Facing a rival that had gone 2-0 against their team in the regular season, the Williston softball coaching staff had a Mike Tyson-like message for the Red Devils prior to Thursday’s FHSAA Class 1A-Region 4 Semifinal.

Punch first.

That they did, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning and rolling to a 7-1 victory over visiting Chiefland.

”You know your team can gain confidence if they get out quickly, and it also helped calm [pitcher] Nevaeh [Hayes] in the circle,” said Williston coach Carl Williams. “It was good for her, and she stayed sharp all game.”

A varsity starter since the sixth grade, Hayes, a West Florida commit, said the three times she faced Chiefland’s Mackenzie Fisher this season were the only games in her varsity career she matched up against a lefty, like herself.

Hayes, who improved to 7-1, had excellent movement on her screwball and curveball, and she praised her team’s hitting and errorless defense against the Indians (10-15). For her part, Fisher threw strikes but was let down by a defense that committed six errors behind her.

Second-seeded Williston (16-10) will travel to top-seed Trenton (20-2) in Tuesday’s regional final. The Tigers won the regular season meeting between the two teams, 12-1, on Feb. 22, but Hayes is confident.

“They are good, but I think if we play strong defense and hit like we did [against Chiefland], we will win,” Hayes said.

FHSAA SOFTBALL – SCORES

Thursday, May 9

Class 5A-Region 1 Quarterfinals

1 Middleburg 4, 8 Columbia (Lake City) 1

4 Gainesville 12, 5 Deltona 1 (5)

Class 1A-Region 3 Semifinals

1 Branford 4, 4 Aucilla Christian (Monticello) 3

2 Fort White 5, 3 Madison County 1

Class 1A-Region 4 Semifinals

1 Trenton 11, 4 Newberry 0 (5)

2 Williston 7, 3 Chiefland 1