Over the past 3 seasons, slow starts have plagued the Lexington County Blowfish.

Each time in 2017 and 2018, the Blowfish ended up with losing records. The goal was to avoid a repeat of such a feat with championship expectations from the coaching staff and management.

Entering Thursday’s road game at Florence, Lexington County finds itself tied with its Interstate 20 rival for last place in the Coastal Plain League’s South Division. The two Palmetto State teams find themselves looking up at their Georgia rivals Savannah and Macon in the 1st half race for the division title.

When it comes to the Bananas, the Blowfish have already dropped 2 games and saw its home losing streak this past Monday against them extend to 9 straight.

The 10-5 defeat also marked the 4th time in those losses Lexington County has allowed 10 or more runs.

“We’ll be right there”

Nevertheless, head coach Marshall McFadden still believes the team can right itself this time

“We’re seeking what we have,” he said. “I think we have a pretty good team. We’re just now figuring out the pieces and where they fit and getting guys to understand the difference in metal bat and wood bat baseball. I think we’re a pretty good ballclub. We’ve just got to figure out some pieces and we’ll be right there.”

Getting better on the mound

McFadden was frank in pointing out his team’s pitching struggles. The Blowfish were ranked 11th overall in the CPL in earned run average when the week started and is second to Wilson in home runs allowed (4).

Shane Connolly had the team’s best outing by a starter in the 12-2 victory over Wilmington this past Saturday. He struck out 4 and allowed just 4 hits in 5 innings of work.

In the 3 losses, the Blowfish have allowed a total of 25 runs and 40 hits.

“Starting pitching has to be a little more dominant in this league and I think it will be,” Mc-Donald said. “I think we have the right guys and places to do it. We’ve just got to get a couple of games under our belt to figure it out.”

Offensively, the Blowfish lead the CPL in doubles (11) and 4th in hits (39) entering Monday. University of South Carolina 1st baseman Jordan Holladay leads the team with 7 hits and he, fellow Gamecock Josiah Slightler and Zacchaeus Rasberry are the team-leader with 3 RBI each.

Lexington County, however, is 2nd in the CPL in strikeouts (26) and the team is middle of the road in terms of batting average, on-base percentage and stolen bases.

An area the Blowfish have some improvement upon after the first 2 losses is fielding. They have played error-free baseball in the last 2 games after starting the season with 7, including 3 against Savannah on errant pickoff throws by Daniel Rutherford.

Such mistakes will continue to prove costly against teams like the Bananas.

“They don’t make any mistakes and if they get a runner to 3rd with less than 2 outs, they’re really good at putting the ball in play and getting the run in,” McDonald said. “So, we’ve got to get a little bit better on the mound.”

UPCOMING GAMES

THURSDAY - at Florence 7:05 pm

FRIDAY - at Macon 7:05 pm

SATURDAY - FLORENCE 7:05 pm

MONDAY - HOLLY SPRINGS 7:05 pm

TUESDAY - MACON 7:05 pm

WEDNESDAY - at Savannah 7:05 pm