Bradenton, Fla - The SCF baseball team (24-18, 9-8 Suncoast) did not stop their offensive onslaught towards St. Pete College (14-24, 4-16 Suncoast) as they won by a score of 26-5 via the seven-inning mercy rule at Robert C. Wynn Field. Game three will return back to Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater Friday night, April 8 at 6 pm. Freshman Michael Murphy will be given the nod to start the first two innings.
"It was a really nice win tonight," said head coach Tim Hill II. "It was good to see our guys play well on our home field. I thought we were a little flat to start the game, but then the guys responded and swung the bats well. We were a little sloppy on defense and that gave St. Pete a couple of runs, but then everybody picked it up. It was also good to see Dillon Cerrone, Owen Ayers and Brandon Fields swing a hot bat as of late."
Hill sent sophomore Jake Jackson for the first couple of innings, while SPC head coach Jeremy Graf went with freshman Manuel Meilan.
The Titans would get on the board first at the top of the first after an RBI groundout by sophomore Will Bruno, but in the bottom half, the Manatees would take the lead as Ayers would send a three-run blast to right-center for his 10th of the season to drive in sophomore Miguel Larreal and freshman Tayden Hall.
At the top of the second, the Titans retied the game to 3-3 after an RBI single by freshman Nick Garagozzo and classmate Logan Sanders scored on a double steal. At the top of the third, Hill would make a change on the mound as he sent freshman Ryan Stefiuk to the mound where he threw a scoreless third. In the bottom half, the Manatees would retake the lead as sophomore Brandon Fields would send a double to bring in Ayers for a 4-3 SCF lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Manatees extended their lead with 12 runs beginning with a leadoff single off the bat of sophomore Kyle Harbison. After freshman Gabe Wright drew a walk, Larreal would send a double to left and bring in Harbison. Following Larreal's double, Hall would send a single to right-center to bring in Wright and Larreal.
After sophomore Kevin Karstetter drew a walk and Ayers hit a single to load the bases, sophomore Harrison Long would send a sacrifice fly to right to bring in Hall before Fields belted a three-run shot to left for his seventh home run of the season. This would signal the end for Meilan as Graf would have sophomore Logan Scheu pitch in relief.
After the pitching change, Harbison, Larreal freshman and Lucas Ismali drew back-to-back-to-back walks while the Manatees batted around. Hall would then send a double to right-center and clear the bases before the Titan sent sophomore Tanner Goswick to the mound to replace Scheu. Karstetter would then hit an RBI double of his own to bring in Hall and Ayers brought in Karstetter with an RBI single to make it 16-3 SCF.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Manatees continued to pound runs on the board as Harbison would send a two-run blast to center for his third of the season to make it 18-3 SCF.
The Manatees would add the final touches in the bottom of the sixth beginning with a Karstetter leadoff single. After Ayers struck out, Hill would have freshman Dillon Cerrone come in to pinch hit for Long as he sent a two-run blast to right for his first collegiate home run. This would send freshman Austin Coultas to the mound. After Fields hit a single and freshman Gage Adams drew a walk, Harbison would send a single down the middle to bring in Fields. Wright would then get hit by a pitch to load the bases before Larreal drew a walk to bring in Adams. Hall would then send a single to right to bring in Harbison before Karstetter sent a sacrifice fly to right to bring in Wright and Cerrone hit a two-RBI double to bring in Larreal and Hall to make it 26-3.
The Titans would add their final two runs on the board at the top of the seventh as Sanders would send a two-run homer to center for his fourth of the season, but it was the Titans could produce as the Manatees pulled away with the mercy rule.
Jackson would get a no-decision after giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts in two innings. Stefiuk would move to 2-3 after giving up two runs on five hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in five innings of relief.
Meilan would fall to 1-3 after giving up 10 runs on seven hits with five walks and one strikeout. Scheu would give up three runs on one hit with two walks in a third of an inning, while Goswick gave up five runs on six hits with one walk and one strikeout in one and two-thirds inning and Coultas gave up eight runs (five earned) on seven hits with two walks and one strikeout in one inning.
Seven Manatees had at least two hits in the game. Ayers would lead the team in hits as he went 4-for-5 with a home run, four RBI, three runs scored and a walk. Hall was the overall offensive leader as he went 3-for-5 with five RBI, while Fields went 3-for-6 with a home run and four RBI and Harbison went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI and two walks.
Cerrone would go 2-for-2 with a home run and four RBI, while Larreal went 2-for-4 with two RBI, four runs and two walks. Karstetter rounded out the order going 2-for-3 with two RBI, three runs and a walk.
Ismali (1-for-2, one run and one walk) and Long (1-for-3, one RBI and two walks) had the remaining two hits, while Wright (two runs and one walk), Adams (one walk and one run) and freshman Jackson Hauck (one run) all contributed in the game.
Sanders lead the Titans offensive as he went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. He was the only Titan with multi-RBI game.
Notes:
Fields was named the NJCAA and FCSAA Player of the Week.
"It was a nice honor for him," said Hill on Fields winning the accolades.
The 26 runs in the game were the most scored under the Hill II era and surpassed the 23 runs last year (3/14/21) and the second highest in program history.
Other Suncoast Scores:
#8 FSW (30-12, 17-3 Suncoast) defeated Hillsborough (15-23, 5-12 Suncoast) 7-5 to take the series.
Polk State (26-15, 11-7 Suncoast) completed their sweep over the Florida Southern College JV team by a score of 18-0. The Hawks will resume conference play against SPC.
Suncoast Standings:
1. #8 FSW (30-12, 17-3)
2. Polk (26-15, 11-7)
3. SCF (24-18, 9-8)
4. HCC (15-23, 5-12)
5. SPC (14-24, 4-16)
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