SCF Baseball Claims First Game Over Polk State

The SCF baseball team (14-11, 3-1 Suncoast) pulled away with another moment of victory in Suncoast play as they shutout Polk State (12-12, 1-3 Suncoast) 5-0. With the win, the Manatees are now 30-23 against the Eagles.

Head coach Tim Hill II sent freshman Daniel Batcher to the mound, while Polk State head coach Al Corbeil sent freshman Scott Curran to counter.

For the first two innings, it was a pitcher's duel between Batcher and Curran as both pitcher had a combined five strikeouts. But then, Curran would be the first to buckle at the top of the third. After back-to-back singles by sophomores Rook Ellington and Jamarcus Lyons, classmate John Malcom would send a shot to right for his fifth home run of the season.

At the top of the fourth, the Eagles already made their first pitching change as Corbeil sent freshman Cole Kramer to the mound before the Manatees added their final runs. After a one-out single by Ellington, Malcom was able to send a double to right to bring in Ellington for a 4-0 SCF lead. Following that, sophomore Aaron McKeithan brought in Malcom with a single to short for a 5-0 SCF lead.

From there, Batcher finished off four innings before sophomore Jake Mattos got the final strikeout for the game and seal the deal for SCF.

Batcher would earn his second win of the season after eight scoreless innings, giving up three hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts. Batcher is 2-2 on the year. Mattos threw one scoreless inning with one strikeout.

Curran earned his first loss of the season, putting him at 0-1, after giving up three runs on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts in three innings.

Kramer gave up the final two runs on six hits with two strikeouts in four innings of relief, while sophomore Tyler Germanowski threw two scoreless innings with a walk and two strikeouts.

Malcom finished 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. He was the only Manatee with a multi-RBI game.

Ellington, Lyons and freshman Owen Ayers were each 2-for-4. Ellington added two runs, while Lyons added one run and Ayers added a walk.

McKeithan finished 1-for-5 with the Manatees' final RBI, while freshmen Jacob Steinberg and Richard Rodriguez had the team remaining two hits.

Freshmen Dimerson Nunez was 2-for-4 for the Eagles and was the only one with a multi-hit game. Meanwhile, classmate Rohsean Riley and sophomore Dalton Boyd had the Eagles' lone two hits.

Other Suncoast Scores:
FSW (16-9, 3-1 Suncoast) defeated Hillsborough (13-13, 2-2 Suncoast) 15-5 to open the series.

St. Pete (12-11, 2-2 Suncoast) defeated South Florida State (14-12, 1-3 Suncoast) 6-0.

Updated Suncoast Standings:
1. FSW (16-9, 3-1 Suncoast)
2. SCF (14-11, 3-1 Suncoast)
3. SPC (12-11, 2-2 Suncoast)
4. HCC (13-13, 2-2 Suncoast)
5. SFSC (14-12, 1-3 Suncoast)
6. Polk State (12-12, 1-3 Suncoast)

Up Next:
Game two between SCF and Polk State will commence Monday night, March 9 at 6 pm at Wynn Field.