“It feels good to get the sweep,” said head coach Tim Hill II. “It’s always hard to get it in conference, but we overcame it.”
“It feels great that showed up this series,” said sophomore Daniel Batcher. “We all pitched our butts off and hit really well. It was a great series win.”
“The bats were hot tonight, even though they’ve been hot for a couple of weeks,” said freshman Kevin Karstetter. “Batch (Daniel Batcher) pitched his butt off and that really helped us, which kind of takes the ease out of the batter’s box so we can do our thing, get a good pitch to hit and drive in runs.”
Hill II sent Batcher to the mound, while SFSC head coach Rick Hitt sent freshman Nico Saladino to counter.
After the first two innings went scoreless, the Manatees would get on the board first in the bottom of the third. After freshman Brayden Woodburn and sophomore Richard Rodriguez drew back-to-back walks with Woodburn advancing to third on a fly out from sophomore Owen Ayers and Rodriguez stealing second to get into scoring position, sophomore Tucker Mitchell would send Woodburn and Rodriguez home with a two-RBI single to make it 2-0 SCF.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Manatees would extend their lead. After Mitchell drew a lead-off walk, sophomore Jack Anderson would send a single to left, freshman Kevin Karstetter would send a pop single to center and bring in Mitchell. This signaled the end for Saladino as Hitt sent freshman Logan Wynn to pitch
After freshman Jake Jackson drew a walk to load the bases, Woodburn sent a single to left to bring in Anderson and Karstteter to make it 5-0 SCF.
At the top of the eighth inning, Hill decided to pull Batcher and send sophomore Jacob Steinberg to finish the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Manatees decided to it was time to end the game beginning with back-to-back walks by Jackson and Woodburn. After Rodriguez hit a single to load the bases, Ayers would send a hard single over first base and bring in Jackson and Woodburn. Sophomore Rook Ellington would then follow with an RBI single of his own to bring in Rodriguez. Anderson would then ground into a fielder’s choice and bring in Ayers before freshman Harrison Long hit a single to load the bases for Karstetter. On the first pitch, the Pennsylvanian hit a pop single to right and brought in Anderson to seal the sweep.
“It always feels good, especially getting RBI, which really matters,” said Karstetter on the game-winning hit. “It felt great that the mercy rule is in effect while it’s conference play, so obviously if you get to that, then it really helps take the stress of the pitchers. It was great to get a good win.”
Batcher would be credited with his fourth win win of the season after giving up two hits while walking batters and strikeouts out eight in seven and a third scoreless innings. He is now 4-1 on the season.
“I thought I pitched really well,” said Batcher on his game. “I definitely had a couple of walks that should have been limited and I got tired at the end, but at the end of the day, I threw good. Our team played well and that’s what counts.”
“Daniel was in control the whole way,” said Hill on Batcher. “He was outstanding tonight and has arguably been our best pitcher the last three to four starts. He had a slow start to the season, but he’s starting to pitch the way he know he’s capable of pitching. He was the story of the whole game.”
Steinberg threw two-thirds of a scoreless inning.
Saladino dropped to 0-3 on the year after giving up two runs on two hits with four walks and six strikeouts.
All nine players in the starting lineup had at least one hit.
Karstter and Ellington both were 2-for-5. Karstetter added two RBI, including the game-winner, and a run, while Ellington added an RBI.
Ayers (1-for-5), Mitchell (1-for-3, one walk) and Woodburn (1-for-2, two walks) also had two RBI.
Anderson (1-for-5, one RBI, two runs), Long (1-for-4), Jackson (1-for-2, one run, two walks) and Rodriguez (1-for-2, two walks, two runs, one stolen base) had the remaining hits.
Freshmen Brady Markham and Tate Hansen had the Panthers lone two hits.
The Manatees drew eight walks in contrast to the Panthers’ three.
Notes:
This was win #297 for Hill II and needs three to reach the milestone of 300 career wins as head coach.
Other Suncoast Scores:
St. Pete College (12-6, 2-1 Suncoast) defeated Hillsborough (7-10, 1-2 Suncoast) 5-3 to claim the series.
Polk State (15-11, 1-2 Suncoast) upset #20 Florida Southwestern State (18-8, 2-1 Suncoast) in the series finale by a score of 6-5.
Suncoast Standings:
1. #13 SCF (18-7, 3-0)
2. #20 FSW (18-8, 2-1)
3. SPC (12-6, 2-1)
4. Polk (15-11, 1-2)
5. HCC (7-10, 1-2)
6. SFSC (10-14, 0-3)
Up Next:
The Manatees continue Suncoast Conference play as they face Polk State for a three-game series.
Hill has given the nod to have the returning sophomore Cole Ayers start game one.
“Cole has been anxious to come back after missing several games,” said Hill on Cole Ayers’ return. “He felt like he should have been back three games ago, but we wanted to make sure we’re taking care of him when he’s on the mound tomorrow, which will be good to see him back on the mound.”
Game two on the road has not been determined yet, but sophomore Tony Rossi will pitch in game three at home.
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