SCF Softball Welcome PBSC, Travel to CCF

The SCF softball team (7-5) will have their second home series this season as they welcome Palm Beach State (2-14) Monday afternoon, February 17 at 4 and 6 pm at the SCF Softball Complex before traveling to Ocala to take on #2 Central Florida (13-0) Tuesday afternoon, February 18 at 2 and 4 pm at the CCF Softball Complex.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of completing their third series sweep of the season where they defeated ASA Miami 5-1 and 9-1 (5) in their home opener. Entering their series against PBSC, the Manatees are on a four-game winning streak

At the plate, freshman Lauren Lightbody is leading the team batting .483 with three RBI and seven stolen bases. Lightbody was 5-for-7 against ASA Miami with six runs scored and six stolen bases (three each in both games).

Classmate Kristin Kopp leads the team with 11 RBI while batting .300 for the team. Kopp was 3-for-5 with two RBI against ASA Miami.

On the mound, sophomore Ashlee Zientek had one of her best outings against ASA Miami as she threw a complete game with a tied-career eight strikeouts, while batting 1-for-3. Currently, the upcoming Ursuline transfer is 2-1 with a 3.68 ERA and 19 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, freshman Ally Hulme is 3-2 with 2.71 ERA and 17 strikeouts. Hulme threw in the second game against ASA Miami where she threw a complete game with two strikeouts.

Scouting Palm Beach State:
Initially, the Manatees were scheduled to face PBSC earlier this season in the JUCO Kickoff Showcase, but the game was cancelled due to the weather. Following that, they were scheduled to face each other February 4 at Palm Beach but was rescheduled to play February 25. In addition, this will be the last time that the

The Panthers are coming off of being swept in a series to Daytona State losing by scores of 9-5 and 7-1. Originally, they were supposed to play Lake Sumter State Saturday, but it was postponed and no timetable for that series is set in stone. The Panthers' two wins came against Suncoast members Polk State (2/6) and South Florida State (2/11).

Freshman Shelby Williams leads the team offensively batting .400 with two home runs and 13 RBI, while her classmates Ciarra Morales leads with 15 RBI while batting .360 and Kiersten Adams has a team-leading 19 hits and 10 RBI while batting .339. Against Daytona State, Williams was 3-for-7 with an RBI while Morales was 0-for-5 with two runs and Adams was 1-for-6 with two RBI.

On the mound, freshman Haley Kadur is 1-6 with 12 strikeouts. Kadur started both games against Daytona State getting both losses as she gave up a combined eight runs (four earned) on four hits with two strikeouts in six innings.

Farewell PBSC Softball:
It was recently announced April of last year that PBSC is discontinuing their softball program and will be replacing it with women's soccer starting in 2021, so at the end of the 2020 season, softball will be discontinued.

PBSC's reason behind the changes is "by adding a women’s soccer program, the College will be able to increase the diversity of its athletics offerings, provide a new outlet for student life, and give the community an opportunity to connect with the College through the world’s most popular sport."

Scouting Central Florida:
As noted, the Patriots come into their series at #2 in the National Top 20 Softball Poll. They recently played in the two-day Chipola/Visit Dothan Invitational in Dothan, Alabama where they swept the tournament winning games over Walters State CC (8-0), Salt Lake CC (5-0), Gulf Coast State (10-1), Wallace State CC-Hanceville (5-4) and College of Southern Idaho (6-5). The Patriots will play St. Pete on Valentine's day prior to playing SCF.

On the mound, the Patriots are led by the duo of sophomore Barbara Cook and freshman Madison Edwards.

Cook is currently 6-0 with a 0.93 ERA and 23 strikeouts. At the Dothan Inivational, Cook went 3-0 with 14 combined innings, giving up five runs (three earned) and struck out eight.

Edwards is 5-0 with a 0.74 ERA and 31 strikeouts. Edwards earned one win in the invitational with five strikeouts.

At the plate, redshirt freshman Emily Dixon and sophomore Devyn Howard are the main bats with Dixon leading the team with three home runs and 10 RBI, Howard has two home runs and 28 RBI to go along with 20 hits.

Series History (2012-present):
Against PBSC, the Manatees hold an astonishing 18-1 overall series record. The Manatees swept the Panthers last season winning by scores of 8-0 (mercy rule) and 3-2 (eight innings). The Panthers lone win was on March 15, 2014 where they won 7-6 in eight innings.

Against the Patriots, the Manatees are 13-19 overall, which included the CCF earlier in the JUCO Kickoff Showcase losing by a score of 8-0 in five innings. Last season, the Manatees claimed the overall series 3-2 both home, away and on neutral grounds (W: 1/25 6-5, 3/2 6-0, 4/25 10-6; L: 3/2 5-3, 4/25 9-5).

How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be provided for both games on GameChanger and fans can keep up with both teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFSoftball
PBSC: @PBSCPanthers
CCF: @CFPats

Livestats Link: https://gc.com/t/spring-2019/state-college-of-florida-softball-5c4617fc03d69700218c16d3