Kelly Dillon can’t say enough positive things about her standout pitcher.
Berkeley High School junior hurler Reese Watson continued giving her coach reasons to sing her praises in the Stags’ opening Class 5A softball playoff game. Watson, a righty, fanned 16 batters and surrendered just one hit in the Stags’ 5-0 victory over visiting White Knoll High School Wednesday, May 1, in Moncks Corner.
White Knoll’s lone hit came with two outs in the top of the sixth inning.
“I’m just so proud of her for her work ethic, her mentality, her graciousness,” said Dillon, whose team is the No. 1 seed in its playoff district by virtue of its Region 6-5A crown. “She’s just a hard-working kid and you don’t see a lot of those all the time. She earns every out she gets. I’m very thankful I’ve got her one more year.”
The Stags plated two runs in the second and third innings to build a 4-0 lead and tacked on another one in the bottom of the fifth inning. Catcher Riley Guerry and second baseman Courtlyn Cox knocked in runs for the Stags and shortstop Rileigh Ballentine scored two runs.
Guerry was the lone player with multiple hits, going 2-for-3.
Berkeley (15-8) moves on to take on Ashley Ridge Thursday, May 2, in Moncks Corner. The game was originally slated for Friday, but was moved up a day due to Berkeley’s prom.
“Every playoff win is important,” Dillon said. “It’s all one game at a time now. It doesn’t matter who you’ve seen before and what you did in the regular season.”