SCF Softball Welcomes Oakland, Returns for Santa Fe College

The SCF softball team (15-3) return home for another series as they welcome Oakland Community College (2-2) to the SCF Softball Complex on Monday, February 25 at 4 and 6 pm before heading to Gainesville to take on Santa Fe College (8-11) on Tuesday, February 26 at 2 and 4 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees recently competed in the Seminole Tournament where they fell to Tallahassee Community College (4-3) and St. Johns River State (4-2) on day one before defeating Abraham Baldwin (10-5) and Chattanooga State (8-4) on day two.

To 150 and Beyond:
Head coach Mandy Schuerman has inched closer to reaching 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 and 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 being named to the All-Suncoast Conference First Team, Second Team or Suncoast Honorable Mention (12 First Team, 12 Second Team, 4 Honorable Mention). 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 147-85 and is only three away from reaching the milestone. Schuerman earned 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 .293 (17-for-58) and leads the team in runs (21) and stolen bases (13). In the Seminole Tournament, Nunez was 3-for-15 (.200) with three runs and a stolen base. In fact, Nunez has 35 stolen bases in her career.

McFadden is batting .289 with 11 hits and six RBI despite going 1-for-8 with an RBI in the Seminole Tournament.

LoCastro is one of two hybrid players on the team at the plate and on the mound. At the plate, LoCastro is batting .412 with four home runs and 16 RBI while on the mound, she is 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA and 11 strikeouts. In the Seminole Tournament, LoCastro was 6-for-14 (.429) with two RBI while going 0-1 in seven innings with six strikeouts.

Long follows behind LoCastro as she is batting .353 with two home runs and 15 RBI. Long was 4-for-13 (.308)  in the Seminole Tournament with three RBI.

Benavidez leads the team with a .438 batting average (21-for-48), five RBI and nine stolen bases. Benavidez was 6-for-12 (.500) with six runs and four stolen bases.

Although mostly as a pinch runner, Bostwick is batting .219 (5-for-20) with nine runs, four RBI and 10 steals. In the Seminole Tournament, Bostwick was 2-for-12 (.167) with two runs and two stolen bases.

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 at the plate, she is 7-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 49 strikeouts. Against Lake Sumter, Christian went threw 15 innings giving up two runs on six hits while 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 5-2 with a 1.74 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Zientek threw a complete game for her second loss to TCC before bouncing back with a win in relief after throwing five innings in the Seminole Tournament against Abraham Baldwin.

SCF is in the top 10 in 16 categories in the FCSAA: batting average (.323, 7th ), hits (161, 8th), triples (5, t-5th with Daytona State, Northwest Florida State, TCC), RBI (103, 6th), walks (68 6th), fewest strikeouts (44, t-4th with Hillsborough), stolen bases (52, 4th), on base percentage (.411, 5th), hits allowed (89, 6th), runs allowed (57, 6th), earned runs allowed (38, 5th), walks allowed (24, 4th), strikeouts (112, 4th), strikeouts per seven innings (6.84, 4th), home runs allowed (6, 9th) and ERA (2.32 ERA, 4th).

Scouting Oakland:
The Raiders, who are a part of the NJCAA DII Region 12 Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA), are just beginning their season with two wins over Augustana College JV (8-1 and 10-6) and losses to Lake-Sumter (8-0) and the Czech Republic National Team (4-3).

At the plate, sophomore Amy Benson leads the team with a .625 batting average and five RBI. Benson was 4-for-7 with five RBI and two runs against Augustana College JV and the Czech Republic National Team.

On the mound, freshman Lanie Ellinger is 1-1 with a 0.70 ERA and nine strikeouts. Ellinger threw a third of a scoreless inning with two walks.

Series History:
SCF is 12-0 against Oaklan. Last time out, the Manatees swept the Raiders 11-3 and 14-0 via the mercy rule.

Scouting Santa Fe:
The Saints are coming off of a split against Eastern Florida State where they fell 5-3 in the first game before winning 7-6 in the second. They were originally scheduled to face Polk State Friday, February 22, but the series was cancelled.

At the plate, sophomore Emily Yakel is batting .345 with six home runs and 18 RBI despite going 1-for-5 in the series.

Fellow sophomore Cameron Trehy is leading the team with a .377 batting average with two home runs and 13 RBI even if she went 0-for-3 with two walks against Polk State.

On the mound, freshman Gabrielle Mathre is 5-5 with a 5.25 ERA and 21 strikeouts. In Mathre's last game against EFSC, she threw six innings, giving up five runs on six hits while walking three and striking out five.

Overall as a team, Santa Fe has a 5.20 ERA (20th in the FCSAA).

Series History:
Since 2012, the Manatees are 19-7 against the Saints. The Manatees played SFC earlier this season as they swept them with a 4-2 win in game one and an 8-0 win in game two.

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

SCF:  @SCFSoftball
Oakland: @OCCollege
Santa Fe: @santafesaints

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

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