SCF Baseball Claims Legends Classic

Bradenton, Fla - The RV SCF baseball team (3-1) wrapped up their part of the SCF Legends Classic at Wynn Field as they defeated Eastern Florida State (1-2) 10-4. With the win, the Manatees were crowned the SCF Legends Classic Champions.

"It felt good to kickstart our season at home and it felt even better to end the classic with a win," said head coach Tim Hill II. "I wanted to challenge the guys to stay sharp and stay focus, and they did just that when they jumped out to the big lead. We try to play well on our home field and we did so today."

"We did great today and it was an awesome weekend overall," said sophomore Kevin Karstetter. "Defense was spot-on, the pitching was great, the hitting had good timing and we played with a lot of energy."

"I thought we played well together as a team," said freshman Preston Wetherell. "We all played for the letters in the front and the back. The offense was great and the pitching was phenomenal. All-in-all, we had a good outing."

"I thought we came out hot with our barrels," said freshman Jayce Blalock. "The pitching was great and we didn't have many errors and when that happens we didn't lose."

"We came out guns blazing when we started scoring all those runs in the first couple of innings," said freshman Ed Wagner. "Our defense was great today, even with only one error, and we were making plays left and right. It was a great team win today."

Hill II sent Wagner to the mound, while Eastern Florida head coach Steven Brown went with freshman Brady Guthrie to counter.

The first inning looked a bit shaky for Wagner after having runners in scoring position, but the transfer from George Washington University was able to strike out two batters and get out of the jam.

In the bottom of the first, the Manatees would be the first to open the floodgates on offense beginning with a leadoff single from freshman Erick Almonte. After moving to second on a wild pitch, Karstetter would ground a double to left to bring in Almonte for the first run of the game. After sophomore Austin Dearing struck out, sophomore Brayden Woodburn and freshman Mario Lopez Jr would hit back-to-back RBI singles to make it 3-0 SCF.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Titans would make their first pitching change as Brown would send freshman Jacob Hardy to replace Guthrie. Little did the Titans know was the Manatees would be adding power to their scoreboard. Wetherell would open the door to start as the Florida State transfer hit his first collegiate home run to left that went 418 feet. 

"It was a dream come true when you think about it as a kid," said Wetherell on hitting his first collegiate home run. "It's always my dream to play and to do it at SCF. To see my first collegiate home run was a moment I won't forget."

Blalock would then follow with his first collegiate home run to left that went 365 feet.

"Like Preston, it was a dream come true for me," said Blalock on hitting his first collegiate home run. "I'm just happy to be here and get another chance to play baseball still."

After sophomore Lucas Ismali hit a double to right center, Karstetter would ignite the lead further as he sent a two-run blast to left that went 350 feet for his first of the season.

This would signal the end for Hardy as he was ejected by the home plate umpire and would send sophomore Brady Linkel to the mound. After a triple by sophomore Austin Dearing, before he scored on a wild pitch, Woodburn would draw a walk and advance to third on a pickoff attempt before Lopez drove in Woodburn with an RBI single. After Wetherell drew a walk, Brown would make another pitching change and send sophomore Dalton Robinson to the mound.

The Manatees would bat around as Blalock would send a single to right to bring in Lopez to make it 10-0 SCF before the inning ended.

Meanwhile, Wagner started to look sluggish as he would eventually give up his first hit at the top of the fifth before giving up his first run on a sacrifice fly by freshman Carlos Codero, but a groundout would eventually get him out of the inning. At the top of the sixth, it would be the end for Wagner as Hill would send sophomore Nick Romagnola to the mound and have freshmen LT Cockrill and Jalen Hariston come in as defensive substitutions. While he did give up a double and put runners in scoring position, the Bradenton native would get out of the jam.

At the top of the seventh, the Titans would add to their lead as sophomore Don McKnight would send a two-RBI triple to left-center before Romagnola was able to get out of the inning.

At the top of the eighth, freshman Brendan Albrittain would come in for Romagnola. Albrittain would give up a run on an RBI single by freshman Matt Merk, but he would end up getting out of it with a strikeout before sealing the deal in the final inning for the win.

Wagner would get the win after giving up one run on one hit with three walks and five strikeouts in five innings.

"It was great to be back out there on the mound since coming back from injury," said Wagner. "I felt like the defense was unbelievable and had my back every step of the way, which was a big confidence boost for me with all those plays made and we got it done."

"I was very proud of Ed because he worked really hard," said Hill on Wagner. "I thought he had a lot of control with his pitches and he threw some great pitches."

Guthrie would get a no-decision after giving up three runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts in three innings.

Hardy would be hit with the loss after giving up four runs on four hits with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.

Robinson threw 3.1 scoreless innings of relief giving up three hits with three strikeouts, while Linkel gave up three runs on two hits with one walk in no innings of relief and freshman Will Smith threw a scoreless inning of relief.

On offense, nine Manatees had at least one hit while five had two or more. Blalock and Karstetter each finished with three hits apiece. Blalock (3-for-4) added a home run, two RBI and a stolen base, while Karstetter (3-for-5) added a home run, three RBI and a stolen base while being a triple shy of a cycle.

Ismali (2-for-5, one run), Woodburn (2-for-2, two RBI, one run and a walk) and Lopez Jr. (2-for-3, two RBI and two runs) each had two hits.

Wetherell (1-for-4, one home run, one run and one walk), Almonte (1-for-4, one run, one stolen base and one walk), Dearing (1-for-5, one run) and freshman Evan Mastromauro (1-for-4) also contributed in the game.

For the Titans, freshman Matt Merk would be the only player on the team with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while McKnight was 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Notes:

For Hill II, the win was #345 and will need five more to reach #350 in his career.

Legends Classic Standings:

1. SCF (3-1)

2. Eastern Florida (1-2)

3. Gulf Coast State (1-2)

4. Miami Dade (1-1-1)

5. Northwestern Florida State (1-1-1)

Suncoast Standings:

1. SCF (3-1)

2. HCC (1-3)

3. Polk State (0-3)

4. SPC (0-3)

Up Next:

The Manatees will remain at Wynn Field as they welcome former Suncoast Conference member South Florida State (1-2) Wednesday night, February 1 at 6 pm. Freshman Jeremy Weaver will be given the nod to start the game.

