SCF Softball Readies for Seminole Tournament

The SCF softball team (13-1) return to neutral grounds as they travel to compete in the two-day Seminole Tournament at Boombah Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood, Florida on Saturday, February 23 to Sunday, February 24. The Manatees, who are ranked #4 in the NJCAA Region 8 Softball Coaches' Poll, will faceoff against Tallahassee Community College (TCC) (7-11) at 1:45 pm and St. Johns River State (6-8) at 3:45 pm on Saturday before facing Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) (9-7) at 9 am and Chattanooga State Community College (CSCC) (6-1) at 11 am on Sunday. The Manatees are entering the Seminole Tournament with an 11-game winning streak dating back to January 26 against Pasco-Hernando State.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of sweeping a series against Lake Sumter State College where they finished a 7-2 suspended game from February 7 before wrapping up the series with a 6-3 win and a 3-0 win against the Lakehawks, thus sweeping the series.

To 150 and Beyond:
For head coach Mandy Schuerman, who enters her fifth season as head coach for the Manatees, she will be going for 150th career win as head coach for SCF. Schuerman joined SCF fall 2014 after spending the 2014 season as a head coach for Bloomingdale High, while leading them to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) 8A State Championship title with a record of 28-3.

The former Gator, two-time team captain (2003-04), SEC Co-Freshman of the Year and All-SEC Second-Team member began her inaugural season with SCF in 2015 where eight Manatees were named on both the Suncoast Conference First and Second Teams with Erica Ward also being named on the FCSAA All-State while being named Suncoast Coach of the Year in her first season.

Since being under Schuerman's helm, the Manatees have had at least two players named to the Suncoast Conference First and Second Teams or Suncoast Honorable Mention (12 First Team, 12 Second Team, 4 Honorable Mentions). Along with Ward, two other players have been named to the FCSAA All-State Second Team under Schuerman's wing, Lindsey Hall and Taylor Engman.

Currently, Schuerman is 145-83 and is only five away from reaching the milestone. Schuerman earned her 100th win on February 3, 2018 against Seminole State College (4-2).

Key Players:
At the plate, key bats for the Manatees include sophomores Cheyenne Nunez and Haley McFadden and freshmen Madi LoCastro, Sabrina Long, Makayla Benavidez and Lauren Bostwick.

Nunez is batting .326 (14-for-43) and leads the team in runs (18) and stolen bases (12). In the series against Lake Sumter, Nunez was 4-for-12 (.333) with four runs and six stolen bases. In fact, Nunez has 35 in her career.

McFadden is batting .355 with 11 hits and five RBI despite going 1-for-6 with an RBI against LSSC.

LoCastro is one of two hybrid players on the team at the plate and on the mound. At the plate, LoCastro is batting .395 with four home runs and 14 RBI while on the mound, she is 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA and seven strikeouts. Against LSSC, LoCastro was 7-for-13 (.538) with a home run and two RBI In her last game on the mound, she threw six innings in relief while giving up one run on four hits and four strikeouts.

Long follows behind LoCastro as she is batting .312 with two home runs and 12 RBI. Long did go 2-for-12 (.167) against LSSC with a home run and three RBI.

Benavidez leads the team with a .417 batting average (15-for-36), three RBI and four stolen bases. Benavidez was 4-for-11 (.364) with two runs and two stolen bases.

Although mostly as a pinch runner, Bostwick is batting .250 (5-for-20) with eight runs, four RBI and eight steals. In the overall series against Lake Sumter, Bostwick was 3-for-8 (.375) with two stolen bases and an RBI.

On the mound, freshmen Kailey Christian and Ashley Zientek lead the way.

Like LoCastro, Christian is also a hybrid player at the plate and on the mound. At the plate, Christian is batting .364 (12-for-33) and is second behind LoCastro in RBI (13), while on the mound she is 6-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 49 strikeouts. Against Lake Sumter, Christian went threw 15 combined innings, giving up two runs on six hits, walking four and striking out 19. In her last game, she threw a two-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts. At the plate, she was 1-for-6 with two RBI.

