SCF Baseball Readies for Season Opener

Bradenton, FL - The SCF baseball team is now set for the 2021 season as they travel to neutral grounds to face Indian River State (1-0) at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale, FL Saturday afternoon, January 23 at 1 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming finishing last season 16-11 overall with a 5-1 record in the Suncoast Conference before the Covid-19 pandemic ended their season. Despite that, the Manatees were the Uncrowned Suncoast Conference Regular Season Champions.

The Manatees are lead by head coach Tim Hill II. Hill enters his ninth season as head coach and is set to be on path for his 300th career win as head coach.

Hill is joined by Don Robinson, Barry Batson and David Moates.

The Manatees part ways with with eight players as they graduated and transferred to other universities: Jake Smith, Justin Wrobleski, Logan Frasier, Aaron McKeithan, John Malcom, Nick Winkelmeyer, Jamarcus Lyons and Remi Patry.

Smith has decided to transfer to the University of Miami. The former ace for the Manatees, who transferred from Chipola College, went 5-1 with a 1.57 ERA and 59 strikeouts. He was also 2-0 in Suncoast play. Smith will have two years of eligibility remaining.

The Hurricanes went 12-4 last season with a 3-0  record in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Wrobleski will be heading to Sooner country as he will be playing for Oklahoma State University with two years of eligibility remaining. A former player for Clemson, the native of Canton, Georgia went 2-2 for the Manatees with a 2.89 ERA and 27 strikeouts. 

The Cowboys went 13-5 overall before the pandemic ended the season and before they could play in Big 12 Conference play.

A local product from Palmetto, Frasier will be attending Bryant University with three years of eligibility remaining. Frasier was shutdowns last season after injuring his arm in the first game last season, yet was still named a nominee for the Bill Tuten Award (best student-athlete in Florida JUCO baseball).

The bulldogs finished last season 4-11 overall, yet did not play any games in the Northeast Conference.

McKeithan will continue on UNC Charlotte with two years of eligibility remaining. A transfer from Tulane finished his lone season batting .289 with two home runs and 14 RBI.

The 49ers finished last season 9-8 overall but did not play any games in Conference USA.


Malcom, Winklemeyer and Lyons have decided to continue at the University of Tampa (NCAA DII).

Malcom joined the Manatees after transferring from Vanderbilt, the 2019 College World Series Champions. With the Manatees, he batted .330 with five home runs, 25 RBI and 18 walks.

Winklemeyer was shutdown from injury after playing four games while batting .267 with a run scored. He will have three years of eligibility remaining. As a freshman for the Manatees, Winklemeyer batted .317 with a home run, 20 RBI and 12 steals while being named a member of the All-Suncoast Second Team.

Lyons, a former transfer from UCF, played his lone season batting .333 with four home runs and 17 RBI.

The Spartans finished last season 15-7 overall with a 4-2 record in the Sunshine State Conference.

Patry, a native of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada will be transferring to Oklahoma Wesleyan University (NAIA). He finished his second season with the Manatees batting .264 with a home run and 17 RBI.

The Eagles finished last season 14-14 overall with a 3-5 record in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).

The Manatees did bring back several returners, which include Cole Ayers, Owen Ayers, Rook Ellington, Toni Rossi and AJ Fritz. Additionally, Hill added 13 newcomers (four university transfers).

Scouting Indian River:
The Pioneers finished last season 13-11 overall with a 5-5 record in Southern Conference. They have already opened their season on the road against Palm Beach State winning by a score of 6-2.

Series History (2012-present):
Overall the Manatees are 7-3 against the Pioneers. Last time both teams met was twice during the 2017 season where the Manatees won both matchups by scores of 5-1 (2/2/17) and 12-2 (2/7/17).

Fun Facts (2012-present):
The Manatees are 6-3 when opening the season (5-3 under Hill II).

How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be provided by GameChanger and fans can up to date with both teams on Twitter:

SCF: @SCFBaseball

IRS: @IRSC_Baseball


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