SCF Baseball: FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Tournament Day One and Day Two Recap

The SCF baseball team (37-19) have entered in a crucial situation on the first two days of the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Tournament as they fell 15-6 to #5 Northwest Florida State before defeating Broward College 8-1. With the split of the first two days, the Manatees still have yet to beat the Raiders as they are now 0-4 overall, while against the Seahawks the Manatees are 17-6 (2012-present).

Day One:
Prior to SCF playing, #2 College of Central Florida defeated Broward 12-2 via the 10-run mercy rule.

SCF and NWFS then went underway. For game one, SCF head coach Tim Hill II sent sophomore All-Suncoast First Team and FCSAA All-State Second Team member Aaron Brown to the mound, while NWFS head coach and Panhandle Coach of the Year Doug Martin sent sophomore All-Panhandle First Team member Matt Boswell to counter.

After a scoreless first inning, the Raiders would be the first to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second after a two-run shot by freshman Justice Thompson. This was his third home run of the year. The Raiders would add another run in the bottom of the third after a sacrifice fly by sophomore Jake Randa to make it 3-0 NWFS.

At the top of the fourth, the Manatees would finally get on the board beginning with sophomore All-Suncoast First Team member Josh Crouch getting hit by a pitch. Two batters later, freshman Max Dineen would get hit by a pitch before both runner advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch. After sophomore Collin Moore drew a walk to load the bases, freshman Remi Patry would crack a single down the middle and send Crouch and Dineen home to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2, but the Raiders would extend the lead to 4-2 from a solo shot by freshman Brock Franks. This was his second home run on the year.

At the top of the fifth, the Manatees would finally take the lead. After a one out walked issued to sophomore Bryce Hulett and a double by Crouch, sophomore All-Suncoast First Team member Geovany Lorenzo would send a single to third and send Hulett home. This signaled the end for Boswell as Martin went to his bullpen and sent All-Panhandle Second Team member Connor Stephens to the mound. With runners on the corners, Moore would send a three-run shot to left to give the Manatees their first lead at 6-4. This was Moore's fourth home run on the year.

Soon the Raiders would answer back from RBI single by sophomore All-Panhandle First Team member Kyle Fitzgerald in the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the sixth, the Raiders would regain the lead from another solo shot by Franks. It was Franks' third home run on the year. Two batters later, sophomore All-Panhandle Second Team member Kaden Polcovich hit a solo shot to give the Raiders the lead. This was his 11th home run on the year.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Raiders would claim the win via mercy rule after an eight-run rally. Freshman Justice Lucas would seal the deal with a three-run shot to left-center for the win. It was his second home run of the season.

Brown would be dubbed with his third loss on the year after giving up seven runs on nine hits while walking three and striking out four in 5.2 innings.

Sophomores Cole Beavin and Brock Bell and freshman Logan Fraiser would give up a combined eight runs (one earned) on eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

Boswell would earn a no-decision after giving up five runs on five hits while walking two and striking out 10 in 4.1 innings.

Stephens would earn his first win on the win after giving up one run on three hits while striking out three batters in 3.2 innings.

Lorenzo (2-for-4, one RBI) and freshman Nick Winkelmeyer (3-for-5) were the only Manatees with a multi-hit while Moore (1-for-3, three RBI) and Patry (1-for-4, two RBI) would be the only Manatees with a multi-RBI game.

Polcovich led the team going 3-for-5 with a home run and three runs scored while six Raiders, Fitzgerald, Franks, Thompson, sophomore All-Panhandle First Team member and Panhandle Defensive Player of the Year Mikey Madej, redshirt freshman All-Panhandle First Team member Will Moriarty and sophomore All-Panhandle First Team member Jake Randa all had two hits each.

As a result, NWFS would advance to the winners bracket while SCF dropped to the losers bracket.

Following SCF's loss, #11 FSW would fall 2-1 to Santa Fe in the 4 pm game, while RV Chipola defeated Miami Dade 2-0. #11 FSW and MDC would fall to the losers bracket.

Day Two:
To make up for the loss, Hill sent sophomore All-Suncoast First Team and FCSAA All-State Second Team member Corey Ireson to the mound while Broward head coach John Broderick sent freshman Jean C. Toro to counter.

The Manatees would open the floodgates on the scoreboard first at the top of the first. Beginning with a leadoff walk drawn by Winkelmeyer, sophomore All-Suncoast First Team member Brian Dillingham would reach on a fielder's choice after Winkelmeyer was called out. Hulett would then hit a two-run shot to right center for a 2-0 SCF lead. This was Hulett's third home run on the year.

Three scoreless innings later, the Manatees would add another two runs to the mix at the top of the fifth. After Moore drew a walk, freshman Tyler Acosta would send a two-run shot of his own to left center to make it 4-0. This was Acosta's second home run of the year.

At the top of the sixth, two more Manatees run made it 6-0 after Lorenzo hit a two-run blast that also sent Hulett home. This was Lorenzo's third home run of the year. The Seahawks would get their first run on the board from a RBI triple by sophomore AJ Hendricks, but it was all they could produce.

At the top of the eighth, the Manatees would add two more finals runs after Moore hit a two-RBI single that sent Lorenzo and Dineen home to make it 8-1 SCF, which would then be the final score.

Ireson earned his eighth win on the year after giving up the Seahawks' lone run on three hits while walking one and striking out six in six innings. Ireson is now 8-2 on the year.

Beavin threw two scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out two batters.

Redshirt sophomore Josh Bonynge threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.

Toro would be dubbed with his seventh and final loss on the year after giving up six runs on five hits while walking three and striking out six in 5.1 innings. Toro ended his freshman campaign at 3-7.

Redshirt freshman Angel Rodriguez and sophomores Austin Genao, Perez Nichols and Jake Kodros gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits while walking two and striking out three in a combined 4.2 innings.

Hulett (2-for-5, home run and two RBI), Lorenzo (2-for-4, home run and two RBI) and Acosta (2-for-4, two RBI) had two hits and two RBI each while Moore went 1-for-3 with the two-run home run.

Dineen and Patry had the Manatees' other two hits as they both went 1-for-4 each.

Hendricks, freshmen Nico Montes and ​Jeissy De La Cruz and sophomore ​Eddy Arteaga had one hit each with Hendricks having the only RBI in the game for Broward.

As a result, Broward would be the first team eliminated from the tournament as they finished 17-23 for the season.

Following SCF's win, Miami Dade (30-19) upset #11 FSW by a score of 14-11 in the losers bracket. FSW would be the second team eliminated from the tournament as the Suncoast Regular Season Champions ended their season at 40-14.

Meanwhile in the winner's bracket, #5 NWFS (42-10) defeated #2 CCF (44-8) 9-2, while RV Chipola (35-17) defeated Santa Fe (38-16) 8-7. CCF and Santa Fe would be sent to the losers bracket for Sunday's games.

Up Next:
SCF looks to continue to remain in the tournament as they face Santa Fe in the losers bracket at 4 pm. SCF is 3-2 against the Saints (2012-present).

Miami Dade will play CCF before SCF plays Santa Fe at 1 pm. Both teams are facing elimination for this game.

After SCF vs Santa Fe, NWFS plays RV Chipola. The winner will await face either SCF or Santa Fe, while the loser faces the winner between Miami Dade and #2 CCF.