FLORENCE — After Monday’s opening game of the Class 4A softball state championship, South Florence coach Bobby Jones and the Bruins were left to wonder what might have been.
The Bruins had a runner on third base four times, and each time failed to score because of a baserunning blunder.
Combined with a four-hitter from Gaffney starter Julie Sarratt, the result was a 3-0 loss for South and a 1-0 series lead for the Indians. Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in Gaffney.
“Those mistakes cost us,” Jones said. “If we do what we are supposed to in those situations, it’s a different ballgame. That’s something we’ll work on before next game.
“Give (Gaffney) credit. They played better than us and deserved to win.”
South runners were caught in a rundown in the first inning, were picked off and cut down trying to score on a fielder’s choice in the second, and doubled off on a fly ball with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth.
“(Sarratt) is so strong when it comes to things like that,” Gaffney coach Kelly Ellis said. “She’s done that so many times this year and gotten us out of so many jams like that. I can’t credit her and my catcher (Megan Sexton) enough.”
Gaffney jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first.
South Florence starter Kaiti Harper hit a batter and walked another as the Indians loaded the bases with no outs.
Back-to-back singles from Courtney Campbell and Sexton drove in two runs.
“I think it was just nerves that first inning,” Jones said of Harper. “She calmed down after that and pitched well enough to win.”
Harper (22-1) allowed just two hits over the final six innings with one being a solo homer by Sarratt in the fifth. She struck out one, walked one and hit one in her first loss of the season.
The Bruins, meanwhile, had multiple hits in just one inning, but managed to get runners to third with less than one out three times before running themselves out of the inning each time.
“We’ve seen (Sarratt) now and know what to expect, so we’ll go back and make some adjustments and get ready for the next game,” Jones said.
Ashley Young, Kesley Pruitt, Hillary Beckett and Logan Irick all collected hits for South (26-2).
Sarratt allowed no runs on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks.
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