FLORENCE, S.C. – At this time of year, capitalizing on a mistake can be critical in terms of moving on or falling out of the playoffs.
Ridge View made more than its fair share of miscues Thursday – and South Florence took full advantage.
Helped by seven Blazer errors, the Bruins were able to score in four of their six trips to the plate while Payton Perry twirled a complete-game gem in a 9-1 victory.
South improved to 20-8 overall and now has a Saturday matchup at top-seeded Lugoff-Elgin scheduled for 11 a.m.
“Hartsville got beat tonight (by Lugoff), but West (Florence) and North Myrtle Beach won,” Bruins coach Bobby Jones said. “So that’s three out of the final four teams from our region. So I think our region gets us ready for a team like Lugoff.”
South will likely look to get another strong performance on the mound as it did Thursday. Perry was perfect through two frames, and didn’t allow a run until a two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth inning.
She fanned 11, walked three and hit one batter.
“I was jamming them a lot on the inside corner, which was helping me out a lot and helping our defense out a lot,” Perry said.
“She was hitting her spots…she was throwing the ball where I wanted her to,” Jones said. “When she does that, good things happen.”
Perry was also big at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a triple, double and three RBI. Ryleigh Hux and Alaina Floyd also plated runs as the Bruins scored eight times across three innings.
Those same three innings saw the Blazers commit all of their errors for the evening, with South also taking advantage of three walks.
But despite the added baserunners, the Bruins were able to come up with key hits when they needed them, Perry said.
“We were sitting on the balls that were fat down the middle and hitting to the outfield and scoring runs that we needed to…” she said. “Getting the big hits when we need them is what has helped us out in the playoffs and helped us out in region play and getting us through good games.”
Katie Catoe and Blakely Blue each went 1 for 3 with Catoe scoring three times.
RV 000 001 0 – 1 3 7
SF 023 302 x – 9 7 1
WP – Payton Perry (7 IP, ER, 3 H, 11 K, 3 BB, HBP).
LEADING HITTERS – Payton Perry 2-3, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI; Ryleigh Hux 1-3, RBI, BB, R; Katie Catoe 1-3, 3 R; Alaina Floyd 1-3, 2B, RBI, R; Blakely Blue 1-3, R.
RECORD: SF 20-8.
NEXT GAME: South will travel to Lugoff-Elgin at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
May 4, 2023 | Morning News (Florence, SC)
Author/Byline: JUSTIN DRIGGERS Morning News jdriggers@florencenews.com | Section: Sports