FLORENCE, S.C. — This is becoming routine for West Florence. Not that the Knights mind.
Coach Aundres Perkins’ team opened its scoring with a first-inning home run for the second consecutive playoff game and won 7-0 Thursday over Irmo. The lower state’s top-seeded Knights (16-4) next host Lugoff-Elgin at noon Saturday.
Mia Boykin hit a two-run homer in Tuesday’s 9-0 win over Berea. On Thursday with two outs, Taryn Weatherford homered to center. That was the start of a four-run surge, and West never looked back.
“It was a really good feeling to start off early and get that first run on the board,” said Weatherford, a Winthrop signee. “And we kept going as a team. We are working good as a team, hitting good as a team, and doing good in the field. We’re just all working together.”
Perkins agrees.
“Good things happen for us when we strike first,” Perkins said. “We saw the ball early; the girls came out today and got some extra swings in batting practice and told me they were locked in. So, I rode that wave.”
That first-inning wave continued when Boykin and winning pitcher Annie Ruth Eliason singled. After Ashlyn Daisy bunted her way on to load the bases, courtesy runner Kaylin Davis scored on a passed ball, and Hannah Marsik (2 for 3 Thursday) hit a two-run single for a 4-0 lead.
Eliason, meanwhile, struck out 17 batters.
“She was strong in the circle, and she helped us out with her bat,” Perkins said. “When we’re clicking, everybody is having fun. They just want to pass the bat and have some fun and have some excitement out there. That’s what we’re going to keep trying to do — take it one game at a time and see where that leads us.”
Boykin (3 for 3) hit an RBI triple in the fifth, and the Knights added two more runs in the sixth.
“The beautiful part of it is it’s somebody different every night,” Perkins said. “The girls don’t feel any pressure. They come out here confident and relaxed. We feel like we can hit 1 through 9. We feel like we play great defense, and we feel it’s up to us to go execute.
“If we do that, then great things happen for us.”
May 3, 2024 | Morning News (Florence, SC)
Author/Byline: Scott Chancey | Section: Sports