"It was nice to win a road game and our first series of conference," said head coach Tim Hill II. "There is a long way to go with a lot of game to be played, so we need to keep playing the way we did today."
Hill sent sophomore Eli Thurmond to the mound to start game two, while HCC head coach Raydon Leaton sent sophomore Kyle Scrape to counter.
The Manatees would score early at the top of the first thanks to a two-RBI single by freshman Tayden Hall to bring in sophomores Owen Ayers and Harrison Long for a 2-0 SCF lead. They would then extend the lead to 3-0 at the top of the second after a sacrifice fly by Long brought in freshman Gabe Wright.
Throughout the next four innings, Thurmond would battle through each inning. Despite a few jams, the upcoming transfer for the University of Tampa would remain calm, cool and collected and breeze through the innings.
Meanwhile, the Hawks would make a change in the bottom of the fifth as Leaton would have freshman Nich Romagnola come in to pitch for Scrape.
At the top of the seventh, the Manatees' bats would strike gold again. beginning with lead-off single by Long. After Hall drew a walk, sophomore Brandon Fields would send a single to center and to bring in Long. After Hall and Fields moved into scoring position on a passed ball, sophomore Kyle Harbison would send a single to center to bring in Hall and Fields for 6-0 lead.
The Hawks would finally get their first run on the board in the bottom half of the inning, thanks to an RBI groundout by freshman Andre Vidal. In the bottom of the eighth, they would add on to their scoreboard thanks to a two-RBI double by sophomore Dillon Besnier to make 6-3, still in SCF's favor.
At the top of the ninth, sophomore Jake Jackson would drive in Long and sophomore Kevin Karstetter to make it 8-3 SCF before freshman Michael Murphy closed the door in the bottom of the ninth for a Manatees' win.
"It feels really good to get the series win," said Long. "I think we really needed that as a team going into our biggest series. We need to carry it over. I think today we all clicked as one instead of different parts. The talent is different, but once we started clicking, it's going to be very good."
"It's a great feeling," said Thurmond. "We've felt we've had our opportunity to do that in the previous series but we were not able to, so we're coming out hot today to get that. The was a big team win. Got some good contribution throughout the lineup and played clean defense. We had a couple of big hits from Jake (Jackson) and Kyle (Harbison) towards the end."
"It feels very rewarding," said Hall. "As a club, we have faced a lot of difficult moment this year and no matter what, we kept fighting and working today so we could come out on top. The team did great overall."
Thurmond would move to 5-2 after giving up three runs on eight hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in eight innings. Murphy would throw one scoreless inning of relief.
"I was just trying to do what I've been doing and working on," said Thurmond on his game. "I was able to attack the zone and set the tone while the defense got me out of a couple of jams."
"Eli came in and did what he's been doing all season and that's throwing strikes and commanding the zone when needed," said Hall on Thurmond. "Our hitters today didn't get cheated and got on base today to score so we can help Eli continue to dominated."
"Eli was the story of the game as well as Mike Murphy," said Hill on Thurmond and Murphy. "Eli threw strikes and kept their team off-balance. Mike also did a nice job have a quick inning for the ninth."
Scrape would fall to 1-2 after giving up three runs on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts in four innings. Romagnola would give up three runs (two earned) on four hits with three walks and one strikeouts in three innings of relief while sophomore Joshua Bostick gave up two runs on two hits with three walks and one strikeout in two innings of relief.
Long would lead the Manatees in hitting as he went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base.
"I saw the ball really well today," said Long on his game. "I didn't try to do too much and just did whatever I could to help the team.
Ayers and Jackson both had two hits each. Ayers (2-for-6) added a stolen base and a run, while Jackson (2-for-4) had two RBI and a walk.
Hall and Harbison both finished with a multi-RBI game. Hall went 1-for-3 with a run and two walks, while Harbison went 1-for-5.
"I felt good in the box today," said Hall on his game. "It was good to contribute with two RBI to start the game."
"Harry, Tayden, Kyle and Jake all swung the ball well," said Hill on his batters. "Jake's two-RBI single really helped us get some insurance runs for us."
Fields (1-for-4, one RBI, one run and one walk), Wright (1-for-4, one run) and freshman Gage Adams (1-for-3, one walk) had the remaining three hits, while Kaestetter (one run and one walk) also contributed in the game.
Besnier and sophomore Juan Jamie had two hits a piece with Besnier being the only Hawk with a multi-RBI game.
Other Suncoast Scores:
RV Polk State (20-10, 7-2 Suncoast) completed their sweep over St. Pete College (10-17, 3-9 Suncoast) by a score of 10-1. The Eagles will face Hillsborough in their next conference series, while the Titans take a small break from conference play for the next three game as they welcome the University of Tampa JV team (8-4) for two game and TNXL Academy for one.
Suncoast Standings:
1. RV Polk State (20-10, 7-2)
2. #16 FSW (20-11, 7-2)
3. SCF (17-14, 4-4)
4. HCC (11-17, 2-6)
5. SPC (11-18, 3-9)
Up Next:
The Manatees will continue conference play as they play #16 FSW (20-11, 7-2 Suncoast) for the next three game series. Game one will take place at Wynn Field Saturday afternoon, March 19 at 1 pm. Game two will then be in Fort Myers at City of Palms Park Monday afternoon, March 21 at 3 pm before returning to Wynn Field Wednesday night, March 23 at 6 pm.
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