The South Florence Bruins will take on the East Clarendon Wolverines at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. South Florence is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.3 runs per game this season.
If South Florence beats East Clarendon with ten runs on Saturday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. South Florence was the clear victors by a 10-1 margin over Lower Richland on Friday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bruins.
Landon Hill looked comfortable as he struck out eight batters over 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). What's more, he gave up only zero earned runs, the fewest he's had since back in April of 2024.
Gabe McLaughlin
| 03/14/25 vs Lower Richland | 2 |
| 03/04/25 vs Sumter | 1 |
| 04/25/24 @ Darlington | 1 |
| 04/23/24 vs Wilson | 1 |
| 02/26/24 @ Darlington | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Gabe McLaughlin, who scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-1. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in stolen bases. The team also got some help courtesy of Chase Matthews, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and one double.
South Florence always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .615. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, East Clarendon fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against Socastee on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Braves by a score of 11-10. Even if the Wolverines couldn't come away with the victory, the high-scoring effort was a great turnaround for their hitters, which had struggled int the games prior.
Barnes McConnell and Dawson Beard stepped up to the plate in a big way. McConnell went 1-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base, while Beard scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 4-for-6.
South Florence's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for East Clarendon, they are on a four-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-3.
East Clarendon's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: South Florence has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .519. It's a different story for East Clarendon, though, as they've only averaged .330. Will they be able to contain South Florence's hitters?
South Florence was able to grind out a solid victory over East Clarendon in their previous matchup back in February of 2022, winning 5-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for South Florence since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
