SCF Wraps Up Eight Game Homestead vs Eastern Florida

The SCF softball team (17-9) will wrap up their eight game homestead at the SCF Softball Complex as they welcome Eastern Florida State (11-8, 4-1 Southern) Wednesday night, March 4 at 4 and 6 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of a split against NJCAA Region 12 Kalamazoo Valley where the fell 3-2 in the first game before winning 2-1 in the second. Currently in their eight game homestead, the Manatees are 6-1 so far.

Freshman Ally Hulme and sophomore Ashlee Zientek are so far the main pitcher for the Manatees.

Hulme is currently 6-2 with a 3.08 ERA and 33 strikeouts. In her last start, Hulme pitched a five inning shutout against Oakland CC with one walk and five strikeouts.

In her last appearance, Zientek pitched 3.1 innings of relief with four walks and four strikeouts against Kalamazoo Valley, while also going 3-for-5 with a triple. Currently, the upcoming Ursuline College transfer is 3-3 with a 2.55 ERA and 43 strikeouts, while at the plate she is batting .424 with 14 hits and seven RBI.

Sophomore Madi LoCastro has been trying to bring back herself as a hybrid player. On the mound, LoCastro is currently 4-2 with a 2.77 ERA and 29 strikeouts, while at the plate she is batting .237 with a home run and 12 RBI. LoCastro was 0-for-6 at the plate against Kalamazoo Valley, but threw a one run, two hit complete game with five strikeouts.

On the basepath, freshmen Lauren Lightbody and Lilly Salazar are showing that speed kills. Lightbody is batting .431 with a team-leading 31 hits and seven RBI, while Salazar is batting .362 with 25 hits (second on the team) and five RBI. Both players each have 11 stolen bases. In the series against Kalamazoo Valley, both were 1-for-6 with a stolen base. Salazar added an RBI in the second game.

As far as power, freshmen Maddie Koczersut and Emily Hughes show that. Koczersut is currently batting .375 with four home runs and 21, while Hughes three home runs and 11 RBI despite batting .219. Koczersut played in both games against Kalamazoo Valley going 2-for-3 with four walks, while Hughes was 1-for-6 in the series.

*Personal Opinion: Every time Koczersut is up to the plate, she'll predominantly draw at least one walk per game and she leads the team with 14 walks.

Five Away:
After the split with Kalamazoo Valley, head coach Mandy Schuerman is now five wins away from reaching 200 career wins as head coach for the Manatees. She has 195 in her career.

Scouting Eastern Florida:
The Titans are coming off of sweeping Lincoln Trail College (NJCAA Region 24) winning by scores of 10-0 and 9-1, both by mercy rule. They have already started Southern Conference play with their only loss against Broward College (13-10). The Titans roster is a majority of sophomores.

Sophomores Katelyn Wilfert and Madison Neuhaus both have five home runs with Wilfert leading the team in RBI (27) and Neuhaus with a leading batting average (.362). Wilfert is also 7-6 on the season with 1.45 ERA and 58 strikeouts. Wilfert was 3-for-5 against Lincoln Trail with two home runs and four RBI, while Neuhaus was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.

Series History (2012-present):
The Manatees hold a 8-2 overall record against the Titans. Last season, both team split in the regular with the Manatees winning at EFSC before the Titans defeated won at SCF. Both teams met in the FCSAA State Tournament with the Manatees on top and eliminating EFSC from the tournament.

Livestats Link: https://gc.com/t/spring-2020/state-college-of-florida-manatees-softball-5e19088f09b01f1f2300011a

Twitter Pages:
SCF: @SCFSoftball
EFSC: @efscTitans