INMAN, S.C. – There is just something special about hitting your first home run over the fence. It’s even more special when it happens in a playoff game.
Krislyn Wilder’s three-run blast to right field – the first home run of her career – in the sixth inning capped off a solid day at the plate for the Chapman Panthers softball team, claiming a 14-4 victory in six innings over the Palmetto Mustangs to advance to the District III championship. “I was just looking to put my team in a position where we would feel comfortable,” Wilder said about the approach at the plate. “Today starting in the first inning, we were getting runs and putting them up on the board, and it was a big part of our success in this game.” “It’s so nice to see a kid work so hard and for it to pay off in a timely manner for a walk-off shot,” Chapman head coach Casey Green exclaimed. “She works as hard as anybody else and it was just amazing to see it pay off, and the smile on her face.” An early tone-setter for the Panthers occurred during the first at-bat of the game as Autumn Fisher made a mad dash to tag out Palmetto leadoff batter Riley Brown. That carried over into the first at-bat for the Panthers as Sarah Byrd smacked a two-run, opposite field shot to right-center for a 2-0 lead. Palmetto plated a run in the third on a base hit and error to cut the deficit in half, but Chapman responded in their portion of the inning as two doubles – one apiece by Byrd and Rylan Ivey – drove in three runs for a 5-1 lead. Abby Gossett singled in the fourth and scored on a Sophie Whitley base knock, where Whitley later scored on a wild pitch. Gossett also tallied an RBI single in the fifth. “If we hit the ball, you could not convince me there’s a better team in the Upstate as far as if we hit like we can,” Green stated. “There are days we come out and it’s like, ‘Where did our bats go?’. We’ve got seven players in the lineup that can potentially hit the ball out – that is insane. Hitting is contagious. It takes a little bit of the pressure off, and you go up there more relaxed.” Chapman struck for four runs in their next two innings that included Fisher hitting a solo home run in consecutive at-bats, resulting in a 10-2 advantage. Palmetto cut the deficit down to six following a two-run home run, but Wilder ended the Mustangs’ half of the frame with a diving grab in left-center for the third out. The two round trippers for Fisher were her seventh and eighth of the 2023 season, respectively. “I always go up to the plate pretending it’s like practice,” Fisher explained. “I just try to put the ball in play. I never go up there looking to hit a bomb or anything. That’s a great feeling (to hit back-to-back home runs). It makes me feel like I’ve done something good for my team.” Wilder went 4-for-4 with a double, a walk, three RBI and five runs scored, while Fisher, Byrd, and Reagan Garrett each notched two hits in four at bats. Byrd tallied three runs batted, along with two by Ivey and one apiece by Gossett and Whitley. All nine Chapman batters recorded at least one hit during the contest. Chapman (19-5) returns to action on Wednesday with a home game against the Palmetto/Seneca winner. Spring sports schedule for Saturday, May 6th 3A Baseball District playoffs – Woodruff at Chapman, 6 PM Comments are closed.
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