By Thomas Grant Jr.
Having a number one ranking during the regular season is not a top priority for Blythewood head coach Travis Poole.
While the Bengals hold the top spot in the latest S.C. Baseball Coaches Association’s Top 10 poll, he and his team have bigger aspirations.
“To be honest with you, I don’t even look at them,” Poole said. “As long as we play well, we’ll take care of it ourselves and I’m comfortable whatever we do.”
Blythewood pitcher Johnny Collins
Since a season-opening loss to Mauldin, Blythewood has gone unblemished on the field. Tuesday’s 10-0 win in six innings over West Florence was its 13th consecutive win and improved the Bengals to 5-0 in Region 5-5A.
Johnny Collins pitched a shutout and ended the game under the mercy rule with an RBI single. Macon Leaphart, Jackson Bottar and Sergio Melendez all drove in two runs for Blythewood.
“The one thing we’ve done we’ve played clean defensively,” Poole said. “We’ve got some timely hitting when we needed it and the guys come to work hard every day and run the bases hard.”
The two teams meet again Thursday in Florence.
S.C. BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION TOP 10 POLLS
(Class 5A)
Division I
1. Blythewood, 2. Summerville, 3. Dorman, 4. James Island, 5. River Bluff, 6. Stratford, 7. Dutch Fork, 8. Lexington, 9. J.L. Mann, 10. Clover
