Lakewood Ranch Quartet Leads SCF to Sweep vs PBSC

The Lakewood Ranch quartet of sophomore Madi LoCastro and freshmen Emily Hughes, Madi Schaefer and Maddie Koczersut put their hard work into both games as the SCF softball team (9-5) pulled away with their second home series sweep at the SCF Softball Complex over Palm Beach State (2-16) by scores of 4-0 and 13-0 (5). With the wins, the Manatees are now 20-1 (2012-present) against the Panthers.

"I think any win is a step in the positive direction where you want to go," said head coach Mandy Schuerman. "I try to take one pitch and one inning at a time and try to win each game as they come through."

"It felt really good to get a good win, especially at home and in front of our amazing fans," said LoCastro. "Ally (Hulme) and Ashlee (Zientek) pitched really well to set the tone. Our bats in the second game were really good. It was good win and I think it's gonna make us better step by step and we definitely really improved today."

"I think the sweep after Saturday's sweep was  good back-to-back wins for us," said Hughes. "And it's gonna set a good tone for us to keep on winning for the season."

"I think it was really fun, the crowd was really crazy," said Schaefer. "They were all talking and cheering which really set the tone for the game and I think we made great adjustments individually on the field and at the plate and we really played well as a team today."

Game One:
For game one, Schuerman sent freshman Ally Hulme to the mound, while PBSC head coach Heather Horning sent freshman Haley Kadur to counter.

While Hulme breezed through the first inning, it didn't take long for the Manatees to score first when freshman Samantha Hampton grounded out to send Hughes for the first run of the game. In the bottom of the second, freshman Kristin Kopp LoCastro home on a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 SCF lead.

While the Manatees were holding onto the lead, Hulme was doing her job on the mound. When she was in a bases loaded jam in the fourth inning after walking two batters and giving up a single, the Tampa native was able to get out of hit thanks to strong defense from the team. In the four innings, Hulme had four strikeouts.

In the fifth and sixth inning, the Manatees added two more runs to their when sophomore Madelyn Graham reached on a fielding error to send Hampton home and Koczersut sent Hampton home on an RBI double before being called out trying to stretch it into a triple. In the final frame of the game, Hulme was able to pull through it for a 1-2-3 quick inning for the win.

Hulme would earn her fourth win of the season after throwing a one-hit shutout while walking three and striking out five. Hulme is now 4-2 on the year.

Kadur would be credited with her seventh loss of the season after giving up two runs on five hits with three walks and one strikeout in four innings. Sophomore Destiny Cornelius gave up two runs on four hits in two innings.

Koczersut finished 3-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base, while Hampton finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI.

LoCastro, Kopp (one RBI) and freshmen Lauren Lightbody and Lauren Hutcherson (one stolen base) had the teams other lone hits. Hughes and freshman added a stolen base.

Freshman Kiersten Adams had the Panthers lone hit off of Hulme.

Game Two:
For game two, Schuerman sent sophomore Ashlee Zientek to the mound while Horning sent Kadur back to the mound for another try.

Once again, the Manatees would begin the onslaught of scoring that began with a one out solo blast off the bat of Hughes for her first collegiate home run of the year.

"It was really good," said Hughes on hitting her first home run. "I was just looking for my pitch and it was inside and it felt great for my first home run."

After Hughes' home run, Hutcherson would hit a single before Hampton drew a walk to put two runners on base for LoCastro. On a 1-1 count, LoCastro would send a double to right center to bring in Hutcherson and Hughes home for a 3-0 SCF lead. The Manatees would add a fourth run in the bottom of the second after Lightbody scored on a fielding error for a 4-0 SCF lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Manatees continued to show no mercy on the Panthers. After Kopp and Zientek drew back-to-back walks, Schaefer would send a single to left to bring in Kopp. After Lightbody flew out, Hughes would send a double to center to send Zientek and Schaefer home for a 7-0 SCF lead.

Yet it did not stop the Manatees from their blowout as Hughes would then score after Hampton reached base on a fielding error. After Koczersut was hit by a pitch, LoCastro would send Hampton home with a single right for a 9-0 SCF lead as the Manatees batted around with Kopp drawing a walk.

On a full count, Zientek made her move as she hit a double to center to send LoCastro and Kopp home for a 12-0 SCF lead. The Manatees would add one more run to the board after Schaefer hit a pop fly to reach base on an error and bring in Zientek home for a 13-0 SCF lead to set up the mercy rule.

After the Manatees onslaught, Zientek had no problem getting out of the inning for the win as she was able to strikeout her final two batters after giving up a leadoff double.

Zientek would go to 4-2 on the season after a two-hit five inning shutout with six strikeouts. Zientek was also 1-for-2 at the plate with two RBI, two runs scored and a walk.

Kadur would end up with her eighth loss of the season after giving up seven runs (six earned) on four hits with two walks.

Cornelius gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits with in two and a third innings.

Sophomore McKenzie Bush gave up four runs (two earned) on two hits with one walk in two-thirds of an inning.

LoCastro, Hughes, and Schaefer each went 2-for-3 in the game with LoCastro and Hughes each getting three RBI, while Schaefer added one RBI. LoCastro finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored in the series, while Hughes finished 2-for-6 with a home run, three RBI, a stolen base, a walk and three runs scored.

"I haven't been really doing the best of my ability at the plate this season," said LoCastro on her performance. "I think this was a really good step to improvement. I was definitely seeing the ball and just kind of putting what I do in practice into the game and applying myself."

"I haven't been performing really well," said Schaefer on her performance. "Today, I came in with a clear mind and tried to set a better tone for myself and it worked."

Hutcherson had the team final lone hit as she went 1-for-4 with a run scored and 2-for-7 with two runs scored, two walks and a stolen base in the series.

Adams and freshman Hayle Gunter had the teams only two hits of the game.

Notes:
The two wins for Schuerman put her at 186 in her career as head coach for the Manatees. She needs 14 to reach 200 wins as head coach.

This was the last home series that the Manatees got to play Palm Beach State and I have to say even after 45 years of softball there, I have the utmost greatest amount of respect for coach Horning and the team and I wish PBSC the best of luck for the rest of the season.

Up Next:
The Manatees will return on the road as they travel to Ocala to take on Central Florida (15-0) Tuesday afternoon, February 18 at 2 and 4 pm. The Patriots are listed at #2 in the nation's top 20 poll.

*Side note: This was the first interviews for Schaefer and Hughes and the first interview for LoCastro as a sophomore.