Schuerman Earns 150th Win with Split vs CCF

History was still made during Military Appreciation Day at the SCF Softball Complex as the SCF softball team (18-8) split with College of Central Florida (19-7) dropping the first game 5-3 in eight innings before winning the second game 6-0. With the split, the Manatees are 12-17 against the Patriots.

"Central Florida is a great opponent and are ranked #3 in the state for a reason," said SCF head coach Mandy Schuerman. "They're very well coached and for us to comeback despite a tough first game going into extra innings, I felt we battled really hard in, and to be able to show the effort and energy through game two was important."

"I thought the overall performance was really good especially when we needed this win for this team," said freshman Kailey Christian. "We came together as a team, which didn't do really well the past few games, so it really helped."*

Game One:
For game one, Schuerman sent freshman Madi LoCastro (2-1) to the mound while CCF head coach Kevin Fagan sent freshman Caroline Hoppe to counter.

It didn't take long for SCF to score the first run after freshman Nicci Palumbo hit a sacrifice fly to send Christian home to make it 1-0 SCF.

The Manatees continued to hold the Patriots scoreless until an RBI single from sophomore Joanna Muldoon tied the game at 1-1 at the top of the sixth and would send the game to extra innings with the Texas Tiebreaker rule in effect.

At the top of the eighth, the Patriots scored four unanswered runs from a two-RBI double from freshman Riley Baxter and a two-RBI single from sophomore Maggie Trgo.

With freshman Sabrina Long placed on second per the Texas Tiebreaker, classmate Madelyn Graham would hit an RBI single and send Long home before scoring herself, but it was all they could produce as CCF pulled away with the win.

LoCastro would get the loss, putting her at 2-2 after throwing an eight inning complete game, giving up all five runs on 10 hits while walking one batter.

Hoppe would be credited with a no-decision after throwing two-thirds of an inning, giving up one run on one hit with three walks.

Freshman Barbara Cook would earn the win, putting her at 5-3. Cook gave up two runs on four hits while walking three and striking out three in 7.1 innings.

Graham was the only Manatee with a multi-hit and multi-RBI game in game one as she finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run.

Game Two:
Hoping to bounce back from being on a three-game losing skid, Schuerman sent Christian to the mound while Fagan sent freshman Kelsie Rivers to counter.

The Manatees quickly opened the floodgates in the bottom of the first. After Christian began with a lead-off walk, which was followed by two back-to-back one out singles from Graham and Palumbo, Long would draw a bases-loaded walk and send Christian home to start the inning off strong. With the bases still loaded, after LoCastro struck out, freshman Ashley Zientek would add to the board and send home Graham and Palumbo with a pop single to make it 3-0 SCF. After sophomore Megan Seeds drew a walk to load the bases again, Parks would send Long home with a single to make it 4-0 SCF. This signaled the end for Rivers as she was replaced by freshman Samantha Urbina.

Meanwhile on the mound, Christian continued to add "Ks" to the board as she struck out four batters through innings 2-4 and had five strikeouts while holding the Patriots not just run-less, but hitless in the long run.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Manatees continued to add to their lead. After Graham was hit by a pitch before Palumbo lined a double to left, Long would send Graham home on a sacrifice fly before LoCastro sent Palumbo home with a single to center to make it 6-0 SCF.

At the top of the fifth, Christian was pulling through with a perfect game until a two-out single from Trgo ended the moment, but was able to finish through the inning regardless.

At the top of the seventh, Christian started to show signs of struggle after a lead-off error and a double from sophomore Tiffany Steczo before recovering with a strikeout and a pop out before loading the bases with a walk to Trgo, but with an 0-2 count and a victory in sight, Christian was able to pull it together and strikeout sophomore Gretchen Ebert to seal the deal.

Christian would end up throwing her fourth shutout of the season, putting her at 10-1 on her record while walking one and striking out eight.

"I felt really good after today," said Christian on her shutout. "I'm just trying to stay consistent, which is my main focus through these games."

"Kailey has been very consistent on the mound for us throughout the year," said Schuerman on Christian's performance. "She only has one loss throughout the year and that was a loss where we did not score a run, so she's been very consistent and continues to pound the strike zone while getting us an opportunity to win and that's all we could ask for from our pitchers."

Rivers would be credited with her second loss of the season after two-thirds of an inning. Rivers gave up four runs on three hits while walking three and striking out three.

Urbina gave up two runs on three hits with two walks in three innings while Hoppe threw 2.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

Palumbo was the only Manatee in game two with a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-4 with two runs, while Long (0-for-1, one walk) and Zientek (1-for-2, one walk) were the only ones with multi-RBI games as they finished with two RBI each.

Notes:
Schuerman reached the milestone of getting her 150th career win as head coach for the Manatees. Schuerman's first win with SCF was on January 30, 2015 (vs Illinois Central) and her 100th win was on February 3, 2018 (vs Seminole State).

When I told Schuerman about her first win, she was like "ok". When I brought up her getting her 100th win, she was amazed and then said "Thanks for reminding me" and we had a good laugh about it.

When I brought up her reaching 150 wins, she thought it was fantastic and said "Thank you for telling me, I'll remember that".

"I had no idea that I actually reached that milestone because I take each game one step and one pitch at a time," said Schuerman on her 150th win. "150 wins comes from not just myself, but it speaks volumes from my coaching staff that works so well and the players that we recruit from the time we recruit, so they're through the program and I give them a great amount of credit for this."

"Coach Mandy (Schuerman) has been there for me through the start and has been the best coach I've ever been coached by, especially as a pitching coach," said Christian on getting Schuerman's 150th win. "So giving her this win is very meaningful to me and she deserves it."

Up Next:
The Manatees remain home as part of their 12-game homestead as they welcome Kalamazoo Valley Community College for a doubleheader on Monday, March 4 at 1 and 3 pm. This will be their season opener after finishing the 2018 season 29-14 overall with a 22-7 record in NJCAA DII Region 12/ Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA).

"Our goal is to be consistent in everything in our approach and no matter whose on the other side of the field," said Schuerman on Kalmazoo Valley. "I think that that's a big focus and push for us and really not to look over to see on the other side is just to play SCF ball and try to do the best we can."

"I expect for our team to play well," said Christian on facing Kalamazoo Valley. "I think this win is gonna propel us into the next games and as long as we keep hitting the ball hard and pitch the ball well, then whatever happens happens."

*Side note: Christian was the first SCF softball player I interviewed for a post game recap.