SCF SB Sweeps HCC on Sophomore Night

Bradenton, Fla - While Mother Nature almost stopped the second game of the doubleheader, the SCF softball team (22-18, 4-6 Suncoast) had a magical moment at the SCF Softball Complex as they swept Hillsborough (12-16, 1-9 Suncoast) 4-1 and 2-0 on sophomore day. With the sweep, the Manatees are now 32-10 against the Hawks.

"It always feels good to win," said head coach Mandy Schuerman. "We played really good defense and our pitchers did a good job of attacking the zone. 

"There's no better feeling than getting a sweep on sophomore day regardless of who it is," said assistant coach Cheyenne Gonzalez. "We have prepared for HCC and knew what we had to do on both sides of the field to be successful. On the defensive side, we were solid all the way around. Our pitchers hit their spots and our player made the routine plays. That's all you can ever ask for as a coach. On the offensive side, we found ways to get on base and we were able to string hits together. We were hunting our pitch which made us become successful at the plate today."

"It felt amazing to sweep HCC and even more because it was sophomore day," said sophomore Samantha Hampton. We went out and had great energy throughout the whole day. Overall, I think we executed on defense today. We had some good solid hits that just went to people, but we were able to string hits together and put runs on the board to put us in the lead both games. Our aggressive base running is another thing that helped us take advantage of their (HCC) mistakes, especially coming from Mya (Achenbach)."

"It felt great to sweep HCC," said sophomore Mya Achenbach. We played great today and had a lot of energy."

"The sweep against HCC felt great and we needed it," said sophomore Remi Hebert. The team's energy today was just up the whole time and we did really good offensively and defensively."

Game One:

Schuerman sent Hebert to start game one, while HCC head coach Elizabeth Holloman went with sophomore Ashleigh Penix.

The Hawks would strike early after a sacrifice fly by sophomore Ariana Manzanarez, which evidentially was turned into a double play after sophomore Drew Pope was tagged out trying to advance to second base. In the bottom of the first, the Manatees would tie the game at 1-1 after sacrifice fly by sophomore Gracie Mullett drove in Achenbcach.

After the second and third inning went scoreless, the Manatees managed to take their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Mullett would start by reaching second on a fielding error before advancing to third after freshman Tori Copeland hit a double. Mullett would then take advantage of a wild pitch and score to give the Manatees the lead before freshman Presley O'Kimosh hit a sacrifice fly to left to bring in Copeland for a 3-1 SCF lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, Achenbach would extend the lead to 4-1 after reaching on a fielding error and stealing second and third before scoring on a throwing error from the catcher. From there, Hebert woild finish the sixth and seventh inning with ease as the Manatees took game one.

Hebert would move to 8-5 after throwing a complete game, giving up one run on three hits with one walk and three strikeouts. She was also 1-for-2 at the plate.

"Today on the mound, my defense made it really easy to pitch because of how well they played behind me," said Hebert on her game. "I felt really relaxed today because I know my team has my back."

Phenix would fall to 4-5 after six innings, giving up four runs (one earned) on three hits with one strikeout.

Achenbach (1-for-3, two runs and three stolen bases) and Copeland (1-for-3, one run) had the remaining two hits, while O'Kimosh (one RBI) and Mullett (one RBI and one run) also contributed in the game.

Sophomore Amanda Denis was the only Hawk with a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-3 with a run. In fact, Denis was the only player between both team that had a multi-hit game. Classmate Emily Longoria had the remaining hit as she went 1-for-3.

Intermission:

After the first game ended, six Manatees were recognized for 'sophomore day': Achenbach, Hebert, Hampton, Mullett, Alli Bloski and Hannah Murray with their families accompanying them.

"I was excited that all of our sophomores got to play and perform on their day," said Schuerman on the sophomores.

"It definitely was bittersweet to hear the sophomores write amazing things about the team, the coaches and their experiences at SCF," said Nunez on the sophomores. "It made me reminisce when I had my sophomore night as well. It's just a day about soaking up all the love and looking back at how far these girls have come in their life. On the other hand, they all knew that they had a job to do and I had no doubt that they were going to take care of it."

Hampton was most happy to have her family there, especially her father, who was unable to attend most of the games.

"It was amazing to have my whole family be there today as I played," said Hampton. "My dad is never able to make it to my game because of work and for him to be there today and me to perform the way I did is the best feeling in the world. I love having the support of my family, but seeing them in person for support is even better."

"Although my family missed it because of their own responsibilities, I know they were proud of me," said Achenbach.

"Sophomore day today was amazing," said Hebert. "It's always a good feeling knowing our families are there to support us."

Game Two:

After the intermission, Schuerman had Hampton start game two, while Holloman went with sophomore Melissa Mellone.

After a scoreless first, the Manatees would take the lead in the bottom of the second as freshman Gabi Nicholson would send a double to right center to bring in Copeland. In the following inning, Achenbach would hit a bunt single, steal second and advance to third on a fly out before stealing home to make it 2-0 SCF.

Meanwhile, Hampton remained confident as she continued to put zeros on the board all the way to the end for the win. Hampton would bump up to 9-8 after a four-hit shutout, with one walk and one strikeout. It was her second shutout of the season.

"At the beginning of the game, I was nervous due to the last two outings not being good," said Hampton on her game. "My first pitch was a ball, but then I got into a rhythm and it was smooth sailing from there. My defense was there for me every step of the way and I finally got out of my head to get my mojo back."

Mellone would fall to 1-3 after giving up two runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts in six innings.

Copeland was the only Manatee with a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-3 with a run and a stolen base.

Achenbach went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two stolen bases and finished the series 2-for-6 with two runs and five stolen bases. Nicholson was 1-for-3 with the lone RBI.

"I just played and had fun today," said Achenbach.

"Mya is always fast," said Schuerman on Achenbach. "It was so exciting to see her steal all those bases."

"Mya has absolute speed and knows how to use it," said Gonzalez on Achenbach. "She has really good ball anticipation when she's on the bases and that makes her very valuable to the team."

Mullett and freshmen Liv Siebert, Chantel Schurr and Mikayla DeSantis were all 1-for-3 at the plate.

For the Hawks, Denis lead the way in hitting as she went 2-for-3 and finished 4-for-6 in the series, while Phenix and sophomore Olivia Davis had the remaining two hits.

Notes:

The wins against HCC were #235 and #236. She needs 14 to reach 250 career wins and five to surpass Meredith Headings (240, 2007-14) for second all-time.

Other Suncoast Scores:

The doubleheader between #3 FSW (31-4, 6-0 Suncoast) and Polk State (13-17, 4-4 Suncoast) has been postponed until April 7.

Suncoast Conference Standings:

1. #3 FSW (31-4, 6-0)

2. SPC (28-16, 6-2)

3. Polk (13-17, 4-4)

4. SCF (22-18, 4-6)

5. HCC (12-16, 1-9)

Up Next:

The Manatees have another set of round robin games for Suncoast Conference play as they will travel to Clearwater Saturday morning, April 9 at the Eddie C. Moore Complex. They will face HCC at 11:30 am and Polk State at 4 pm.