HAYESVILLE – Jackson Sellers could have called game after the first inning.
The Hayesville senior barreled an 0-2 pitch and drove it out to left center for a three-run home run in the first, giving enough run support for Hayesville’s best pitcher – himself.
Swain County scratched across two runs, but Sellers’ third homer of the season was enough to lead the No. 3 Yellow Jackets (16-4) to a 9-2 win over the No. 14 Maroon Devils (10-10) in the second round of the NCHSAA 2A playoffs May 8.
Sellers, the batter, drove in five runs, while Sellers, the pitcher, struck out 11.
“There’s no better feeling,” Sellers said. “Carrying my team, and being a leader for this team, I’m excited for what we can do in the next round.”
Hayesville advances to the third round on May 12 to face the winner of No. 6 Cornerstone Charter and No. 11 Bishop McGuinness.
The win was Hayesville’s 16th in a row. After dominating Swain County twice in the regular season, 16-1 and 10-0, Sellers said the Yellow Jackets thought it would be more of the same. That led to some lackadaisical fielding that made the game 3-2 before Sellers struck out three straight with two runners on.
“We really had to bear down as a team to get this win,” Sellers said. “It was a tough one, but we got the bats going and it went from there.”
Sellers has been one of Western North Carolina’s best two-way players and earned All-WNC honors as a utilityman each of the last two seasons. He’s driven in 37 at the plate and has struck out 85 on the mound.
Joe Jack Sellers, Jackson’s dad and Hayesville’s coach, said Jackson is the hardest working kid he’s seen, even putting aside his bias.
“I love the whole aspect of the game and I’m blessed to be able to hit, pitch and play in the field,” Jackson Sellers said. “I just love it. There’s no words to it.”
Hayesville has a strong baseball legacy as a program, with state championships in 1983 and 1988 and eight Western Regional titles, some of which came while Joe Jack Sellers was on the team.
It’s been nearly 40 years since the last regional title. If any Yellow Jackets team will break that drought, the one Joe Jack coaches with his son as the star is as good as any.
“We’ve got a really strong core group,” Jackson Sellers said. “I’ve been playing with these kids since I was a little kid and we have such great chemistry. If we all work together as a team, we can do great things.”
Evan Gerike is the high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @EvanGerike.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Jackson Sellers leads Hayesville baseball past Swain County in 2nd round