5th Herd Takes Series Over HCC

Tampa, Fla - The SCF basketball team (13-8, 3-2 Southern) pushed themselves hard in their latest conference game as they defeated Hillsborough (15-7, 2-4 Southern) 76-70 at the Dale Mabry Campus Gymnasium in Tampa. With the win, the Manatees take the series over the Hawks and are now 18-19 overall. In addition, the Manatees now move into second place in the standings.

In the first half, the Hawks would make a couple of lead changes, but the Manatees would regain the lead with two seconds left and would take the first half 34-30.

In the second half, the Manatees would go up by as much as 12 points and would eventually finish the second half with the win and the series.

Three players would score in double digits. It was sophomore Ametri Moss that would lead the way as he finished with his first collegiate double-double of 20 points (8-for-14 FG, 1-for-2 3PT, 3-for-4 FT), 11 rebounds and three assists. Freshman Kasheem Grady would follow with 15 points (4-for-11 FG, 3-for-6 3PT, 5-for-5 FT), three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block off the bench, while sophomore Cobey Harraway rounded out the order with a double-double of 10 points (3-for-9 FG, 2-for-7 3PT, 2-for-4 FT) and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore Skylar Wicks added eight points (3-for-8 FG, 1-for-2 3PT, 1-for-2 FT), five rebounds, two assists and one block, while classmate Ronnail Tape had seven points (3-for-7 FG, 1-for-1 FT), seven rebounds and three assists.

On defense, freshman Josh Ijeh lead the way with six blocks to go along with six points (3-for-7 FG) and eight rebounds.

Sophomore Isaiaih 'Ziggy' Josue (six points and two rebounds), redshirt freshman Zach Smith (two steals and one assist) and freshmen Elijah 'Slim' Terry (two rebounds, three assists and one steal), Dresean Knight (two rebounds, two steals and a block) and Malyk Rebetez (two points, two rebounds and two assists) also contributed in the game.

Other Southern Conference Scores:

Miami Dade (14-10, 3-3 Southern) upset RV Florida Southwestern (14-7, 2-4 Southen) 63-54.

Indian River State (18-5, 4-1 Southern) defeated Mid-Florida Academy 141-62.

Southern Conference Standings:

1. Indian River State (18-5, 4-1)

2. SCF (13-8, 3-2)

3. Miami Dade (14-10, 3-3)

4. HCC (15-7, 2-4)

5. RV FSW (14-7, 2-4)

Up Next:

The Manatees return home to Hal Chasey Gymnasium to welcome Florida Southwestern Wednesday night, February 1 at 7 pm.

SCF Baseball Starts Historic Home Opener

Bradenton, Fla -  After falling in their season opener, the SCF baseball team (2-1) put on a strong yet historic showing for the SCF Legends Classic at Wynn Field as they upset #9 Northwest Florida State (1-1-1) 12-0 (7) and Miami Dade (0-1-1) 6-5 in their home opener.

"I thought both teams were very good opponents," said head coach Tim Hill II. "We were coming right off the gate with three pretty tough teams overall. I thought all three clubs have very talented players and were outstanding, so to the start off with that is good, especially getting two good wins on our field."

"I thought we really played for each other," said freshman Michael Forret. "That's usually the biggest thing we could do is play for ourselves and each other. We came out here to do our thing with the practice we've been doing together in both games with the second one coming down to the wire. In the end, we prevailed and that's what we practice and try to do for each other."

"I thought we played really well as a team defensively and came off the gates really hot offensively for two amazing wins," said sophomore Richie Morales. "Miami Dade is a hard team and we fought hard against them the entire game as a team and we found a way to win.

SCF vs NWFS:

For the first game, Hill II sent Forret to the mound, while Northwest Florida head coach Doug Martin went with freshman Malachi Witherspoon.

While Forret struck out the first two batters at the top of the first, the Manatees would the run column first as sophomore Kevin Karstetter grounded out to send classmate Richie Morales home for the first run. One inning later, sophomore Brayden Woodburn would score the second run off of a groundout by freshman Erick Almonte to make it 2-0 SCF.

In the bottom of the third, the Manatees would continue to add to their lead beginning with Morales reaching on a fielding error before stealing second base with two outs. This would give Karstetter a big opportunity as the Pennsylvanian would send Morales home with an RBI double before scoring after two wild pitches. After a double by sophomore Austin Dearing, Woodburn would send a single to left to bring in Dearing to make it 5-0 SCF.

While the Manatees were scoring on the offensive end, Forret continued his dominance on the mound and with the defense backing him up, he continued to push zeros on the board.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Manatees were not finished with their offensive as Almonte would lead off with a walk before stealing second. After freshman LT Cockrill was hit by a pitch, Morales would put his bat on blast as the transfer from Florida State sent a single to left to bring in Morales. After Morales and Cockrill advanced to scoring position off of a fielding error, sophomore Lucas Ismali would pop a double to right to bring in Morales and Cockrill to make it 8-0 SCF. 

After a Dearing walk and Woodburn getting hit by a pitch, sophomore Victor Sanchez would send a single to right to bring in Ismali and Dearing to make it 10-0 SCF. This would signal the end for Urban as Martin would pull him and send freshman Kyson Witherspoon would go to the mound and get out of the fifth for the Raiders after picking off Sanchez.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Manatees would add their final two runs on the board after sophomore Evan Mastromauro would send Dearing home while reaching on a fielding error before Cockrill sent a single to left to bring in Woodburn to make it 12-0 SCF.

At the top of the seventh, all eyes turned to Forret for his shining moment for the final three outs. After the first two batters flew out, the native of Indian Trails, North Carolina would get the final out to him and seal the deal for the win.

Forrett would get the win after throwing a no-hitter in seven inning with one walk and three strikeouts.

