“It felt good to play two complete games where we pitched, hit, and played defense well,” said head coach Mandy Schuerman. “Very happy to get both wins. We are making steps in the right direction by performing well in all facets of the game.”
“Our energy as a team was at an all-time high,” said sophomore Ally Hulme. “Every inning, we went out there to win. Pitching, defense and hitting all had each other’s backs and executed in every way. We keep the momentum of game one rolling into game two and that helped us cut both games short.”
“I think we played really well today,” said sophomore Maddie Kozcersut. “We worked a lot better as a team together in our hitting, which lately has been off and it really came out tonight. We didn’t get down on ourselves and kept rallying. I thought our pitchers did really good, Ally pitched really good and our defense backed them up when they did hit.”
I’m glad we got the two wins today because we really needed them,” said sophomore Lauren Hutcherson. “We played as a team today, our hitting was a lot better than our past games. We’re really stepping it up and getting better and better every game and every practice, so it was a good win for us.”
For game one, Schuerman sent freshman Remi Herbert to the mound, while Miami Dade head coach Gina De Aguero sent freshman Brunella Beteta Vilchez to respond.
At the top of of the first, the Sharks would a 2-0 lead from a two-run home run by freshman Melissa Leon.
After being held scoreless in the bottom half, the Manatees would awaken from their slumber beginning with back-to-back singles by sophomore Kristin Kopp and freshman Gracie Mullett. After Herbert reached first on a fielder’s choice to load the bases, sophomore Madi Schaefer would draw a bases loaded walk to bring in Kopp for the Manatees first run of the game. Classmate Lilly Salazar would then slap a single to right and bring in Mullett to tie the game at 2-2 until Hutcherson sent Herbert home with a single to center to give the Manatees a 3-2 lead. The onslaught continued for the Manatees as Kozcersut would send a double to center to bring in Schaefer and Salazar before Hutcherson scored on a passed ball to make it 6-2 SCF.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Manatees decided it was time to seal the deal. After back-to-back singles by Mullett and Herbert before sophomore Carly Bogart sent a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to scoring position, Schaefer would draw another walk to load the bases. After Salazar flew out for the second out, Hutcherson would send a hard single to right to bring in Mullett and Herbert before Kozcersut sent the game-winning double on the first pitch to center to bring in Schaefer and Hutcherson for the win.
“Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about the mercy run rule, all I was thinking was hit the pitch in the at-bat,” said Kozcersut on the game-winner. “The run rule wasn’t even going through my head, it was just ‘see the ball, hit the ball’ and that’s what I did and brought in the runs that we needed to score.”
Herbert would earn her first collegiate win of the season after throwing a five inning complete game, giving up two runs on four hits with three walks and one strikeout. She also went 1-for-3 at the plate with two runs. Herbert is now 1-1 on the year.
Beteta Vilchez would be dubbed with the loss after giving all 10 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits with two walks and three in four and two-thirds. She was 2-for-2 at the plate.
Kozcersut, Hutcherson and Mullett all had multi-hit games. Kozcersut was 3-for-4 with four RBI, while Hutcherson was 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs and Mullett was a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs.
“It felt good to be able to help the team out in runs and have some RBIs,” said Hutcherson on her game. “I did struggle in the second game a little bit, but we all came together and all of our hits mattered in the end.”
Kopp (1-for-3, one run scored), Schaefer (1-for-1, one RBI, two walks and two runs scored) and Salazar (1-for-3, one RBI and one run scored) had the Manatees’ remaining hits.
Leon had the Sharks remaining two hits as she finished 2-for-3 with a home run.
Game Two:
For game two, Schuerman sent sophomore Ally Hulme to the mound while De Aguero sent sophomore Haley Duncan to counter.
After a scoreless first inning, the Manatees would get on the board first in the bottom of the second after sophomore Emily Hughes hit a leadoff double, stole third base and scored on a throwing error, but the bottom of the fourth was the Manatees’ moment yet again. After Kopp drew a leadoff walk and Herbert hit an infield single, Hughes would bring her bat in yet again as she sent a single to center to bring in Kopp. Bogart would then bring in Herbert on a hard ground ball hit while reaching on a fielding error to make it 3-0 SCF.
