Last Time Out:
The Manatees finished last season 20-12 before the pandemic officially ended their season. They did not play any games for Suncoast Conference play.
Meet the Team:
The Manatees are led by head coach Mandy Schuerman. Schuerman enters her seventh season as head coach for the team.
A former Gator that won the SEC Co-Freshman of the Year (2002), she comes in looking for her 200th career win as head softball coach for the Manatees.
Schuerman is joined by longtime assistant coach Michelle Puls (10th season) and associate head coach Tony Cummins.
Key Losses and Gains:
The team will be without six players: Madi LoCastro, Ashlee Zientek, Makayla Benavidez and Madelyn Graham. Zientek (Ursuline: NCAA DII) and Graham (Barry: NCAA DII) have decided to continue playing their final two years of softball at the next collegiate level.
As far as returners, the Manatees bring back nine returners from both at the plate and on the mound: Maddie Koczersut, Kristin Kopp, Emily Hughes, Lilly Salazar, Lauren Hutcherson, Carly Bogart, Madi Schaefer, Ally Hulme and Samantha Hampton.
Primarily one of two powerhouses batters, Koczersut lead the team offensively batting .373 with four home runs, 23 RBI and 16 walks last season.
Kopp finished her freshman campaign batting .270 with three home runs and 22 RBI. She also pitched in one game where she went 1-0 with a 10.50 ERA and three strikeouts.
A predominant contact hitter, Hughes finished her first season batting .271 with three home runs and 15 RBI.
Mainly the speedster, Salazar finished her first season batting .341 with five RBI and 11 stolen bases.
Hutcherson enters her redshirt freshman year after completing her first season where she batted .371 with a home run and 17 RBI.
Bogart, catcher/infielder, finished her freshman campaign batting .238 with five hits and a stolen base.
Schaefer, a primary catcher, finished her freshman campaign batting .257 with seven RBI and a .990 fielding percentage.
Hulme, who is the primary ace for the team, finished her freshman campaign going 7-3 with a 3.97 ERA and 45 strikeouts.
Hampton, a hybrid player, finished her first season going 4-3 with a 4.65 ERA, one save and 17 strikeouts while batting .209 with 10 RBI.
New Bloods:
Schumerman was able to land nine newcomers to the team, which includes two transfers.
Ava Coticchio:
Coticchio, an infielder, joins the Manatees after graduating from East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs.
As a member of the Eagles, Coticchio helped lead them to two straight appearances in the FHSAA 8A State Tournament. Her junior year lead them to as the regional finals of the tournament before being eliminated.
In her career, she finished with a .306 batting average with 18 RBI and a .815 fielding percentage.
Her senior year was on target of her most productive year, batting .400 with 12 hits, seven RBI and a .781 fielding percentage before the Covid-19 pandemic hit and ended her senior season.
Marissa Addison:
A local product from Lakewood Ranch HS, Addison, an outfielder, joins the Manatees and reunites with her former high school teammates in Koczersut, Hughes and Schaefer.
Playing two seasons of varsity (sophomore and senior season) and one season at the junior varsity level for the Mustangs, Addison was a strong part of the 2018 season with Hughes, Koczersut and Schaefer as well as former Manatees Kailey Christian and Madi LoCastro where the team went as far as the state semifinals in the FHSAA 8A State Tournament where they produced a 24-5 overall record with a 5-1 record in 8A District 8 League Standings. Primarily, she was used as a pinch runner and a fielding substitute.
Addison played the 2019 season on junior varsity where she batted .357 with seven RBI in 11 games before returning to varsity for her senior year where the Mustangs finished 8-0 and were ranked No. in the state and No. 3 in the nation before the pandemic occurred.
Gracie Mullett:
Mullett, an outfielder/pitcher, is another local product that joins the Manatees after graduating from Sarasota Christian High School.
Mullett was a three-sport athlete for the Blazers where she played volleyball, soccer and softball.