"In the first four innings of the game, we were cruising along," said Forrett on pitching the no-hitter. "Come fifth inning, when we had plays from Erick Almonte, the guys picked it up while I was putting in the pitches and they really covered me in the end. I felt something after AD (Austin Dearing) made that diving catch in the fifth and the final groundout came to me, it was amazing for my first college outing."

"I'm really happy for Michael," said Hill on Forrett. "He's a very talented kid that works hard and for his first college start he was amazing."

Malachi Witherspoon would get the loss after giving up five runs (two earned) on three hits with four strikeouts in three innings.

Sophomore Luke Carrrell would give up five runs on three hits with two walks and two-thirds of an innings, while Kyson Witherspoon would give up two runs on four hits with one walk and one strikeout in one and two-third innings of relief and freshman Noah Simon threw two-thirds of a scoreless inning striking out one batter and giving up one hit.

Morales would lead the offense as he went 4-for-5 with one RBI, three runs and a stolen base. Dearing and Woodburn would follow going 2-for-3 each. Dearing added three runs scored and a walk, while Woddburn added one RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base.

Ismali, Karstetter and Sanchez each were 1-for-4 with two RBI. Ismali added a run and a walk, while Karstetter added a run.

Cockrill (1-for-3, one RBI and one run), Almonte (one RBI, one run, one walk and one stolen base) and freshman Evan Mastromauro (1-for-4) also contributed in the game.

After the SCF/NWFS game, Eastern Florida State (1-1) defeated Gulf Coast State (1-1) 5-0.

SCF vs Miami Dade:

For the second game, Hill sent freshman Bryan Gomez to the mound, while MDC head coach Adrian Morales went with sophomore Herick Hernandez to counter.

After the first inning went scoreless, the Sharks would draw the first run at the top of the second after sophomore Alex Ulloa scored on a wild pitch.

For the next two innings, the Sharks would hold the Manatees scoreless and even hitless until the fifth inning when the Manatees picked up steam beginning with a Woodburn leadoff walk before he advance to second on a pitching error. After two outs, Almonte would give the Manatees their first hit as he sent a single to left to bring in Woodburn and tie the game at 1-1. Morales would then pull Hernandez and send sophomore Carlos Nolasco to the mound. After Almonte stole second, sophomore Mario Lopez Jr would reach first on fielding error while Almonte scored to give the Manatees a 2-1 lead.

The Sharks would however retie the game after an RBI single by freshman Matthew Mateo at the top of the sixth and would eventually regain the lead with three more runs off of a wild pitch and a two-RBI single by freshman D'Angelo Ortiz at the top of the seventh.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees would try to cut the deficit. After a single by Almonte and a double by Lopez Jr., Morales would send a single to right and bring in Almonte and Lopez and bring Miami Dade's lead to 5-4.

In the eighth inning, the Sharks would score on a wild pitch but the Manatees would answer back with an RBI groundout by Dearing to bring in Woodburn.

At the top of the ninth, Hill II would make a change to the mound as he pulled freshman Preston Wetherell and send Morales to the mound. Additionally, Almonte would move from second to short, Lopez would move from designated hitter to catcher and Mastromauro would come in to play at second base. With a 2-2 count to sophomore Jose Hernandez, the infielder would send a fly to center in which it looked like the Sharks were going to extend the lead, but a costly base-running mistake would cause a double play courtesy of Woodburn to Mastromauro and give the Manatees a stronger chance.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Manatees saw their chance in their sights that began with a leadoff single by Almonte. After a single by Lopez Jr., sophomore Liam Moreno would put both runners into scoring position after a groundout and give Morales a chance to be the hero. Before his at-bat, Hill would make one more change as he had sophomore Ben Gilbert pinch run for Lopez Jr for speed purposes.

All eyes locked on Morales as he stepped to the plate against Nolasco. On the first pitch, the local product of Lakewood Ranch High would send a single to center over the head of Hernandez and bring in Almonte and Gilbert for the walk-off win.

"They (Miami Dade) were playing super shallow against me and gave me no respect," said Morales on the walk-off hit. "I knew that I was going to get a curveball sent to me like they did three times already, so I was just sitting on it and when the time was right, I hit it over the centerfielder and we got the win."

Gomez and Hernandez would each earn no-decisions. Gomez gave up one unearned run on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts in four innings, while Hernandez gave up two runs on one hit with three walks and three strikeouts in 4.2 innings.

Morales would get the win after throw one scoreless inning of relief and giving up one hit on the mound. At the plate, he would lead the offense going 2-for-4 with four RBI and one walk. He finished 6-for-9 with five RBI, three runs and a stolen base.

"We were struggling offensively and struck out 17 times, but today coach Javi (Miranda) toned it all in there and Kevin (Karstetter) started talking to me about this breathing technique that helped me see the ball better when I'm at the plate," said Morales on his game "I'm just glad I saw the ball very well today."

"Richie is a good player," said Hill on Morales. "He competes and is very athletic to the point where he can do so many things like he did tonight. I know he was really hungry to play since he had to battle injuries and COVID-19 and he finally got his opportunity to play at a healthier level and I'm really happy for him."

Nolasco would be dubbed with the loss after giving up five runs on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings of relief.

Almonte would go 3-for-3 with three runs, one RBI and one stolen base, while Lopez went 2-for-4 with a run.

Woodburn (1-for-3, two runs and one walk), Wetherell (a third of a scoreless inning of relief), sophomore Connor Hults (two innings of relief, two runs on two hits, one walk and four strikeouts) and freshman Cameron Clines (1.2 innings of relief, three runs on three hits, one walk and three strikeouts) also contributed in the game.

Notes:

Forret's no-hitter was the first for the Manatees since Jules VanLanduyt did so in 1991 against South Florida State, which was in fact Hill's last year playing with SCF.

Other Suncoast Scores:

Hillsborough (1-3) fell to Palm Beach State (1-2) 3-1 and Seminole State College (2-0) 5-1 in seven innings. The Hawks will host Seminole State College Wednesday afternoon, February 1 at 2:30 pm.

