Panthers’ Dominant Pitching Leads Union County Past Hayesville 10-0

Photo courtesy of Carissa Daniels

The Union County Panthers used a dominant pitching performance and timely hitting to roll past the Hayesville Yellow Jackets 10–0 on Thursday.

Union County’s pitching staff held Hayesville to just three hits while striking out 11 batters in five innings. The Panthers’ airtight pitching proved to be the difference as Hayesville dropped to 0-2 on the season.

Union County jumped out early, plating three runs in the first inning and adding another in the second to take a 4-0 lead. The Panthers extended the advantage with two runs in the third before putting the game away with a four-run fifth inning.

At the plate, Union County finished with 12 hits. Senior Bo Brown had a big day, going 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs while scoring twice. Junior Chetley Cox added two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs.

Junior Cayden Miller also collected two hits and scored a run, while senior Eli Gwynn crossed the plate three times.

On the mound, junior Bentley Rich and senior Maddox Patton combined for the shutout. Patton was especially dominant in relief, striking out 10 batters over 3.1 innings while allowing just one hit.

Hayesville pitchers Brady Reynolds and Peyton McGaha split most of the work on the mound as the Yellow Jackets allowed 10 runs on 11 hits.

The loss was also a reminder of last year’s meeting between the teams, when Union County defeated Hayesville 7-2 in March 2025.

Union County improved to 5-5 with the victory and has now won two straight games.

Hayesville will look to bounce back Friday when the Yellow Jackets host the Pisgah Bears at 4 p.m. Meanwhile, Union County will return to action Tuesday when the Panthers travel to face the North Cobb Christian Eagles at 5:30 p.m. Both teams enter that matchup allowing few runs on average — Union County at 3.5 per game and North Cobb Christian at 3.1 — setting up what could be a tightly contested matchup.