"It's always good to get a road win even while our playoff chances have been eliminated," said head coach Tim Hill II. "It got a little interesting at the end, but we were able to hold onto the lead. Both Tayden Hall and Kevin Karstetter swung the bats very well and we had a good outing from Nick Gotilla. I'm just looking to end the season on a modest winning streak."
Hill sent freshman Mike Murphy to the mound, while HCC head coach Raydon Leaton went with sophomore Mathew Johnson to counter.
After the first inning went scoreless, the Manatees would got on the first offensive onslaught beginning with back-to-back walks drawn by sophomores Owen Ayers and Brandon Fields. Classmates Harrison Long, Kyle Harbison and Jake Jackson would hit back-to-back-to back RBI singles to bring in Ayers, Fields and Long for the first runs of the game. After freshman Gabe Wright drew a walk to load the bases, sophomore Miguel Larreal would hit into a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Harbison before freshman Tayden Hall hit an RBI double to bring in Jackson. Wright was then caught stealing home before sophomore Kevin Karstetter drew a walk for another RBI single from the bat of Ayers to bring in Hall to make it 6-0 SCF. It signaled the end for Johnson and Leaton would send sophomore Albert Padron to end the top of the second before the Hawks got their first run in the bottom half, thanks to a RBI fielder's choice by sophomore Milton Cuyler.
Hill would then pull Murphy out and send Nick Gotilla to the mound to breeze through the third with ease before the Manatees added another run at the top of the fourth thanks to an RBI single by Karstetter to bring in Larreal to make it 7-1 SCF.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Hawks would bring in their next run thanks to an RBI single by sophomore Dillon Besnier before the Manatees responded back at the top of the sixth from a solo home run off the bat of Hall for his ninth of the season to make it 8-2 SCF.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Hawks would cut the Manatees lead to five runs as sophomore Jacob Griffith would send a solo home run to right for his second of the season.
At the top of the eighth, the Manatees responded back. After a two-out walk drawn by Larreal and a single by Hall, Karstetter would ignite another run fest as he singled to bring in Larreal before Ayers doubled to bring in Hall for the 10th run to make it 10-3 SCF. In the bottom of the eighth, Cuyler would cut the lead to six runs as he hit an RBI single before Gotilla ended the inning.
In the bottom half of the ninth, Hill would pull Gotilla and send freshman Michael Ojeda to the mound. After giving up an RBI single by Besnier and an RBI double by sophomore Landon Morrision and strikeout two batters, Hill decided to pull Ojeda and send sophomore Nick Cosentino to close the door for the final out of the inning. With one final push, the Manatees secured the win from a groundout.
Murphy would get a no-decision after giving up one run on two hits in two innings. Gotilla would get his ninth win of the season after giving up three runs eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts in six innings of relief. He is now 9-4 for the season
Ojeda gave up three runs on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts in two-thirds of a inning of relief, while Cosentino earned his second save of the season after throwing a third of a scoreless inning of relief.
Johnson would move down to 3-3 after giving up six runs on five hits with four walks in one and two-thirds innings. Padron gave up four runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts in six innings of relief, while sophomore Brandon Herrick threw one and a third scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts.
Hall lead the way offensively as he went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, three runs and a walk. Karstetter and Ayers both finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and one walk each. Ayers added one run to the mix.
Larreal lead the way on the basepaths as he finished 1-for-3 with an RBI, two runs, one walk and three stolen bases, while Long, Harbison and Jackson were each 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run.
For the Hawks, Morrison lead the way in hitting as he finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs. Besnier, Griffith and sophomore Cameron Vigh each had two hits. Besnier added two RBI and one run, while Griffith added one RBI and two runs.
Up Next:
The Manatees will wrap-up the regular season at home as they welcome #9 Florida Southwestern (39-14, 23-4 Suncoast) to Wynn Field Wednesday night, April 27 at 6 pm. Sophomore Jake Jackson will start the first two innings before freshman Ryan Stefiuk enters in.
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