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| PC: Kim Benavidez |
"I think that St. Pete is a good team," said head coach Mandy Schuerman. "Anytime you face a team four times, you're going to see good performances from a lot of people and they hit the ball hard."
"We were fortunate to have some great defense throughout the day, and we were able to have great at-bats when we really needed them. We need to work on continuously hunting our pitch and continue to get better at that. It's a process we're still working on."
Game One:
For game one, Schuerman sent freshman Kailey Christian to the mound, while SPC head coach Bre Myers sent freshman Ashley Smith to counter.
After the first two innings went scoreless, the Manatees would get on the board first from an RBI single by sophomore Megan Seeds that brought in classmate Cheyenne Nunez. One batter later, sophomore Haley McFadden would send Seeds home to make it 2-0 SCF.
While Christian continued to hold the Titans scoreless, the Manatees added another run to the scoreboard after sophomore Sydney Parks reached on a error while classmate Kyria Holcomb scored to make it 3-0 SCF.
At the top of the sixth, SPC was able to get on the board from an RBI single by freshman Hannah Barnes, but the Manatees would retaliate in the bottom half as Nunez dropped a bunt and reached on an error before freshman Madi LoCastro scored to make it 4-1 SCF.
At the top of the seventh, Christian had no trouble breezing through the inning as the Manatees pulled away with the win. She would pull away with her 16th complete game for the win while giving up one run on three hit, walking one batter and striking out nine. She also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored. She was the only Manatee with a multi-hit game for game one. The win was the upcoming Delaware transfer's 20th win of the season, which puts her a 20-2 on the year.
Smith would earn her fifth loss of the season after giving up all four runs (two earned) on four hits while walking two and striking out one. The loss put her at 5-5 on the season.
Sophomore Sydney Tulin would throw one scoreless inning while giving up one hit.
McFadden and Seeds would finish 1-for-3 with an RBI each.
Barnes would be the only Titan in game one with a multi-hit game as she finished 2-for-2 with an RBI while freshman Isabella Huff had the Titans other lone hit as she went 1-for-3 with a run.
Sophomore Intermission:
After Game One, the Manatees took a breather to recognize seven sophomores for their sophomore night, Nunez, Seeds, McFadden, Parks, Holcomb, Nicci Palumbo and Madison Yoder along with their families and a group photo.
"It's always difficult when you're looking at your sophomores moving on," said Schuerman on her sophomore class. "But you're very excited for them at the same time. It's kind of mixed feelings, but this was a really special sophomore class, so they will be missed, but we definitely are very excited for what's in their future."
"It's sad only because I spent the last two years with these girls and they become like my sisters," said McFadden on her last home doubleheader. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do without them next year, and the freshman that came in this year I got so close with a few of them that I don't want to leave them at all, but I know since we're all such close friends, we'll figure how to see each other and play I'm sure and it will all be ok and I'm really excited for a new chapter, but I can't wait to finish this season."
Game Two:
For game two, Schuerman sent LoCastro to the mound to face Myer's pick in sophomore Jordan Lewis.
At the top of the first, LoCastro got into a little fix after giving up back-to-back two-out singles by Barnes and sophomore Jordan Stanton and a third single off the bat of sophomore Kelsey Holbert looked as if the Titans were going to score the first run, but a strong throw by Seeds proved very effective for the Manatees defensively as she was able to get runner out at home and save a run from happening. In the bottom half, Seeds would bring the first run in after being hit by a pitch, advanced to second after freshman Sabrina Long was also hit by a pitch and stealing third before scoring the first run on a throwing error.
Meanwhile for LoCastro, she continued to put herself in good spirits on defense, which included double plays at the top of the third, but SPC would soon answer back at the top of the fifth as they tied the game off of an RBI single by sophomore Sydney Mickel.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Manatees regain their composure to take the lead. After back-to-back walks drawn by LoCastro and Parks before freshman Lauren Bostwick hit a single to load the bases, Nunez would be the hero as she was hit by a pitch that sent LoCastro home to make it 2-1 SCF before the bottom half ended.
At the top of the seventh, LoCastro put herself in a little bit of a jam, but it proved to be unfazable as the Lakewood Ranch product would get Mickel to groundout to end the inning and win the game.
LoCastro would earn her ninth win of the season after throwing a complete game, giving up one run on eight hits while walking two and striking out one.
Lewis would earn a no-decision after throwing 1.2 innings, giving up one run on two hits while walking two and striking out one.
Gabriella Cirilo would earn the loss after giving up the second run on two hits while walking three batters in 4.1 innings. Cirilo is now at 5-5 on the season.
Holcomb would be the only Manatee in game two with a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-3 while Holbert was the only Titan with a multi-hit game as she also finished 2-for-3.
"Defensively, both games were two different approaches," said Schuerman on both games. "You have Kailey (Christian) who works the ball up more in her pitching while Madi (LoCastro) works the ball down, so for our defense to be able to adjust and continue to do that all season and have done a wonderful job that way."
"Offensively, we just need to continue to compete for every pitch and really focus on hunting for strikes instead of swinging out of our zone," Schuerman continued. "But I think that it's a good thing to have room for improvement and we definitely have room for it."
"The first game, we played a little close in a few innings, but then we broke it open and did a really good job," said McFadden on both games. "We've been trying to adjust keeping the ball on the ground and we were hitting the ball in the air a lot today, which happened to us in the second game, but we figured out how to make it work and we did, so we came out with two wins and that was awesome."
Other Conference Scores:
Hillsborough (14-23, 4-10 Suncoast) and South Florida State (24-20, 4-12 Suncoast) split a decision as HCC defeated SFSC 10-2 in game one before SFSC answered back with a 9-0 win in game two. SFSC would pull away with the overall series win against Polk State.
#1 FSW (45-1, 13-1 Suncoast) defeated Polk State (20-24, 6-9 Suncoast) 13-0 in game one via mercy rule, but the second game was suspended due to rain and will continue on Thursday, April 18 date with FSW ahead 9-3 at the top of the second.
Suncoast Standings:
1. #1 FSW (45-1, 12-1 Suncoast)
2. #20 SCF (39-11, 14-2 Suncoast)
3. Polk State (20-24, 6-9 Suncoast)
4. SPC (23-22, 5-11 Suncoast)
5. Hillsborough (14-23, 4-10 Suncoast)
6. South Florida State (24-20, 4-12 Suncoast)
Up Next:
#19 SCF will travel to Ft. Myers for a rematch against #1 FSW (45-1, 13-1 Suncoast) on Thursday, April 11 at 4 and 6 pm.
"I think you can expect a dog fight and both teams to come out competing," said Schuerman on facing FSW. "I hope that you can expect both teams not to back down for any challenges and it will be a tough series, so we're very excited for the opportunity to play them."
"It's very fun to come into a series being the underdog and we haven't had that experience very often this year, so we're excited for that opportunity to be the underdog to get the experience."
"They're a very good team, but we're just as good," said McFadden on facing FSW. "I don't doubt us at all. We just got to go out and play our game and if we do that, then we'll come out with the win and I'm not too worried about it as long as we play our game, no big deal because anything can happen."
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