St. Pete (0-3) fell to Pasco-Hernando State (1-2) 11-4 and Indian River State (2-1) 16-4. The Titans will welcome Pasco-Hernando State Friday afternoon, February 3 at 1 pm.

Polk State (0-3) fell to RV Florida Southwestern State (2-2) 8-6. The Eagles will welcome Pasco-Hernando State Monday night, January 30 at 5 pm.

Suncoast Standings:

1. SCF (2-1)

2. HCC (1-3)

3. Polk State (0-3)

4. SPC (0-3)

*Note: Forret and Morales are the first players to be interviewed.

Up Next:

The Manatees will wrap up the SCF Legends Classic as they welcome Eastern Florida State (1-1) Sunday afternoon, January 29 at 2:30 pm. Freshman Ed Wagner will be the starter for the game.

Schuerman Moves to #2 as SCF SB Sweeps at JUCO Classic

Clearwater, Fla - The SCF softball team (2-2) wrapped up the second day at the Adidas JUCO Kickoff Classic at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex in Clearwater as they defeated Georgia Highlands (0-4) 14-1 (5) and St. John's River State (0-2) 9-0. With the wins, the Manatees are now 2-0 against the Chargers and 11-8 against the Vikings.

"We had a lot of highs and lows look forward to more consistency ," said head coach Mandy Schuerman. "We looked forward to more consistency in our play. Brie and Karsyn attacked the lower half of the zone much more effectively which helps with their success. Offensively, when we attack the pitch we are hunting, we are so much more successful."

"The team's energy today was through the roof," said freshman Brielle Bostow. "We really stepped it up all the way around compared to yesterday and I couldn't be prouder."

Game One:

For game one, Schuerman sent Bostow to the mound, while Georgia Highlands head coach Jordan Thorton went with freshman Jaycie Hand to counter.

The Chargers would be the first to score after an RBI groundout by sophomore Allison Deweese, but the Manatees would respond back in the bottom half of the inning. After a leadoff single by freshman Stephanie Oaks before she stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Liv Siebert, sophomore Chantel Schurr would send a triple to right to bring in Oaks to tie the game at 1-1. This would bring in a big opportunity for freshman Alissa Kessler as the transfer from Florida Atlantic would send a two-run blast to center for her first collegiate home run of the season. After a single by sophomore Tori Copeland, with a stolen base, and a single by redshirt freshman Jordan O'Brien that put her at third, freshman Taylor Halback would send a double to right to bring in O'Brien to make it 4-1 SCF.

After a scoreless second, the Manatees would add their next run on the board off of an RBI single by Halback that brought in freshman Haley Rosenbaum to make it 5-1 SCF.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Manatees would pull off a big offensive inning. After Siebert hit a leadoff single and stole second, Kessler would continue with her offense as she sent a single to left to bring in Siebert. After Copeland hit a single, Rosenbaum would reach second on an error while Kessler scored. Halback would then bring in Copeland and Rosenbaum with a two-RBI single. This would signal the end for Hand as Thorton would send sophomore Katie Traynor to the mound.

After sophomore Presley O'Kimosh drew a walk, freshman Madison Noriega would send a double to right to bring in Halback before Oaks drew a walk to load the bases. Schuerman would then sophomore Renee Dixon to pinch hit for Schurr. On a 1-1 count, the St. Cloud native would send a double to bring O'Kimosh and Noriega before she and Oaks scored on two passed balls before sealing the first game.

Bostow would get the win after throwing a five inning complete game, giving up one run on five hits with one walk. She is now 1-0 on the season.

"I felt like I threw real well," said Bostow on her game. "I focused on keeping the ball low in the zone and really attacking hitters. That being said, I couldn't be as confident as I was without my defense behind me."

Hand would fall to 0-2 after giving up 10 runs (eight earned) on 12 hits with three strikeouts in three and a third. Traynor would give up four runs (three earned) on two hits with three walks in no innings, while freshman Raina Frega threw two-thirds of a scoreless inning.

Three Manatees had a multi-hit game. Halback would be the leader for game one as she went 3-for-3 with four RBI, one run and one stolen base, while Kessler went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and two runs and Copeland went 2-for-3 with one run and one stolen base..

Schurr and Noriega both went 1-for-3 with an RBI and run each. Schurr also added a walk.

Dixon (1-for-1, two RBI and a run), O'Brien (1-for-1, one run), Siebert (1-for-3, one run and a stolen base), Oaks (1-for-3, two runs, one walk and one stolen base), O'Kimosh (one run scored and one walk), Oaks (1-for-3, two runs scored, one walk and one stolen base) and Rosenbaum (1-for-2, two runs) also contributed in the game.

Sophomore Malone Aldridge was the lone Charger with a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-2 with a run and two stolen bases.

SCF vs St. John's River State:

For game two, Schuerman would have freshman Karsyn Rutherford start game two, while St. John's River State head coach Joe Pound would go with sophomore Marlee Dellinger to counter.

The Manatees would score the first run of the game in the bottom of the first as Oaks, who would draw a walk and move to third on a Siebert sacrifice bunt, scored on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the second, the Manatees would then extend their lead further beginning with back-to-back walks drawn by Oaks and Noriega and a double steal by both before Siebert was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Schurr. On an 0-1 count, Schurr would reach base on a fielding error while Noriega and Oaks scored to push the lead before Kessler sent a double to left to bring in Siebert and Schurr to make it 5-0 SCF.

After the third inning went scoreless, the Manatees would add their final runs in the bottom of the fourth, starting with a leadoff walk by Schurr. After a single by Kessler that put Schurr on third, Copeland would bunt into a fielder's choice to bring in Schurr. Kessler and Copeland would then advance to scoring position on a passed ball before Halback sent a sacrifice fly to left to bring in Kessler.

Sophomore Molly Starinsky would then send an infield single to the shortstop and bring in Copeland. After O'Brien reached base on a fielding error, Noriega would then hit an RBI groundout to bring in Starinsky for the final run of the game and entact the eight-run mercy rule before Rutherford sealed the deal in the end.