As a member of the varsity soccer team, she played as a goalkeeper and a striker. Mullett had 276 career saves and scored three career goals with her freshman year being her most productive stat wise with 176 saves.
For her junior year, Mullett joined the volleyball team where they went 18-9 overall with a 5-0 league record in the FHSAA 3A District 5 standings, while reaching the regional semifinals of the FHSAA 3A State Tournament. She finished with 16 digs and nine aces.
As a softball player, Mullett played all four years at the varsity level where she finished her career with a .591 career batting average, 75 hits, five home runs, 38 RBI and 20 stolen bases at the plate while on the mound she had a 25-8 overall record with a 1.71 ERA and 370 career strikeouts. Additionally, she helped the Blazers to three straight playoff appearances before the pandemic ended her high school career.
As a pitcher, her sophomore year was the most productive as she had a 10-6 record with a 1.77 ERA and 147 strikeouts while also batting .542 with four home runs and 13 RBI.
Remi Herbert:
Herbert, an outfielder, joins the Manatees after graduating from John Curtis Christian High School in River Ridge, Louisiana and is the first softball player from Louisiana to join the Manatees and one of the first softball players from another state to join the since Paige Aldred from Iowa (2018).
A two-sport athlete playing both volleyball and softball, Herbert played all four years of helped lead the Patriots to two straight playoff appearances in the LHSAA 5A State Tournament, which included winning the Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Softball State Tournament in 2018.
As a volleyball player, Herbert played three years at the varsity level as an outsider hitter/setter where she had 438 kills, 720 digs and 130 aces in her three season with the Patriots and even lead them to two straight quarterfinals appearances in the LHSAA Division Four State Tournament.
Mya Achenbach:
Achenbach, an outfielder and the second out of state player to join, joins the Manatees after graduating from Williams’s Valley High School in Tower City, Pennsylvania. Achenbach is the first player from Pennsylvania to join the team. Additionally, she is also an active member of the United States Air Force.
A two-sport athlete playing both basketball and softball for the Vikings, she played for one season with the basketball team before focusing on softball for the next two years.
As a member of the softball team, Achenbach played her previous two seasons on varsity where she finished her career with 10 home runs, 67 RBI, 80 runs scored and 39 stolen bases.
In the wake of the previous seasons, Achenbach helped lead the Vikings to the PIAA 1A State Tournament twice, getting a runner-up finish in the first one before winning the second time.
Alli Bloski:
Another local product, Bloski, an outfielder/third baseman, joins after graduating from Braden River High School.
During the 2019 season, Bloski helped the Pirates to a 15-11 overall record with a 8-0 record in the FHSAA 7A District 9 League Standings where they would make it to the regional semifinals of the FHSAA 7A State Tournament. During her campaign, she finished with a .182 batting average and four runs scored.
Hannah Murray:
Murray, an infielder/catcher, joins the team from Lafayette High School in Mayo, Fla.
Playing all four years at the varsity level, Murray put together 88 career games played for the Hornets where she batted .240 with two home runs, 43 RBI and 33 runs scored.
During her junior year, Murray helped the Hornets reach the state semifinals of the FHSAA 1A State Tournament before falling and the pandemic ended her high school softball career.
^Kiersten Adams:
Adams, an infielder/catcher, joins the Manatees as a transfer from Palm Beach State College. She will have one year of eligibility remaining with a possible second year due to the pandemic.
As a member of the Panthers, Adams finished her lone freshman campaign batting .375 with a home run, 15 RBI and two stolen bases before the pandemic ended the season.
Prior to PBSC, Adams played for Winter Springs High School in Winter Springs, Fla.
As a member of the Bears for the last two seasons, Adams putting together batting average of .290 with two home runs, 17 RBI, 11 stolen bases and 22 runs scored.
While her junior proved to be her best year stat-wise, batting .348 with two home runs, eight RBI, nine stolen bases and 11 runs scored, her senior year was actually her best overall year as she helped lead the bears to a perfect, unblemished 31-0 record with a 9-0 league
record in the FHSAA 8A State Tournament where they defeated Lakewood Ranch in the Championship game, the same team that her current teammates, Koczersut, Hughes, Schaefer and Addison played for.
