SCF Baseball Sets Sights With Polk State

The SCF baseball team (13-11, 2-1 Suncoast) are set for their second series of Suncoast Conference play as they face Polk State (12-11, 1-2 Suncoast). The series will begin Saturday afternoon, March 7 at 1 pm at Bing Tyus Yard in Winter Haven. The second game will be at Wynn Field Monday night, March 9 at 6 pm before wrapping up the third game back at Bing Tyus Yard Wednesday night, March 11 at 6 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees opened Suncoast play winning the series against South Florida State College winning game one 20-0 in seven innings and game two 2-1 in 11 innings before losing the final game 4-3.

Sophomore John Malcom continues to lead the Manatees offensively as he is batting .326 with four home runs, 22 RBI and 16 walks. In the whole series against South Florida State, Malcom finished 3-for-9 with two RBI and five walks.

Freshman Owen Ayers is batting a team-leading .347 with two home runs and 15 RBI. Ayers was 2-for-10 with two RBI against SFSC.

On the mound, sophomore Jake Smith and Cole Ayers lead the way in pitching.

Smith is currently 4-1 with a 2.03 ERA and 47 strikeouts. Smith pitched seven scoreless innings in the second game against South Florida State with a career-high 13 strikeouts for a no-decision.

Cole Ayers is 2-2 this season with a 2.28 ERA and 39 strikeouts. In the first game against SFSC, Ayers pitched a seven inning shutout with a career-high 10 strikeouts.

In the Lyons Den:
Sophomore Jamarcus Lyons showed his full power in the series against South Florida State. Lyons finished the series 4-for-14 with three home runs and eight RBI. Currently, Lyons is batting .323 with three home runs and 14 RBI.

Scouting Polk State:
The Eagles opened Suncoast play against Florida Southwestern where they dropped the series winning game two by a score of 4-3. They lost game one 9-5 and the deciding game three 2-1.

Sophomore Nick Wells is batting .277 with a home run and 15 RBI, while classmate Ty Crittenberger has two home runs and 14 RBI while batting .297.

On the mound, the freshman Andrew Long is 3-1 with a 1.27 ERA and 34 strikeouts. Sophomore Alex Goff leads the team with five saves while having a 0.71 ERA and 19 strikeouts.

Series History:
Overall, the Manatees are 29-23 against the Eagles. Last season, the Manatees claimed the series 4-2.

GameChanger Link: https://gc.com/t/spring-2020/state-college-of-florida-manatees-varsity-5e26db014cf88f41b4aaf1c1

Twitter:
SCF: @SCFBaseball
Polk: @PolkStBaseball