Rutherford would move to 1-1 after throwing a five-inning five hit shutout with one walk and four strikeouts.

Dellinger would fall to 0-1 after giving up three runs on one hit with five walks and one strikeout in one and a third of an inning. Freshman Bailey Henderson would give up six runs (two earned) on four hits with two walks and one strikeout in two and two-thirds innings of relief.

Kessler would be the only Manatee with a multi-hit in the second game as she finished 2-for-2 with an RBI, a run scored and a walk.

On the basepaths, Noriega was the leader after going 1-for-2 at the plate. The Texan had one RBI, one run scored, one walk and three stolen bases. Copeland lead the way in RBI as she went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run

Starinsky (1-for-1, one run and one RBI) had the remaining while Schurr (two runs and one walk), Oaks (two runs, one stolen base and two walks) and Siebert (one run scored) also contributed in the game.

Notes:

The two wins for Schuerman was her 240th and 241st wins in her career. Her 241st career win surpassed Meredith Headings (240, 2007-14) for second all-time. Her next milestone is 250 career wins. Coincidentally, her two wins happened on her birthday.

"Every win is a good win," said Schuerman on moving up in the ranks. "I'm glad we were able to turn it around after being humbled on day one. Coach Mere (Headings) had a lot of success when she was at SCF and our goal is to take past successes from coaches like Jeff Roberts and Meredith Headings and continue to try and surpass it."

"Coach Mandy is one of the best coaches I've had," said Bostow on Schuerman's milestone achievement. "I'm so glad that we could pull out these win for her on her birthday and hope to continue this momentum."

Other Suncoast Conference Scores:

St. Pete College (3-1) swept the second day of the JUCO Kickoff Classic by defeating Eastern Florida State (3-1) 9-3 and USC Union (0-4) 8-0. The Titans will continue in the JUCO Kickoff Classic against Indian River State (1-3) and St. John's River State Sunday morning, January 29 at 8:30 and 11:30 am. 

Hillsborough (1-2) ended their part of the JUCO Kickoff Classic defeating Gulf Coast State (3-1) 6-1 before falling to Tallahassee CC (3-1) 7-1 and Daytona State (1-1) 12-4 in six innings. The Hawks will travel to Avon Park to take on South Florida State (2-0) Thursday night, February 2 at 5 and 7 pm.

Up Next:

The Manatees will remain on the road for their next series as they will head to Gainesville to take on Santa Fe College (2-2) Friday afternoon, February 3 at 1 and 3 pm.

SCF BVB Opens Season at Home

PC by SCF Beach Volleyball Instagram

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF beach volleyball team are looking to continue to pick up where they left off from their dominant performance last season with another championship in their sight for the 2023 season. The Manatees will open the season at home as they welcome Lake Sumter State and St. John's River State to UMR Sports Complex for a doubleheader Saturday, February 4 at 10 am (vs Lake Sumter State) and 2 pm (vs St. John's River State).

This will not only be the season and home opener for the Manatees, but it will also be their conference openers too.

Admission is free for the public.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of finishing last season 13-7 overall with a 7-1 in conference. They became the inaugural Region 8 Regular Season Champions before winning the AVCA Two-Year College Championship in Tavares and the JUCO Pairs Championship in Palatka.

The team is lead by head coach Lynn Burnett, who enters her fourth season as head coach for the beach team. 

Burnett is joined by second-year assistant coach Dr. Bree Scarborough. Scarborough, a former indoor volleyball player for American University and the University of South Florida, entered the beach volleyball scene as pairing up with current FIVB/AVP player Kim Hildreth in 2015 before pairing with SCF grad Aurora Davis for the next three years where they won a gold medal in the FIVB as well as traveling to compete in the US, Europe and Asia.

New Bloods:

With a new season comes changes for the Manatees as several players have graduated and transferred. They will be without Ana Broadhead (Vanguard NAIA), Anna Chechelyntska (Stetson), Giulia Rodrigues (UNC Asheville for indoor), Kayla David (St. Leo, NCAA DII) and Carolina Moffatt (Erskine College, NCAA DII).

Burnett was able to have some of the indoor volleyball players join the newcomers and returners.

Kayla Gentry:

A native of Port Orange, Florida, Gentry joins the team after graduating from Atlantic High School in Port Orange. After four years of playing indoor volleyball for the Sharks, Gentry played and focused on beach volleyball and played at DME Academy in Daytona where she competed in several tournaments that include the DME Pink Blast Tour (2020, 2021) while being a scholar-athlete with the team.

Amanda Pizzol:

Pizzol, a native of São Paulo, Brazil, joins the Manatee after transferring from McCook Community College in Nebraska. She will have two years of eligibility remaining with the beach team. As a member of the Indians, Pizzol played as a libero and pin hitter where she produced 172 digs, eight aces and 33 assists while leading them to a 20-18 record in NJCAA Region 9.

Prior to McCook CC, Pizzol played in several beach tournaments, which includes the 2018 Sindi Clube Championship U21 state games in São Paulo (third place finish) and the 2017 TV Tribuna Volleyball Cup.

Remi Hebert:

Hebert, a native of New Orleans, remains at SCF after spending her first two years with the softball team. She returns to one of her original sports she played in back in high school.

With the softball team, Hebert played as a pitcher and outfielder where she finished her career with the Manatees 9-6 overall with a 3.54 ERA, 47 walks and 66 strikeouts while also batting .222 with 34 hits, two home runs, 15 RBI, 22 runs and 19 walks. Additionally, she was named an honorable mention on the All-Suncoast Conference Team.

Prior to SCF, Hebert was a two-sport athlete at John Curtis Christian High School in River Ridge, Louisiana where she played both volleyball and softball. 

In softball, she played all four years of helped lead the Patriots to two straight playoff appearances in the LHSAA 5A State Tournament, which included winning the Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Softball State Tournament in 2018. As a volleyball player, Herbert played three years at the varsity level as an outsider hitter/setter where she had 438 kills, 720 digs and 130 aces in her three season with the Patriots and even lead them to two straight quarterfinals appearances in the LHSAA Division Four State Tournament.