^Ciarra Morales:
Joining her fellow teammate Adams, Morales, a outfielder/pitcher, joins as a transfer from Palm Beach Statewith one year of eligibility remaining and a possible second year due to the pandemic.
For her lone freshman season, Morales finished with a .277 batting average with a home run, 19 RBI and two stolen bases before the pandemic ended the season.
Prior to PBSC, Morales played for Winter Haven High School in Winter Haven, Fla where she was two-sport athlete playing volleyball and softball.
As a member of the Blue Devils volleyball team, Morales played as a defensive specialist where she finished with 109 digs and five aces.
In the last two seasons with the Blue Devils softball season, Morales finished with a.284 career batting average, 20 RBI, 23 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.
^side note: Both Adams and Morales transferred after Palm Beach State dropped their softball program after 43 years and being replaced with women’s soccer due to it’s popularity in the Palm Beach area.
The Panthers finished their final season 5-24 overall with a 3-6 record in the Southern Conference.
Scouting Louisburg:
Louisburg College is a private college located in Louisburg, NC and are a part of NJCAA DII Region 10 (Carolina Junior College Conference).
The Hurricanes are lead by head coach Eric Lee, who enters his fourth season as head coach for the team.
Last season, the Hurricanes finished 16-1 overall with a 5-0 in the CJCC before the pandemic hit.
They will be without one of their two top bats in Sammi-Jo Loney and their leader in stolen bases in Alexis Howard, who had 11 stolen bases.
Redshirt sophomore Haleigh Joyner returns to the team as the returning powerhouse batter. Joyner finished her previous season batting .640 with three home runs and 16 RBI.
Meanwhile, Lee was also able to bring back two of his best pitchers in Hailey Tomlinson and Ina Womack as they both combined for 15 of their 16 wins.
Scouting EFSC:
The Titans are coming off of finishing last season 22-10 overall with an 8-1 record in the Southern Conference. They are led by head coach Jim Beitia, who enters his fourth season as head coach. Beitia lead the Titans to two 30-win seasons in his first two season as head coach.
The team lost a majority of their team as 13 sophomores have graduated and/or transferred to other schools.
Key returners for the Titans include Madison Neuhaus, one of two powerhouse batters that returned. Neuhaus batted .333 with eight home runs and 35 RBI.
Gabriella Garcia is the other returning powerhouse batter who batted .337 with six home runs and 29 RBI.
The Titans were able to pick up a few transfers, including former Manatee Lauren Lightbody.
Scouting Georgia Military:
Georgia Military College is located in Milledgeville, Georgia and represent NJCAA Region 17 (Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association).
The Bulldogs are led by head coach Ashley Bunn, who enters her 11th season as head coach with a 302-207 record as head coach.
Last season, the Bulldogs finished 11-14 overall with a 2-0 record in their conference before their season ended.
They will be without their two strong bats in Kennedy Coffey and Kelley Bagarose, who both lead the team with eight home runs and 20-plus RBI.
Jessica Owens will be one of the returning offensive players. Owens batted .357 with home runs and 22 RBI.
On the mound, Beth Eddins will return after finishing last season 5-5 with a 4.54 ERA, one save and 40 strikeouts.
Fun Facts (2012-present):
SCF is 24-12 in the JUCO Kickoff Classic (15-7 under Schuerman), 47-7 against teams not from Florida and 7-2 in their season opener.
Series History:
While it is the first time they will play Louisburg and Georgia Military, the Manatees are not shy with EFSC as they are 9-3 overall. Last season, the Manatees split with the Titans at home losing 7-4 in game one in 10 innings before winning game two 11-8.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available on GameChanger and fans can keep up with all three teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFSoftball
EFSC: @efsctitans
Louisburg: @LouisburgCanes
Georgia Military: @GMCJCSB
Livestats Link: gc.com/t/spring-2021/state-College-of-florida-softball
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