“It’s nice to start off another series with a ‘W’ and the guys played pretty well on their home field” said head coach Tim Hill II. “It was a really windy, cooler day and to put eight runs up on a day like today was good to see. The big five run inning we had in the sixth was the difference in the game and the guys took control of the game from that inning.
“It feels really good to get the win over Polk State since they are our rival,” said freshman Jake Jackson. “I thought Cole really set the tone coming in and was shutting them down with the one run. It took the bats a couple of innings to get going, but we put up a nice five-run inning and Nick came in and shut the door.”
“I thought today was great,” said freshman Charlie Davidson. “It was definitely an emotional one for sure. We were battling back-and-forth for a while, but as it showed we came out on top and were the best team out there.”
Hill II sent sophomore Cole Ayers to the mound while Polk State head coach Al Corbeil sent freshman Scott Curran to counter.
After the first inning went scoreless, the Manatees would get on the board first beginning with a lead off single by freshman Kevin Karstetter. After classmates Jake Jackson drew a walk and Brayden Woodburn reached on fielding error to load the bases, Davidson would send a single to center and bring in Karstteter for the first run of the game. While sophomore Richard Rodríguez grounded into a double play, Jackson would score to make it 2-0 SCF.
At the top of the third, Cole Ayers was put in a jam with a runner on third, but strong defense and a falling catch by Karstetter saved Ayers from giving up a run and keeping the Manatees 2-0 lead in the time being.
At the top of the fifth, the Eagles would get their first run on the board as freshman George Davis hit a sacrifice fly to cut the Manatees lead to 2-1. Cole Ayers was still able to get out of the inning to get the inning thanks to the defense.
After freshman Harrison Long drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the fifth, Corbeil would pull Curran and send freshman Tyler Zylstra to the mound, however Corbeil would then get ejected by the home plate umpire after the substitution for arguing balls and strikes.
After sophomore Jack Anderson drew a walk, Jackson would send a hard ground ball single to right and bring in Long to make it 3-1 SCF.
Hill decided it was time to stop Cole Ayers and send freshman Nick Consentino to the mound to pitch the top of the sixth. Consentino was able strike out three batters.
In the bottom of sixth, the Manatees continued to extend their lead beginning with sophomore Richard Rodríguez hitting a lead-off single and stealing second. After sophomore Owen Ayers hit a single of his own before stealing second base, classmate Tucker Mitchell would send a single to right and bring in Rodríguez.
Long would then draw a walk to load the bases, Anderson would get hit by a pitch and bring in Owen Ayers for a 5-1 lead.
Karstetter would then send a sacrifice fly to right and bring in Mitchell. Jackson would then send a triple to right center and bring in Anderson and Long to make it 8-1 before being called out trying to stretch it into a inside-the-park home run.
At the top of the seventh, the Eagles would add their second run of the game from an RBI single by freshman Dakota Harris. They would add their third run on a RBI double by freshman Kyle Erickson, but it was all the Eagle could produce as Consentino would be able to finish off the rest of the game for the win.
Cole Ayers would earn the win after giving up one run on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts in five innings for his return. Ayers is now 2-0 on the season.
“I knew coming into this game after having three and a half weeks off it was going to be a tough game and I was ready to go out there and compete,” said Cole Ayers on his return. “It was great to be out on the mound to play with the guys and compete again.”
“It was great to have Cole back in the rotation,” said Hill on Cole Ayers’ return. “We were trying to be extra cautious with him because we needed him down the long run and he’s got a future and can make a career out of this, so we’re trying to take care of him and make sure that his tendinitis was all out of there. I thought he looked really good and didn’t miss a beat. He was on a pitch count, so we took him out because he looked tired in the last inning, but he stayed with his pitch count and I thought he did a really nice job.”
Consentino gave up two runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts in four innings of relief.
Curran earned the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits with three walks and one strikeout in four and a third. He is now 3-2 on the year.
Zylstra gave up five runs on six hits with two walks in three and two-third innings of relief.
“I knew coming into this game after having three and a half weeks off it was going to be a tough game and I was ready to go out there and compete,” said Cole Ayers on his return. “It was great to be out on the mound to play with the guys and compete again.”
“It was great to have Cole back in the rotation,” said Hill on Cole Ayers’ return. “We were trying to be extra cautious with him because we needed him down the long run and he’s got a future and can make a career out of this, so we’re trying to take care of him and make sure that his tendinitis was all out of there. I thought he looked really good and didn’t miss a beat. He was on a pitch count, so we took him out because he looked tired in the last inning, but he stayed with his pitch count and I thought he did a really nice job.”
Consentino gave up two runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts in four innings of relief.
Curran earned the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits with three walks and one strikeout in four and a third. He is now 3-2 on the year.
Zylstra gave up five runs on six hits with two walks in three and two-third innings of relief.
Jackson was the leader of the game as he finished 3-for-3 with three RBI and a walk.
“It feels really good,” said Jackson on his game. “I’ve been trying to stay consistent by getting hits and getting on base in any way to help the team win. It feels good to come out and perform the way I did and come back tomorrow and kick some butt.”
Owen Ayers was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two stolen bases.
Along with Davidson, Mitchell (1-for-5, one RBI, one run and one stolen base), Long (1-for-3, two runs and two walks), Karstetter (1-for-4, one RBI and one run) and Rodriguez (1-for-4, one run and one stolen base) had the remaining hits for the Manatees.
For the Eagles, freshman Jared Payne would be the only Eagle with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-2 with a run.
Notes:
This was win #298 for Hill and needs two for his 300th win as head coach.
The Manatees wore their yellow Lancer jerseys as a throwback for today’s game.
Davidson earned his first career start at home with the Manatees. He finished 1-for-4 with an RBI.
“It was definitely emotional,” said Davidson on his first home start. “Putting all this work in, the blood, sweat and tears and being out here to put this jersey on and going out there playing with some of my great friends and it was a blast.”
Other Suncoast Scores:
St. Pete College (13-6, 3-1 Suncoast) defeated South Florida State College (10-15, 0-4 Suncoast) 4-2.
#20 Florida Southwestern State (18-8, 2-1 Suncoast) suspended their game against Hillsborough (7-10, 1-2 Suncoast) Saturday afternoon despite being up 2-0. The game will resume Tuesday, March 9 at 2 pm.
Up Next:
The Manatees will travel to Winter Haven for game two against Polk State at Tyus Bing Field Monday night, March 8 at 6 pm.
Hill will give sophomore Matt Gelorme the nod to start game two.
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