SCF Softball Readies for Lake Sumter

The SCF softball team (3-1) prepare their first two official road trips as they travel to Leesburg to take on Lake Sumter State College (3-1) on Thursday afternoon, February 7 at 2 and 4 pm. Originally, the Manatees were scheduled to play Broward College (4-2) in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, February 2 at 1 and 3 pm. but the series was cancelled due to miscommunication.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees, who are currently ranked #9 in the NJCAA Region 8 Softball Coaches' Poll opened their first four games of the season at the two-day JUCO Kickoff Classic in Clearwater. They swept day one after defeating College of Central Florida (6-5) and Pensacola State College (6-2) on day one before splitting day two with a loss to Miami Dade (7-6) and win over Pasco Hernando State (11-8).

Leading the way at the plate is freshman Sabrina Long and sophomores Cheyenne Nunez and Haley McFadden.

Long leads the team with a .500 batting average (6-for-12) and six RBI. On day two of the JUCO Classic, Long was 4-for-7 with a double and five RBI.

Nunez is behind Long with a .462 batting average (6-for-13). On day two of the tournament, Nunez was 3-for-7 with three RBI.

McFadden is batting .417 with five hits.

On the mound, freshman Kailey Christian is 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA and 12 strikeouts. In her most recent game, Christian threw six innings, giving up two runs on three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts for the win.

Freshman Ashley Zientek is 1-1 with a 1.45 ERA and 11 strikeouts. In her last game, Zientek threw 2.2 innings and gave up four runs on five hits while walking one and striking out six in the lone loss.

Fun Facts Since 2012:
1. The Manatees are 22-8 in the JUCO Kickoff Classic.
2. The Manatees are 6-2 on their opening game of the season.
3. SCF is 6-1 when opening at home, 5-2 on neutral ground and 4-3 on the road (not neutral ground).

Scouting Lake Sumter:
The Lakehawks also opened their season in the JUCO Kickoff Classic. They defeated Georgia Highlands College 3-2 and 8-7 in a doubleheader on day one before splitting day two with a loss to Broward (11-3) and a win over Indian River State (6-5). On their first road trip, they split with Polk State winning 5-2 in the first before losing 8-7 in the second game. The Lakehawks will play South Florida State College in two series at home and away.

At the plate, sophomore Taylor Dotson leads the Lakehawks with a .400 batting average and three RBI.

On the mound, sophomore Abbey Primavera is currently 2-0 with a 0.88 ERA. In her most recent game, Primavera threw three innings and gave up one hit.

Series History (2012-present):
The Manatees are 19-2 overall series against the Lakehawks. Last season, SCF swept LMS (1/27/18 Gm 1: 8-5; 2/6/18: Gm 2: 15-5 and Gm 3: 3-0). The Lakehawks' last win was on February 16, 2017 where the defeated SCF 12-8.

How to Stay Up to Date:
Livestats will be available for the doubleheader.

Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFSoftball

Lake Sumter: @LSSCSoftball