Zientek is 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA and 23 strikeouts. Zientek finished the suspended game against Lake Sumter with a complete game while giving up two unearned runs on three hits with three walks and eight strikeouts, but in her most recent start she gave up four two runs on four hits with one strikeout, which led to a no-decision.

Overall, SCF sits in the top 10 in seven categories in the FCSAA: on base percentage (.401, 8th), stolen bases (38, 5th), strikeouts (85, 4th), strikeouts per seven innings (6.79, 5th), ERA (2.08 3rd), fewest errors (19, 6th) and fielding percentage (.951).

Scouting TCC:
The Eagles are entering the tournament on a three-game losing streak after losing the series to Santa Fe College, winning the first game (3-0) before losing the last three games (2-0, 4-3, 7-6).

At the plate, freshman Olivia Russell is leading the team with a .385 batting average, 20 hits, two home runs and nine RBI. Russell batted .181 against Santa Fe with three walks.

On the mound, sophomore Sidney Mathis has a 4-5 record with a 3.14 ERA and 32 strikeouts. In her most recent game, Mathis faced a no-decision after throwing six innings while giving up five runs on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts against Santa Fe.

Scouting St Johns River:
The Vikings are coming off of a series loss to Eastern Florida State on Sunday, February 17 where they fell 8-3 in the first game and 12-4 (5) in the second.

Freshman Bri Clapper leads the team with a .438 batting average and 10 RBI. Clapper was 4-for-7 with an RBI against EFSC.

Meanwhile on the mound, freshman Maddie Tomas is 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA and 11 strikeouts. In her last game, Tomas threw 2.1 innings while giving up one run on one hit with one walk in an 8-7 loss to St. Pete College.

Scouting Abraham Baldwin:
The Stallions are entering the tournament from NJCAA Region 17/Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) and are coming off of sweeping a series against the JV team of NAIA Thomas University (7-4, 13-1 (5), 2-0, 8-0 (5)).

At the plate, freshman Taylor Layfield is batting .300 with a home run and 11 RBI while also being 2-1 with a 1.27 ERA and 34 strikeouts. In her last game, Layfield threw one scoreless inning against  Wallace-Dothan on the mound while at the plate, she went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI.

Joining Layfield on the mound is sophomore Samantha Davis. Davis is 2-1 with a 2.46 ERA and 44 strikeouts. In her last game, Davis threw a complete game against Thomas University JV where she gave up three runs on eight while walking one and striking out four.

Scouting Chattanooga State:
The Tigers enter the tournament representing NJCAA Region 7/Tennessee Junior Community College Athletic Association (TJCCAA) in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They are coming off of two wins against Coastal Alabama - Brewton (7-0), Coastal Alabama-Bay Minette (10-3) and Wallace-Dothan (7-3) in the Gulf Coast Classic I Softball Tournament.

At the plate, sophomore Shelby Penning is batting .500 with two home runs and eight RBI. Penning was 5-for-13 the last three games with a home run and three RBI.

On the mound, freshman Brooke Parrott is 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA and 19 strikeouts. In her last game, Parrott threw eight innings against Wallace-Dothan while giving up three runs on six hits, walking two batters and striking out seven.

Series History (2012-present):
While it will be the first time the Manatees play Chattanooga State, the Manatees are 4-4 against TCC, 8-6 against SJRS and 1-0 against ABAC.

Last time the Manatees and Eagles met was on April 29, 2016 during the FCSAA State/NJCAA Region Tournament in Vero Beach where the Manatees won 7-5. The last time the Eagles defeated the Manatees was in FCSAA State/NJCAA Region Tournament on May 2, 2015 where they won 5-4.

Last time against the Vikings, the Manatees dropped the series 3-1
(2/8/17: 8-0; 2/21/17: 9-1 and 4-3). SCF's lone win was on February 8, 2017 where they won 4-2.

It will be the second time the Manatees play the Stallions. The first time was on January 30, 2016 where the Manatees won 11-1.

How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and fans can keep up to date on Twitter: @SCFSoftball

Livestats Link: https://gc.com/t/spring-2019/state-college-of-florida-softball-5c4617fc03d69700218c16d3