“I think we played well,” said Long. “We did make mistakes and that hurt us, but we picked each other up, which was huge. When we do pick each other up, we’ll be alright and that’s what was huge for us today.”
“We had Daniel (Batcher) do well for us in the first game,” said Ayers. “It made it easy on the defense and the hitters came back. In the second game, we got in some trouble but our team came together and put it out.”
Game One:
Head coach Tim Hill II sent sophomore Daniel Batcher to the mound for game one, while TCC head coach Mike McLeod sent sophomore Jude Ard to counter.
The Manatees would get on the board first in the bottom of the first after an RBI double by freshman Harrison Long to send in sophomore Owen Ayers. Two innings later, sophomore Tucker Mitchell would hit an RBI infield single to bring in Long to make it 2-0 SCF.
In the bottom of the fourth, Long would get hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and brought in sophomore Jacob Steinberg to make it 3-0. Two innings later, Ayers would send classmate Richard Rodriguez home with an RBI double to make it 4-0 SCF and seal the deal.
Batcher would get his second win of the season after throwing a two-hit shutout, walking five batters and striking out nine. Batcher is now 2-1 on the season.
“I thought I pitched really well,” said Batcher on his shutout. “But it’s not a win unless we score runs. I felt good though, I was throwing well and got strikes. Although I got myself in some trouble in the last inning and got Donnie (Robinson) yelling at you in the dugout and that will help you a lot. I felt good getting the team a win and won’t have to stress over anything."
“Daniel (Batcher) was the story of that game,” said Hill on Batcher. “I thought he was in control the whole way pitching and that was good to see him pitch the way he’s capable of.”
Ard would earn the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts in four innings. Ard is 0-1 on the year.
Redshirt freshman Matt Cooper gave up one run on one hit with one walk and three strikeouts in two innings.
Ayers was the lone Manatee with a multi-hit game for game one as he went 2-for-3 with a run, an RBI and a walk. Long was the only Manatee with the multi-RBI game for game one as he went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run.
Mitchell (1-for-4, one RBI), Steinberg (1-for-3, one run scored) and Rodriguez (1-for-3, one run scored) had the remaining three hits.
Redshirt freshmen Spencer Hanson and Bryson Kirksey had the Eagles lone two hits.
“I thought the first game was good, despite us making mistakes where we left runners on second with no outs and failed to score on those opportunities,” said Hill on game one.
Game Two:
Hill II decided to send freshman Nick Consentino to the mound, while McLeod sent redshirt freshman Dilan Lawson to counter.
Kirksey would get the Eagles on the board at the top of the second with an RBI single for a 1-0 lead. Two innings later, at the top of the third, the Eagles would extend the lead to 3-0 after RBI singles by redshirt sophomores Jeissy De La Cruz and Trent Jeffcoat. This would set up a pitching change as freshman Eli Thurmond would be called in.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Manatees finally got on the board beginning with a leadoff walk by Mitchell. After sophomore Jack Anderson hit a double to left, freshman Kevin Karstetter would send Mitchell on an RBI groundout. Sophomore AJ Fritz would then hit an infield single to bring in Anderson to cut the lead to 3-2 still in favor of TCC. This would set up a pitching change for the Eagles as freshman Matt Boynton would come in.
After freshman Brayden Woodburn was hit by a pitch and classmate Jake Jackson drew a walk to load the bases, Ayers on a 3-1 count would send a single to right and bring in Fritz and Woodburn to give the Manatees a 4-3 lead.
One inning later, Karstetter would send a double to left and bring in freshman Drew Macciocchi, who pinch ran for Mitchell, for a 5-3 SCF lead.
The Eagles would then regain the lead at the top of the sixth after freshman Nick Niewulis singled and scored on a fielding error before Hanson hit a two-RBI double to bring the lead to 6-5 TCC.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Manatees decided it was time for another rally attempt, beginning with a lead-off single by Rodriguez. After Ayers drew a walk, it was all placed in the bat of Long as he hit a double to deep left to bring in Rodriguez and Ayers and gave the Manatees a 7-6 lead.
The first at-bat I had was a double and after that I started to struggle a little bit and wasn’t swinging the ball really well,” said Long on hitting the game-winner. “At the end, I knew when I missed those bunts, I had to pick up the team in any way I could and having Owen in front of me was just a confidence because we always hit behind or in front of each other. We talk about it all the time and the confidence is there.”
At the top of the seventh, the Manatees would make one more pitching change as sophomore Clay Callan would come in. Despite loading the bases, the Venice High product was able to seal the win for the Manatees.
“I knew the second game was going to be a ballgame from TCC,” said Hill on game two. “They’re a proud program with a great coaching staff and came ready to play and jumped right out for that 3-0 lead, but our guys hung with it and I told them these about games like these before and that’s why I like to play good teams like them to this point because it’s making us better in the long run, so the guys did what they had to do to win despite a lot of sloppy plays.”
“We got in some trouble the second game,” said Batcher on game two. “We battled through it and ended up getting the win in both games.”
Consentino and Lawson would earn no-decisions. Consentino threw two and a third innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits with one walk and three strikeouts, while Lawson threw three and a third, giving up three runs on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
Callan would earn the win after throwing one and a third of a scoreless inning, giving up one hit with two walks and two strikeouts. He is now 2-1 on the year.
Thurmond gave up three unearned runs on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts in three and a third innings of relief.
Freshman Jacob Estes was dubbed with the loss after giving up two runs on two hits with one walk and one strikeout in one and a third. Estes is now 1-1 on the year.
Ayers was once again the only player with a multi-hit game for game two as he went 2-for-3 with two RBI, a run scored and a walk. Ayers finished the series 4-for-6 with three RBI.
“For me, it was all about confidence today,” said Ayers on his game. “During the game against Pasco-Hernando, I was 0-for-4 and was thinking that I was struggling, but it was really a mind set so I can stay confident and hit the ball to make the difference.”
Long finished the series 2-for-7 with four RBI.
“Harry and Owen are doing a good job swinging the bat and they come from Sarasota High, which has a really good program for baseball and have been in big games in the past,” said Hill on Long and Ayers. “I love having from that program, they’re well coached and know how to play the game. They’ve had some big hits for us today. Although Harry Botched up on his bunts, he stayed with the at-bat and hit the nice double to take the lead and Owen had the bases loaded two-RBI single to give us the first lead. They had clutch at-bats for us today.”
Jeffcoat was the only Eagle with a multi-hit game as he went 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
Up Next:
The Manatees will have a two-game home-away series as they face Eastern Florida State (6-9). They will host EFSC at Wynn Field Monday evening, February 22 at 5 pm before traveling to Melbourne Wednesday evening, February 24 at 5 pm at Bruce Bochy Field. Hill will give sophomore Jakob Mattos the nod to start the home game and classmate Tony Rossi the nod for the away game.
“The 1-2 punch is still coming and we’ll knock them out right away,” said Ayers and Long.
No comments:
Post a Comment