For the second straight game, West Florence will face off against Blythewood. The Knights will host the Bengals at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are headed into the matchup with plenty of momentum (West Florence has won 15 straight at home dating back to last season, while Blythewood won six straight on the road), something that'll have to change.
West Florence is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of South Carolina's top teams: Blythewood, who was ranked fourth at the time (West Florence was ranked sixth). The Knights lost 10-0 to the Bengals on Tuesday. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Knights, who until this matchup were averaging 3.29 runs allowed.
For Blythewood's part, Johnny Collins made a big impact no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over six innings pitched. Collins has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jackson Bottar, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Sergio Melendez, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Blythewood always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .529. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as West Florence only posted an OBP of .217.
Blythewood's victory bumped their record up to 13-1. As for West Florence, with the defeat, they broke their four-game winning streak and moved their record to 12-2.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
