Softball Game Preview: Sumter Gamecocks vs. West Florence Knights

Sumter is 1-9 against West Florence since April of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. Sumter will take on West Florence at 5:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Sumter 3.2, West Florence 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Last Tuesday, Sumter didn't have quite enough to beat West Florence and fell 2-1. The Gamecocks have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

For West Florence's part, Annie Ruth Eliason spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up 12 Ks. Eliason has been consistent : she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts any time she's pitched this season.

At the plate, West Florence saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Tolsyn Lynch, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. Hannah Marsik also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.

West Florence is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 10.29 hits in those games compared to only 3.67 in the others. Sumter's loss dropped their record down to 8-5-1.