"The guys played great and to do that on our home field with an important conference game is nice to see," said head coach Tim Hill II. "We have had a lot of adversity this season with some tough injuries and late inning losses and these guys have hung in there and I think the adversity will pay off in the long run. We still have 25 more of these games to go, but it's nice for them and I did tell them to enjoy this one and come back ready for work tomorrow in practice, so it was good to see the guys play well all faces of the game."
"I told the guys to take care of the field because this was a big game," continued Hill II. "We take care of business at home and start pulling away from these guys (Polk State). If we slip up, then they get closer, so it's like a two-game swing and they challenged themselves on the field and they did well."
"It's feels good to go 2-0 in conference because we are one of the best," said sophomore Jamarcus Lyons. "It feels good to beat teams easily. I think we should be ready to come out Wednesday to get a sweep, play hard and have a good game Wednesday."
"It feels good to come up 2-0 against Polk State," said freshman Cameron Lee on the win. "It was a good start for us."
"It feels great and the team has been playing great all-around and we have been playing really good defense," said sophomore Cole Ayers. "We also have been swinging the bat really good and when I get to step onto the mound and pitch in a series knowing that my defense is playing really good and were swinging the bat hot, it's pretty easy to go out there and pitch like you know how."
Hill sent Cole Ayers to the mound, Polk State head coach Al Corbeil sent sophomore Kyle Gamble to counter.
After a scoreless first inning, the Manatees would be the first to strike beginning with a leadoff walk by freshman Richard Rodriguez. After sophomore Remy Patry drew a walk, classmate Rook Ellington would send a single to right to bring in Rodriguez for a 1-0 SCF lead. It did not stop there for the Manatees with Lyons at the plate as the UCF transfer send a bomb to left on a full count for a 4-0 SCF lead. It was Lyons' fourth home run of the season.
"Before that at-bat, I thought about if he (Gamble) was going to throw a fastball, I was going to put it over the fence," said Lyons on the home run. "I saw the fastball on the full count, which I was expecting, and I just let hands do the work with my strength and let the ball fly."
The Eagles would then get on the board at the top of the third with two runs after freshman George Davis scored on a wild pitch before freshman Rohsean Riley hit an RBI single to make it 4-2 SCF, but the Manatees would respond back starting with a leadoff double by sophomore John Malcom before freshman Owen Ayers drove him in with a double of his own. One batter later, freshman Jacob Steinberg would pop a single to left to bring in Ayers for a 6-2 SCF lead before Lee reached on a fielder's choice, while Steinberg scored on an error to make it 7-2 SCF.
While the Manatees kept the lead, Cole Ayers continued to play his part on the mound through the first four innings with five strikeouts.
In the bottom of the fourth, Owen Ayers would send a single to left to bring in sophomore Aaron McKeithan for an 8-2 lead before Cole Ayers closed the top of the fifth inning with three more strikeouts. In the bottom of the fifth, Ellington would send a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Steinberg for a 9-2 lead before the end of the fifth.
Sophomore Toni Rossi would then enter the game for Cole Ayers at the top of the sixth before the Manatees put the onslaught in the bottom half beginning with a one-out walk by Malcom. One batter later, Rodriguez would draw a walk before Steinberg sent a single to left to bring in Malcom. After Patry drew a walk to load the bases, Lee would bring the mercy rule in effect with his first collegiate grand slam and his second home run of the season before Rossi ended the game in the seventh.
"While it being a 1-0 count, I honestly wanted to get the head out and that's what I did," said Lee on his first collegiate grand slam.
"It was good to see Cam put the finishing touches on the game with the grand slam," said Hill on Lee. "It was good to see him square the ball up. He does some good things for us and gets on base and it's nice to see him drive the ball like he did. He's a strong kid."
"Compared to the first game, we had fun but it was more of a relaxed day," said Lyons on the win. "We didn't score as many runs in the first game but (Daniel) Batcher pulled it off by throwing eight innings and Jake Mattos coming in to close the door. Today the bats were hot and the pitching was amazing, so it always feels good to win and today was one of those days where there was a lot more than others."
Cole Ayers would earn his third win of the season after throwing five innings, giving up two runs on six hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. Ayers is now 3-2 on the year.
"I felt really good out there," said Ayers on his performance. "I knew that when we turned that double play in the first and only threw 12 pitches, I knew it was going to be a good day and cruise through it while the bats were starting to pick up to give our team some confidence so I know that I can go out there and throw the ball out over the plate to make plays."
Rossi threw two scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit and striking out four.
Gamble would be hit with the loss after giving up four runs on four hits with four walks in one and a third innings. Gamble would go to 2-2 on the season.
Sophomore Carter Slentz gave up five runs (four earned) on nine hits with three strikeouts in three and two-thirds of relief, while freshman Jacob Heath gave up five runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning.
Lee and Lyons would be the leaders for the Manatees offense as they both went 2-for-4 with a home run. Lee added four RBI, a run and a walk, while Lyons added three RBI and a run.
Steinberg had the most hits out of the team as he went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.
McKeithan (2-for-4, one run), Owen Ayers (2-for-4, two RBI and one run scored) and Patry (2-for-2, two walks and two runs scored) each had two hits.
Ellington (1-for-4, two RBI) and Malcom (1-for-2, two walks and a run) had the Manatees' final two hits.
Freshman Jakob Hines was the only Eagle with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-3.
Other Suncoast Scores:
Hillsborough (14-13, 3-2 Suncoast) defeated Florida Southwestern (16-10, 3-2 Suncoast) 8-4 to tie the series at 1-1. Both teams will play in their rubber match Wednesday afternoon, March 11 at 3:30 pm at Hillsborough.
South Florida (16-12, 2-3 Suncoast) tied the series as they defeated St. Pete (12-12, 2-3 Suncoast) 10-0 via mercy rule. Both teams will play in their rubber match Wednesday afternoon, March 11 at 6 pm at St. Pete.
South Florida (16-12, 2-3 Suncoast) tied the series as they defeated St. Pete (12-12, 2-3 Suncoast) 10-0 via mercy rule. Both teams will play in their rubber match Wednesday afternoon, March 11 at 6 pm at St. Pete.
Updated Suncoast Standings:
1. SCF (15-11, 4-1 Suncoast)
2. FSW (16-10, 3-2 Suncoast)
3. HCC (14-13, 3-2 Suncoast)
4. SFSC (16-12, 2-3 Suncoast)
5. SPC (12-12, 2-3 Suncoast)
6. Polk State (12-13, 1-4 Suncoast)
Up Next:
The Manatees will look to sweep Polk State at Bing Tyus Yard in Avon Park Wednesday night, March 11 at 6 pm. Sophomore Jake Smith has been given the nod to pitch game three.
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