“We have been on the wrong end of three walk-off wins out of the five game in the first two weeks of this season,” said head coach Tim Hill II. “I like playing really good programs and of course Central Florida came in #1 and have a really talented team on the mound and at the plate. I think it puts our guys in situations that will help us down the road, even if we’ve been on the wrong end of some things with the last couple of times we’ve been on the positive end of this. Anytime you take a win, it’s better than a loss for sure.”
Hill II sent redshirt sophomore Tony Rossi, while CCF head coach Marty Smith sent redshirt sophomore Logan Adams to counter.
After the first two innings went scoreless, the Manatees would get on the board first after an RBI single by freshman Kevin Karstetter sent sophomore Owen Ayers home to make it 1-0 SCF.
At the top of the seventh, Hill decided to send sophomore David Barrett to the mound to pitch for Rossi, but during that switch the Patriots would tie the game at 1-1 thanks to an RBI groundout by freshman Carlos Gonzalez.
In the bottom half, the Manatees would regain the lead from an RBI single by sophomore Richard Rodriguez to bring in classmate Jacob Steinberg to make it 2-1 SCF.
Hill would make another switch to the bullpen at the top of the ninth as he sent freshman Eli Thurmond for a save situation, but the Patriots were able to blow the save as they took advantage of two Manatee fielding errors and took a 3-2 before Thurmond got out of the top half.
In the bottom of the ninth, after Smith sent redshirt sophomore Logan Clayton to try and get the save, it was the time for the Manatees to rally. Sophomore Tucker Mitchell came in to pinch hit and was hit by a pitch to start the inning before freshman Dylan Vega came in to pinch run. After Rodriguez lined out, Ayers would send a single to right and set up the moment for freshman Harry Long. On a 1-2 count, the Sarasota High Product hit a hard ground ball single to redshirt freshman Nick Calero, but Calero would bobble it and that gave the Manatees the chance to tie the game as Vega rounded third and scored to tie the game, but Ayers would kick it into high gear and score on the same error as the Manatees pulled away with the walk-off win.
“Tonight we saw the ball ok,” said Long on the game-winner. “I had a couple of good at-bats, but I just was going to do anything I could to help the team out.”
Rossi and Adams each had a no-decision. Rossi threw six scoreless innings, giving up four hits, walking two batters and striking out three, while Adams threw three innings, giving up one run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
“I was struggling the last three starts and me and Coach Donnie (Robinson) got in the bullpen to figure things out,” said Rossi on his game. "Defense was huge helping me out with a lot of balls in play.”
“Tony hasn’t pitched very well like he’s capable of,” said Hill on Rossi. “It’s not like we know what Tony can do and so to see him go out there and have six shutout innings was really big. Tony is a guy we need to pitch like that for us to be successful, so it was good to see him go out there and have some success like we knew he can.”
Thurmond would earn the win after throwing two-thirds of an inning with one walk and one strikeout.
Barrett gave up all three runs (one earned) on one hit with four walks and four strikeouts.
Clayton would blow the save and earn his first loss of the season after giving up two unearned runs on one hit in one-third of an inning. Redshirt sophomore Cameron Sereda threw three scoreless innings of relief with one walk and five strikeouts, while classmate Troy Britts threw two innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
Ayers and Karstetter each had two hits. Ayers added two runs, while Karstetter added an RBI. They were the only Manatees with a multi-hit game.
Steinberg, Rodriguez, and sophomore AJ Fritz had the Manatees remaining three hits.
Redshirt freshman Miguel Useche had the Patriots only multi-hit game as he finished 2-for-4 with a walk.
Notes:
This was win #286 for Hill and needs 14 to reach 300 career win as head coach.
Other Suncoast Scores:
FSW (8-6) fell to Miami Dade (7-6) by a score of 16-5.
St. Pete College (4-2) fell to Seminole State College of Florida (4-4) 8-3. The Titans will welcome Eastern Florida State (4-6) for a doubleheader Friday, February 12 at 2 and 6 pm.
Polk State (7-5) defeated the Webber International University JV team 6-0. The Eagles will welcome Palm Beach State (3-2) Friday afternoon, February 12 at 4 pm.
Hillsborough (2-3) split a doubleheader this past Monday against Lake Sumter State (7-6) winning game one 2-1 before losing game two 8-2. The Hawks will face Miami Dade (7-6) Friday afternoon, February 12 at 1 pm.
South Florida State College (6-5) fell to Lake Sumter State 5-1. The Panthers will face #18 CCF Friday afternoon, February 12 at 1 pm.
Upcoming Weekly Suncoast Games:
February 12-
Florida Southwestern @ Indian River State @ 1 pm
St. Pete vs Eastern Florida State @ 2 and 6 pm
Polk State vs Palm Beach State @ 4 pm
South Florida State vs #18 Central Florida @ 1 pm
February 13-
SPC vs EFSC @ noon
SFSC vs Santa Fe @ noon and 2:30 pm
FSW vs Elev8 Academy @ 1 pm
Polk State vs TNXL Academy @ 1 pm
Up Next:
The Manatees will head on the road as they travel to Palatka to compete in the two-day Capital City Classic (2/12-13). The Manatees will compete against Pensacola State (4-5), Gulf Coast State (7-1) and host St. John’s River State (8-3). Hill will send sophomore Jakob Mattos to the mound against Gulf Coast State, redshirt freshman Daniel Batcher against Pensacola and freshman Nick Constantino pitch against St. John’s River.
1 comment:
Wonderful article Pat. Thanks for keeping us informed
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