KNIGHTS CARRY 12-5 RECORD INTO PLAYOFFS
By: Gerald Doolittle
Special Writer
Batesburg-Leesville,S.C. - After a second place finish in SCISA Region 2-A the W.W. King Academy Knights of Coach Zach Matthews will carry a 12-5 record into the State Playoffs.
Last week the Knights needed to win both region games to take the region title. They defeated Anderson Christian on Tuesday 8-4 to setup the show down game with the Laurens Crusaders. The Knights ran into good Laurens pitching and fell 8-1.
The Knights suffered in the game for the lack of clutch hitting. They left a total of seven men on base in the game. They left a man stranded at third in the first inning after a Jake Bryan triple. In the second inning Scott Causey was left stranded after a leadoff double and in the sixth inning they left the bases loaded after two hits. Daniel Dorn had led the inning off with a double but was forced out at home with the bases loaded.
The Knights head to the playoffs to face Anderson Christian in the first round. Coach Matthews hopes his teams lack of clutch hits lately will take a turn for the better in the playoffs.
Catcher Price Carpenter has been slowed with a bad knee the past week leads the team with a .478 batting average and tops the team with RBIs at 16. He has also thrown out six opponents on the base paths.
Bryan is second in batting with a .426 batting average and has 13 RBIs. He has had a good season at shortstop. He also started and won two games at pitching striking out 25 batters.
Causey ended the regular season in a hot groove. He has upped his batting average to .390 with 14 RBIs. He has 8 singles and 8 doubles on the season. He has played at third, short and outfield whenever he is not pitching. On the mound he has a 4-0 record with an ERA of 3.49 and 36 strikeouts.
Senior Daniel Dorn has played in right field and at second base when not pitching. He has a .268 batting average with 6 RBIs. On the mound he has a 4-1 record and an ERA of 1.67 and 21 strikeouts.
Rounding out the Knight Roster are Alex Berry, Caleb Fulmer, Justyn Fox, Foster West, Cheyenne Bodie, Bryson Holsonback, Tripp Amick , Conner Fox and Corbie Long.
The Knights Junior Varsity team ended their season with a 6-5 win over Laurens Academy to up their record to 10-1. Their only loss was to Laurens Academy earlier in the season.
While on the JV team Corbie Long was the leading hitter with a .500 batting average. Long also had a 2-0 record from the pitching mound where he recorded 19 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.56.
Conner Fox while on the JV had a batting average of .407 and had a 4-1 record from the pitching mound where he recorded 22 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.3.
Jonathan Griffith finished the JV season with a batting average of .375. Griffith posted a 4-0 pitching record. He had 22 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.19.