Makenzie Sherrouse:

Sherrouse, an outside hitter from Highland City, Florida, joined the Manatees during the spring semester after transferring from Bethany College (NAIA) in Lindsborg, Kansas with up to two years of eligibility remaining. As a member of the Swedes, Sherrouse played in two matches with one kill while the team went 11-18 overall with a 5-7 record in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).

Prior to Bethany, Sherrouse played for George Jenkins High School in Lakeland, Florida. As a member of the Eagles, she played two years of varsity and finished her career there with 72 kills, 236 digs, 18 aces and six blocks while helping the team to two straight playoff appearances in the FHSAA 6A State Tournament.

Additionally with the newcomers for beach, Burnett was able to add five of the indoor players to the team: Isabella 'Bella' Rebimbas, Amee Beedle, Caelan Cook, Bailey Perry and Kloe Pinto.

As far as the returners, Burnett brings back five returners from last season that were a part of the national champion team: Shelby McGee, Essence Bundrage, Danielle Conover, Kaylee Forman and Yeva Serdiuk.

Scouting Lake Sumter State:

The Lakehawks are lead by second-year head coach Neal Stanley and are coming off finishing last season 5-11 overall with a 1-6 record in conference. While they did finish in last place, they still managed to secure a spot in the AVCA Two-Year College Championship where they finished as the runner-up in the tournament behind SCF. Additionally, they had their number one pair named as inaugural NJCAA All-Americans with Broadhead and Serdiuk.

Sophomore Alyssa Guarino returns to the team. Guarino is one of three returners on the team who was named as NJCAA All-American after partnering with former teammate Erin Ellis. She is joined by fellow sophomores Leslie Catlett and Kaylin McCann.

Overall, the Manatees are 10-0 against the Lakehawks.

Scouting St. John's River State:

The Vikings are lead by head coach Matt Cohen and are coming off of finishing last season 6-12 overall with a 1-4 record in conference. While they finished third in standings, the Viking were able to secure a spot in the AVCA Tournament as the #2 seed where they finished in fourth place after falling to Lake Sumter in the semifinals and Spartanburg Methodist in the third place match.

Sophomores Julia Lindsey and Kirby Mason are two of the returners that will come back to the Vikings. The duo went 4-0 at the AVCA Tournament.

Overall, the Manatees are 2-0 against the Vikings.

How to Keep Up:

Fans can keep up with the Manatees are all forms of social media

Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/SCFvolleyball/ (SCF Volleyball)

Twitter - https://twitter.com/SCFVolleyball (@SCFVolleyball)

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/scfbeachvolleyball/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D (@SCFBeachVolleyball)

5th Herd Looks to Take Series @ HCC

Bradenton, Fla - Looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss at home, the SCF basketball team (12-8, 2-2 Southern) will look to bounce back as they travel to Tampa for their next conference game to face Hillsborough (14-6, 1-3 Southern) at the Dale Mabry Campus Gymnasium Saturday afternoon, January 28 at 4 pm.

Southern Conference Standings:

1. Indian River State (16-5, 3-1)

2. RV FSW (14-5, 2-2)

3. SCF (12-8, 2-2)

4. Miami Dade (13-9, 2-2)

5. HCC (14-6, 1-3)

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off losing to Indian River State by a score of 103-69 at Hal Chasey Gymnasium.  They are currently tied for second place in standings with RV Florida Southwestern and Miami Dade.

Locked In:

Sophomore Skylar Wicks will lock his sights back NCAA DI as he has officially committed to Central Michigan University with three years of eligibility remaining. Wicks is currently averaging 18.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and two steals per game. Against Indian River State, he had 19 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three blocks.

Following behind Wicks is classmate Cobey Harraway. While he was held to three points against Indian River State, Harraway still averages 12.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

Block Party:

Freshmen Josh Ijeh and Dresean Knight have been leading the way on the blocking game for defense. 

Ijeh is currently averaging 5.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. He had two points, six rebounds and five blocks against Indian River State.

Knight, who plays as a backup, is averaging 2.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. He had two points, three rebounds and four blocks off the bench against Indian River State.

Kash Defender:

Freshman Kasheem Grady has been playing alongside of the defensive end to go with his scoring. Grady is currently averaging 7.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and one steal per game. Against Indian River State, the Georgia native had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and a career-high six steals.

Mighty Tape:

While he was held to two points and two rebounds against Indian River State, sophomore Ronnail Tape has remained a key part of the lineup for the Manatees. Tape is averaging 8.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Lockdown D:

Sophomores Ametri Moss and Isaiah 'Ziggy' Josue and freshman Elijah 'Slim' Terry have played more fierce defense this season.

Despite being held to two points and two rebounds, Moss is averaging 7.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and one steal per game.

Josue is averaging 8.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He had 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Terry is averaging 6.7 points, six rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. He had 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and four steals against Indian River State.

Wild Plays:

Redshirt freshman Zach Smith and freshman Malyk Rebetez remain as the wild cards of the team. Smith is averaging 2.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game, while Rebetez is averaging 2.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

Scouting HCC:

The Hawks are coming off of an upset win over RV Florida Southwestern (then #20 in the nation) in Tampa by a score 65-64. They still remain in last place in the Southern Conference.

Sophomore Georden Rogers and Dominic Gooden are averaging 13.9 and 13.7 points per game. Rogers also averages 5.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game, while Gooden averages 3.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

After transferring from Northwest Florida State, sophomore Jasper Floyd is currently averaging 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

Classmates Delon Gooden Jr (10.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg and three apg) and Nicolas Strachen (9.1 ppg and six rpg) also play key roles in the Hawks rotation.

How to Keep Up:

The game will air on the HCC YouTube channel and fans can keep up with the Manatees on all social media platforms.