The Manatees would then take advantage of a throwing error as Bogart stole second and Hughes scored on the error. This would set up a pitching change as De Aguero sent sophomore Andrea Sotelo to the mound.
After sophomore Ciarra Morales hit a hard infield single that sent Bogart to third, the third baseman, sophomore Tara Melassi, was then replaced by classmate Nicole Gonzalez after an injury.
Speed became the Manatees’ friend as Bogart and Morales would do a double steal with Bogart scoring to make it 5-0 SCF. After Mullett drew a walk and Kozcersut was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Hutcherson would send a single to center and bring in Morales before Herbert and Hughes drew back-to-back bases loaded walks to make it 8-0 SCF.
From there, despite giving up a one-out double, Hulme was able to seal the deal with three strikeouts and claim the mercy rule win.
Hulme would earned the win after a two-hit five inning shutout with 10 strikeouts. She is now 3-2 on the year.
“I went out of the mound wanting to dominate and wanted the ball in my hand,” said Hulme on her shutout. “My goal was to cut my pitch count down and get ahead on the batters. I wanted to cut the time my defense had on the field so our hitters could attack. The energy on the field keep my pace going fast and helped me execute against the batters. Games like that are fun to be on the mound and be a leader for my team.”
Duncan would be credited with the loss after giving up five runs (three earned) on three hits with three walks and one strikeout in three and a third innings.
Sotelo gave up three runs on two hits with three walks in two-thirds of an inning of relief.
Hughes was the only Manatee with a multi-hit and multi-RBI game as she finished 2-for-2 with two RBI, two runs scored, a walk and a stolen base.
Kozcersut and Hutcherson were both 1-for-2. Kozcersut added a run scored, while Hutcherson added an RBI. Kozcersut finished the series 4-for-6 with four RBI, while Hutcherson finished 3-for-6 with four RBI.
Hebert (one RBI, one run and one walk) and Morales (one run and two stolen bases) finished 1-for-2 each.
“We are continuing to see different players offensively step up during our wins and our pitching has been pretty solid throughout the season,” said Schuerman on her team.
Sophomore Amanda Mason and Gonzalez had the Sharks lone two hits.
Other Suncoast Scores:
Hillsborough (1-7) fell in a doubleheader to #3 Indian River State (7-0) 11-3 (6) and 6-3.
Polk State (0-6) dropped a doubleheader to #6 Seminole State College of Florida by scores of 6-5 and 11-3 (6).
#1 Florida Southwestern (6-0) was forced to cancel their series with the Florida National University JV team.
St. Pete (5-3) split a doubleheader with St. John’s River State (4-2) this past Tuesday losing game one 5-3 before winning game two 8-0 (5).
South Florida State College (0-7) dropped a doubleheader to Pasco-Hernando State (5-5) Thursday by scores of 5-1 and 11-3 (5).
Upcoming Weekly Suncoast Games:
February 13-
HCC vs MDC: 12 and 2 pm.
Polk State vs Lake Sumter State: 1 and 3 pm.
February 15-
#1 FSW @ Keiser JV: 12 and 2 pm
February 16-
SFSC @ Lake Sumter State: 4 and 6 pm
SPC vs PHSC: 4 and 6 pm
February 18-
Polk State @ IRSC: 2 and 4 pm
February 19-
SFSC vs Ave Maria JV: 5 and 7 pm
Up Next:
The Manatees return to action on the road Tuesday as they travel to Ocala to take on #2 College of Central Florida (8-1) Tuesday afternoon, February 16 at 2 and 4 pm before traveling to Sanford to participate in the two-day Courtney Miller Invitational, hosted by Seminole State College (2/20-21). They will face Tallahassee, St. John’s River, #3 Indian River State and Chipola.
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