
7. Andrews