Livestream Link -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCacuu9UlGv5bxz2LvF-Q5w/videos

Social Media -

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SCFMensBasketball

Twitter - https://twitter.com/SCF_Basketball

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/scfbasketball/

5th Herd Falls to Indian River

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF basketball team (12-8, 2-2 Southern) fell to even in conference play as they dropped their game to Indian River State (16-5, 3-1) 103-69 at Hal Chasey Gymnasium. With the loss, the Manatees fall into a three-way tie for second place in conference.

In the first half, both teams started off slow briefly, but the Pioneers would run the offense the majority of the time. While the Manatees did get into double digits on the boards, the Pioneers would maintain the lead as they took the first half 58-33.

In the second half, the result looked more of the same for the Manatees as the Pioneers would continue to push the lead further and would get the win in the end.

Four Manatees scored in double figures. It was sophomore Skylar Wicks that would lead the way as the former Missouri State Bear finished with 19 points (7-for-17 FG, 2-for-6 3PT, 3-for-4 FT), seven rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Freshman Kasheem Grady would follow with 15 points (5-for-8 FG, 1-for-2 3PT, 4-for-5 FT), four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a career-high six steals off the bench, while Isaiah 'Ziggy' Josue had 14 points (3-for-11 FG, 1-for-4 3PT, 7-for-8 FT), eight rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal. Freshman Elijah 'Slim' Terry rounded out the order with 10 points (3-for-7 FG, 4-for-5 FT), four rebounds, two assists and four steals.

On defense, freshmen Josh Ijeh and Dresean Knight lead the way in blocking. Ijeh had five blocks, two points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals, while Knight had four blocks to go with two points, three rebounds and one steal.

Sophomores Ronnail Tape (two points, one rebound, one assist and three blocks), Cobey Harraway (three points, four rebounds, one block and one assist) and Ametri Moss (two points and two rebounds) also contributed in the game.

For the Pioneers, Micah Octave lead the way with 32 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals, while Jayshane Woodard had a double-double of 13 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Other Southern Conference Scores:

Hillsborough (14-6, 1-3 Southern) upset #20 Florida Southwestern (14-5, 2-2 Southern) 65-64.

Southern Conference Standings:

1. Indian River State (16-5, 3-1)

2. #20 FSW (14-5, 2-2)

3. SCF (12-8, 2-2)

4. Miami Dade (13-9, 2-2)

5. HCC (14-6, 1-3)

Up Next:

The Manatees return to the road as they travel to Tampa to take on Hillsborough Saturday afternoon, January 28 at 4 pm.

5th Herd Back in Action vs Indian River

Bradenton, Fla - After a game that literally went off the ceiling, the SCF basketball team (12-7, 2-1 Southern) remain at home for their next line of conference play at Hal Chasey Gymnasium. The Manatees will welcome Indian River State (15-5, 2-1 Southern) Saturday afternoon, January 21 at 4 pm.

The Manatees are 5-18 overall against the Pioneers.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of one of their most recent comebacks this season after defeating Miami Dade College 65-64 at home. They are currently in a three-way tie for first place in conference, but are in third place in the overall standings.

Southern Conference Standings:

1. #20 FSW (14-4, 2-1)

2. Indian River State (15-5, 2-1)

3. SCF (12-7, 2-1)

4. Miami Dade (13-9, 2-2)

5. Hillsborough (13-6, 0-3)

Second Half Heroes:

Sophomore Skylar Wicks is one of the main offensive players that leads the way offensively. Wicks is currently averaging 18.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Wicks lead the team off the bench with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a steal against MDC.

Classmate Cobey Harraway also plays a key role in the offense despite going scoreless against Miami Dade on Wednesday. Harraway is averaging 13.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Pounding the Boards:

Sophomore Ronnail Tape and freshman Josh Ijeh continue to be the key rebounders and defenders for the Manatees. Tape, who had 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks against Miami Dade, is currently averaging 8.6 points and five rebounds per game, while Ijeh, who had four points, five rebounds and a block, is averaging 5.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.

New Starts:

Sophomore Ametri Moss and freshman Kasheem Grady were placed in the starting lineup against Miami Dade. It was both their first starts this season.

Moss, who has scored in double digits in three straight games, is currently averaging 8.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He had 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists against Miami Dade.

Grady, who earned his first collegiate start in his career, is averaging 6.6 points and 2.7 rebounds, had eight points, four rebounds and six assists against Miami Dade.

Slim Flow:

Freshman Elijah 'Slim' Terry has been more of the hybrid player offensively and defensively. Terry is averaging 6.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He had 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks against Miami Dade.

Wild Impact:

Sophomore Isaiah 'Ziggy' Josue and freshmen Dresean Knight and Malyk Rebetez have been the wild card players of the team.

Josue is averaging 7.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He had five points against Miami Dade.

Knight, a primary defender, is averaging 2.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He had four points, two rebounds in his last outing.

Rebetez played in the second half and had three assists against Miami Dade. The Swiss native is averaging 2.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

Scouting Indian River State:

The Pioneers are part of the three-way tie for first place in conference with SCF and #20 Florida Southwestern State, but are in second place in the overall standings. They are currently coming off of a 92-80 win over Hillsborough.

Freshman Jayshayne Woodard currently lead the team averaging a double-double per game (17.6 points and 11.9 rebounds per game) and 3.4 assists per set.

Redshirt sophomore Jyre McCloud and true sophomore Micah Octave also play key roles for the Pioneers scoring. McCloud is averaging 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists, while Octave averages 14.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game.

Other players that contribute for the Pioneers include sophomore Pablo Tamba (11.9 ppg, and 4.3 rpg) and Antoine Jacks (7.8 ppg and 5.3 apg).

How to Keep Up:

The game will air on the SCF Sports Network and fans can keep up with the Manatees on all social media platforms.

Livestream Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

Social Media:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SCFMensBasketball

Twitter - https://twitter.com/SCF_Basketball

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/scfbasketball/

5th Herd Saved By the Ceiling vs Miami Dade

Bradenton, Fla - Sophomore Ametri Moss' game-winning layup and a costly inbound from off the ceiling Miami Dade (13-9, 2-2 Southern) helped the SCF basketball team (12-7, 2-1 Southern) come from behind and secure the win by a score of 65-64. With the win, the Manatees are now 7-6 against the Sharks and have moved up to a three-way tie for first in conference with #20 Florida Southwestern and Indian River State.

