SCF Baseball Open Season on Neutral Grounds

The SCF baseball team is now ready for 2020 as they begin their season on neutral grounds as they travel to North Port to take on Florida Southwestern Tuesday night, January 28 at 6 pm at CoolToday Park. The game will not count toward Suncoast Conference play.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off finishing the 2019 season with a 38-20 overall record and a 20-11 record in the Suncoast where they finished in second behind FSW. They defeated Hillsborough in a playoff game to qualify for the FCSAA State Tournament where they went 2-2 before their season ended.

The Manatees are led by head coach Tim Hill II or Coach 21 as everyone calls him at times. Hill enters his seventh season as head coach for the Manatees after taking over for his late father, Tim Hill Sr., on June 30, 2012. Since being head coach, Hill has put together a 263-129-2 overall record. Hill is joined by Barry Batson, Dave Moates and Don Robinson as his assistant coaches, as well as Batson's son, Caleb, as student manager.

New Bloods:
The team has lost 15 sophomores who have graduated from SCF and continue to play baseball elsewhere: Brian Dillingham, Shane Shifflett, Josh Bonynge, Josh Crouch, John Shields, Giovany Lorenzo, Nick Long, Corey Ireson, Bryce Hulett, Collin Moore, Cole Beavin, Hunter Perdue, Chris Holcomb, Brock Bell and Aaron Brown. Bell was the only player from SCF to be selected in the MLB Draft as he was drafted to the Boston Red Sox in the seventh round (227th overall pick).

Nevertheless, Hill managed to secure 18 freshmen and nine transfers with five coming from a Power 5 Conference school: Cole Ayers (Kentucky), Rook Ellington (Kentucky), Jakob Mattos (Coastal Carolina), Jamarcus Lyons (UCF), Aaron McKeithan (Tulane), John Malcom (Vanderbilt), Justin Wrobleski (Clemson), Jake Smith (UNC), Tony Rossi (West Florida: NCAA DII) and Daniel Batcher (West Virginia). Batcher transferred from WVU as a freshman after completing the 2019 fall semester prior to arriving at SCF and will have two years of eligibility.

After the 2020 season, Ayers and Wrobleski will attend Oklahoma State and Lyons will attend the University of Tampa (NCAA DII).

Key returners for the Manatees include Nick Winkelmeyer, Remi Patry and Logan Frasier.

Winkelmeyer batted .317 last season with a home run, 20 RBI and 12 stolen bases. He was named a member of the All-Suncoast Second Team. Winkelmeyer will join Lyons and attend the University of Tampa upon the completion of the 2020 season.

Patry, a native of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, finished last season batting .292 with a home run and 16 RBI.

A local pitcher that plays as a reliever, Fraiser finished last season with a 2-1 record, 5.45 ERA and 30 strikeouts. Following his sophomore year, Fraiser will be attending Bryant University for the 2020-21 school year.

Scouting FSW:
The Buccaneers are led by head coach Ben Bizier, who enters his second season as head coach. The Buccaneers finished last season 40-14 overall with a 21-9 record in the Suncoast while placing at #3 in the NJCAA Region 8 Baseball Coaches Polls and #18 in the national poll. They would claim the Suncoast Conference Regular Season Championship before being the second team eliminated in the FCSAA State Tournament.

The Buccaneers lost 11 sophomores, which included their home run hitters in Tyler Solomon and Jose Marcano and pitchers Mitch Myers and Ryan Gusto. They did manage to land 17 freshmen on the team.

Key returners for the Buccaneers include Robert Weigielnik, Connor Bagnieski and Drake Dobyanski.

Weigielnik went 4-0 with a 3.25 ERA, 20 strikeouts and two saves.

Dobyanski batted .243 with three home runs, 18 RBI and 32 stolen bases

Bagnieski batted .269 with two home runs, 32 RBI and 26 stolen bases.

Series History (2015-present):
The Manatees hold a 16-8 overall record against the Buccaneers in which last they split the series 3-3 last season.

How to Keep Up:
Fans can keep up with both teams on Twitter:

SCF: @SCFBaseball

FSW: @FSWBucs