SCF Softball Attempts Complete Sweep Over HCC

The SCF softball team (31-11, 8-2 Suncoast) are looking to complete a sweep as they travel to Tampa to face Hillsborough (13-20, 3-7 Suncoast) Tuesday night, April 2 at 5 and 7 pm at the City of Tampa Dick Greco Jr. Softball Complex in Tampa.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of their third series sweep in Suncoast Conference play as they swept St. Pete College 6-3 in game one before claiming a come from behind 10-5 game two win in eight innings.

Currently, the Manatees remain in second place behind #1 FSW in the Suncoast.

Suncoast Standings:
1. #1 FSW (42-1, 9-1 Suncoast)
2. SCF (31-11, 8-2 Suncoast)
3. SPC (23-16, 5-5 Suncoast)
4. Polk State (16-23, 3-7 Suncoast)
5. HCC (13-20, 3-7 Suncoast)
6. SFSC (22-16, 2-8 Suncoast)

Other Suncoast Scheduled Games:
Polk State vs SFSC at 5 and 7 pm
FSW vs SPC at 5 and 7 pm.

The Squad:
The squad that leads the way for the Manatees are sophomores Cheyenne Nunez, Haley McFadden, Kyria Holcomb and Megan Seeds and freshmen Lauren Bostwick, Sabrina "Sas" Long, Makayla Benavidez, Madi LoCastro and Kailey Christian.

Nunez, the speedster on the team is batting .356 with 47 hits, 21 RBI and 28 stolen bases. Nunez was was 3-for-7 against SPC with an RBI and two stolen bases. Nunez set the SCF single season record for most stolen bases in a single season after stealing her 26th stolen base against Polk State. In fact, Nunez has 51 career stolen bases for the team.

Announced on April 1, Nunez has committed to finish her softball career at USC Upstate with her two years of eligibility.

McFadden is batting .297 with 30 hits, a home run and 23 RBI. McFadden was 3-for-8 with an RBI against SPC.

Holcomb is batting .272 with a home run and 18 RBI. Against SPC, Holcomb was the hero of game two after driving in the go-ahead two RBI to help the Manatees win. Holcomb finished 2-for-5 with two RBI and three walks.

A wildcard in the sophomore group, Seeds proves her effectiveness at the plate and on the mound. Seeds is batting .291 with 16 hits, a home run, 13 RBI and eight stolen bases while going 2-2 with a 4.20 ERA and 17 strikeouts. After hitting her first collegiate home run against Polk State, Seeds went 3-for-9 against SPC with three RBI and a stolen base

Following Nunez's footsteps in speed, Bostwick is batting .269 with 16 RBI and 19 stolen bases. Bostwick was 1-for-6 with three RBI and a stolen bases against SPC.

Proving effective on the field, Long has a .832 fielding percentage while batting .347 with two home runs and 32 RBI despite going 1-for-6 against SPC.

LoCastro is 7-2 with a 1.95 ERA and 37 strikeouts on the mound while batting .323 with five home runs and 22 RBI at the plate. LoCastro was 0-for-2 against SPC with two walks while throwing a no-decision in game two with three strikeouts.

Benavidez is batting .373 with 31 hits, six RBI, 21 runs scored and nine stolen bases. Benavidez was 1-for-4 against SPC with an RBI.

Like LoCastro, Christian also continues her role on the mound as well as the plate with consistency. Christian is 17-2 with a 1.75 ERA and 161 strikeouts while batting .330 with 36 hits, a home run and 24 RBI. Christian's 17 wins is the third most in the Suncoast while her strikeout total is second. Christian threw her 13th complete game in the win over SPC while striking out six batters in game one of the series while going 3-for-7 with a home run and three RBI overall. In fact, during game one of the series, Christian's home run was her first collegiate home run with SCF.

When I talked to Christian after the series sweep over Polk State, I said to her "Can you please try to home run?" and her response was "We'll see". I guess you could say my request came true.

Top Stats:
The Manatees rank in the top 10 in the following categories:
Innings Pitched (293.2, 2nd)
Hits Given Up (239, t-10th)
Runs Given Up (143, t-7th)
Earned Runs (94, 5th)
Walks Allowed (65, 4th)
Strikeouts (276, 2nd)
Strikeouts per Game (6.58, 5th)
Team ERA (2.24, 4th)
Run Scored (242, 6th)
Hits (345, 6th)
Doubles (61, 8th)
Triples (9, t-8th)
RBI (223, 5th)
Walks Drawn (148, 3rd)
Strikeouts issued (108, 5th)
Stolen bases (95, 5th)
On Base Percentage (.393, 7th)
Fielding Percentage (.947, 9th)

Scouting HCC:
The Hawks enter the series on a six-game losing streak losing three series to Polk State (7-4, 9-8), NJCAA DII Region 11 Iowa Western Community College (7-6, 6-1) and recently SPC (7-0, 8-0 (5)). The team sits tied for fourth in the Suncoast with Polk State.

At the plate, sophomore Dominique Mannerino is batting .396 with six home runs and 25 RBI while fellow classmate Aliyah Carter is batting .319 with a team-leading eight home runs and 32 RBI. 

Mannerino did not bat against SPC, but was 3-for-6 with a home run and three RBI against Iowa Western Community College.

Carter also did not play against SPC, but was 2-for-6 against Iowa Western Community College.

Meanwhile the mound, freshman Landry Newgent is 7-13 with a 4.65 ERA.

Series History (2012-present):
Including the series sweep at the SCF Softball Complex on March 12, the Manatees are 25-7 against the Hawks. The last time HCC defeated SCF was on March 27, 2018.

Potential Starters:
Game One- SCF (Christian) vs HCC (Newgent)
Game Two- SCF (LoCastro or Zientek) vs HCC (Watts)

How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for both games, but will only be available with an account. Fans can keep up on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFSoftball
HCC: @HCCFL

Gamechanger Link (account needed): https://gc.com/t/spring-2019/state-college-of-florida-softball-5c4617fc03d69700218c16d3

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