“This team has been through so much adversity this year,” said head coach Tim Hill II. “We have seen a lot of different things happen, but we continue to try and stress them to play hard for the entire game. Good teams finish strong in the last three innings and that’s what we’re trying to do, so scoring seven runs in the seventh and eighth was really big tonight.”
Hill sent sophomore Matt Gelorme to the mound, while SPC head coach Ryan Beckman sent redshirt sophomore Gabriel Partridge to counter.
The Titans would be the first to score at the top of the first four runs thanks to two two-RBI doubles by sophomore Christian Rivera and freshman Ben Maskin.
The Manatees would then get their first two runs on the board in the bottom of the second. After a lead-off walk by Anderson and back-to-back singles by freshmen Kevin Karstetter and Brayden Woodburn to load the bases, freshman Joel Perez would send a double to center to bring in Anderson and Karstetter. Sophomore Rook Ellington would then groundout to bring in Woodburn and cut the lead to 4-3.
The Titans would extend the lead to 5-3 after an RBI groundout by sophomore Jonathan Alonso at the top of the third.
At the top of the fifth, with one out, Hill decided to pull Gelorme and send freshman Eli Thurmond to the mound to finish the inning in success.
At the top of the sixth, the Titans would make it 6-3 thanks to a bases loaded walk by freshman Gabriel Rincones. Thurmond still remained confident as he was able to get out of the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees attempted to cut the deficit again starting with a lead-off double by freshman Jake Jackson. After Jackson advanced to third on fielding error, Anderson would send a single to right and bring in Jackson. Woodburn would then send a hard double to center and bring in Anderson to cut the Titans lead to 6-5.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Manatees decided to put together a rally to get the lead. After Ellington and freshman Harrison Long hit back-to-back singles and sophomore Tucker Mitchell drew a walk to load the bases, sophomore AJ Fritz would come in to pinch hit for Jackson and draw a walk to bring in Ellington and tie the game at 6-6. Sophomore Owen Ayers would then give the Manatees their first lead of the game with a single to bring in classmate Cameron Lee, who pinch ran for Long. The offensive eyes turned to Anderson as the upcoming Pittsburgh transfer would send a double to right and bring in Mitchell and Fritz before Karstetter sent a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Ayers for a 10-6 SCF lead.
Sophomore Tony Rossi would then close the door at the top of the ninth and seal the win for the Manatees.
“It was a big win for the guys after coming off a tough loss to Polk State,” said Anderson. “We’re going to use this game as a motivation to close out these last eight games the right way.”
“This win was huge,” said Thurmond. “Not only did we need the win for our record, but we were hungry to dominate someone again. It helps set up the series on the right foot.”
Gelorme and Partridge would earn no-decisions. Gelorme gave up five runs on three hits with five walks and two strikeouts in three and two-thirds, while Partridge gave up three runs on three hits with two walks in one and two-thirds.
Thurmond would earn his fourth win of the season after giving up one unearned run on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts in four and a third innings of relief. He is now 4-1 on the year.
“My last outing was a rough one and my teammates were able to pick me up,” said Thurmond. “I was able to return the favor tonight, so that felt good.”
“Eli came in and pretty much held S. Pete scoreless the rest of the way,” said Hill on Thurmond. “While he did give up an unearned run from a misplayed double play ball, he pulled through strongly.”
Rossi threw a scoreless inning of relief with three strikeouts.
Sophomore Chris Brucks would fall to 1-3 with the loss after giving up three runs on two hits with one walk in no inning of relief.
Three batters had a multi-hit game. Woodburn lead the Manatees in hitting as he went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
Anderson went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs and two walks.
“When I got walked the first two appearances, I felt like it helped me settle in and I saw the ball well tonight,” said Anderson on his game. “It was a great feeling getting those runs across for the team in those last two innings.”
Long was the third batter with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-2.
Jackson (1-for-3, one run), Ayers (1-for-4, one RBI, one run and one stolen base), Karstetter (1-for-4, one RBI and one run scored), Perez (1-for-4, two RBI) and Ellington (1-for-3, one RBI and one run) had the remaining five hits for the Manatees.
For the Titans, Freshman El Rico Riley was the player on the team with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-4 with two runs. Rivera and Maskins both had two RBI.
Notes:
This was win #1,998 for the Manatees. They are two away from reach 2,000 wins in their program, which dates back to 1959.
“This program has been used to winning since day one,” said Hill on nearing the milestone. “2,000 wins would be a record for the state. It’s a testament to the two hall of fame coaches before me and the hundreds of top level players that this program has had every year.”
This was win #309 for Hill.
It was announced via Instagram that sophomore relief pitcher David Barrett will continue his collegiate baseball career at Florida State University. Barrett becomes the fifth Manatee to commit to the NCAA University level and the third to join a Power 5 Conference school (Anderson: Pittsburgh; Mitchell: NC State; Rossi: Louisiana-Lafayette; Cole Ayers: Cincinnati).
Other Suncoast Scores:
#15 Florida Southwestern State (35-13, 16-6 Suncoast) defeated South Florida State College (19-27, 6-16 Suncoast) 5-2.
Hillsborough (16-22, 8-14 Suncoast) defeated Polk State (29-18, 13-9 Suncoast) 11-3.
Suncoast Standings:
1. #15 FSW (35-13, 16-6)
2. SCF (30-17, 14-8)
3. Polk State (29-18, 13-9)
4. SPC (Robinson 21-18, 9-13)
5. HCC (16-22, 8-14)
SFSC (19-27, 6-16)
Up Next:
The Manatees will be on the road for game two against SPC at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater. Sophomore Daniel Batcher will be given the nod to start the game.
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