Photo courtesy of Joanna McMahan

Bryson City, NC- Heading into the week, the Swain County Maroon Devils baseball team knew that they needed to go 3-0 this week in order to snag a second-place finish in the Smoky Mountain Conference and improve their playoff seeding.

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The Maroon Machine defeated Murphy earlier this week and then completed the double-header sweep last night vs Andrews and Murphy to claim the runner-up title in the SMC.

Ronnie Griggs toed the rubber for the Devils in their game vs Murphy, and he was nothing short of impressive. Griggs pitched a complete game seven innings while only giving up one run on eight hits and striking out 9 Murphy batters.

Five runs in the third inning helped give Swain some breathing room over the rival Bulldogs, as Ronnie Griggs, Aiden Southards, and Rowan Ellis all had RBI’s in the inning.

Ellis led the Maroon Devils at the plate, going 2-2 with 3 RBI’s on the evening.

Mike Varano’s first year as the Head Coach of the Maroon Devils was one of many ups and downs, but his Maroon Machine stayed steady and now they’re sitting pretty come playoff time. Speaking of Playoffs, stay tuned to FYNSports this weekend as the playoff brackets start being released.