"While I'm trying not to look like a 'Debbie Downer' I was very excited that we won this game over Miami Dade," said head coach Tom Parks. "If I look back from last season, I thought we would take any kind of we can get in conference. I just think that sometimes I have high expectations for this team and they have high expectations in themselves. I can't remember the last time we had a game where all cylinders have been firing at the same time, which is nerve-racking and promising at the same time. I'm happy with the win, especially coming back from a 17-point deficit in the second half and coming back with 10 to 12 minutes left. I'm proud of the guys' effort to make a comeback like this, which is not easy for any team to do because many would give up after and the guys took the moment to fight to the end."

"We came out kind of slow and didn't come in with a lot of energy and aggression in the first half and Miami Dade jumped out at us and took us off our game a bit" said sophomore Ronnail Tape. "After that, we realized that we had to play harder than them to get the win and that's what we did in the second half, we took our shots, made stops and rebounded the ball."

"While we didn't play a good 40 minutes of basketball and they (Miami Dade) played harder in 30 of them and us fight in the last 10, we finally woke up," said freshman Elijah 'Slim' Terry. "I'm glad we did and at the end of the day, we made some big shots and had some good defensive possessions to help us close out the game."

"First half, I thought we had a slow start and we were just getting warmed up," said freshman Kasheem Grady. "Overall, we did great. We never gave up and kept fighting to the end. Everyone was playing and keeping each other up and just making sure we stayed positive to the end."

The first half was a slow start for both teams for the first three minutes of the game until the Sharks got a board with a 3-pointer before freshman Josh Ijeh hit a layup to put the Manatees on the board. Later into the game, the Sharks would take the offensive end on the 3-point shot, but the Manatees were able to cut it close to single digits with Moss and Grady leading the path. Despite the deficit, the Sharks too the first half 34-28.

At the start of the second half, the Manatees started to struggle on offense as the Sharks went on a 5-0 run until Grady made two free throws to give the Manatees their first points of the second half, but the Sharks would push back and be up by as much as 17 points.

After a media timeout, Terry would open the offense a bit for the Manatees with a 3-pointer un the right corner, but that would barely faze the Sharks as they would come back with one of their own, yet little did the Sharks know was that the Manatees were on the path of a comeback from part of the bench from Terry and sophomore Skylar Wicks as they would cut the deficit to single digits.

With five minutes left, with the score 59-53 Miami Dade, Wick would get fouled and sent to the line to shoot two successful free throws before Terry cut the Sharks lead to four points. A costly foul from the Sharks would send Terry to the free throw line to shoot two successful free throws before cut the deficit to one point with a midrange shot on the left wing with a 1:36 left.

With 41.7 second left in the game, the Sharks would inbound the ball, but as sophomore Elijah Hoard tried to extend the Sharks' lead to three, he would miss a long midrange shot to set up the opportunity for Moss as the native of Clarksville, Tennessee would secure the defensive rebound and go coast-to-coast with a layup and give the Manatees the lead with 18.2 seconds left.

After a Manatee timeout, the Sharks would inbound the ball with freshman Jamichael Stillwell holding the possession. As Stillwell went for the layup, but would miss his chance. As Wicks secured the rebound and drew the one-and-one foul, he would miss the layup and the Sharks would secure the rebound before calling the timeout with 0.9 seconds left.

As the Sharks would inbound the ball again, they would make a costly mistake as the ball would hit the ceiling of Hal Chasey Gymnasium and would be ruled out of bounds before the Manatees regained possession and got the win.

Four Manatees would score in double digits. It was Wicks that would lead the way one rebound shy of a double-double as he finished with 13 points (5-for-14 FG, 1-for-2 3PT, 2-for-3 FT), nine rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. In fact, all of Wicks' points were in the second half.

Terry would follow with 11 points (4-for-9 FG, 1-for-3 3PT, 2-for-2 FT), five rebounds and two blocks.

"I always try to bring my energy every day," said Terry on his game. "Sometimes my points are not even, but I try to stay on the offensive and defensive glass and try to get my teammates going different ways that others don't, so that was my job today of being the energy guy to bring it every game."

Tape and Moss would rounded out the order with 10 points and seven rebounds each. Tape (5-for-11 FG) added two assists and two blocks, while Moss (4-for-11 FG, 2-for-2 FT) added three assists.

"At first, I felt like I was moving way too fast when I was throwing up my shots, but when the second half started my teammates helped me out a lot and recovered some big shots for me," said Tape on his game. "When I got back in, I just took a breather and was able to finish the game."

Grady, who earned his first start of the season, had eight points (2-for-9 FG, 2-for-6 3PT, 2-for-2 FT), four rebounds, one steal and a career-high six assists.

"It felt amazing," said Grady on his first start. "Just getting my first collegiate start was memorable and I hope to get more soon. I was just ready to work."

"I felt like I could have done better on shooting, cutting to the basket and communicating with my teammates, but I thought I had a decent game overall."

Sophomores Isaiah 'Ziggy' Josue (five points) and Cobey Harraway (two rebounds, one steal and one block) and freshmen Josh Ijeh (four points, five rebounds, two steals and a block), Dresean Knight (four points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal) and Malyk Rebetez (three assists) also contributed in the game.

For the Sharks, Elijah Hoard would lead the way in scoring with 14 points, three rebounds and one steal. Tyreik Weeks would follow with a double-double of 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks before fouling out, while Jamichael Stillwell rounded out the order with 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Other Southern Conference Scores:

Indian River State (15-5, 2-1 Southern) defeated Hillsborough (13-6, 0-3 Southern) by a score of 92-80. The Hawks will take on #20 Florida Southwestern (14-4, 2-1 Southern) Saturday afternoon, January 21 at 4 pm.

Southern Conference Standings:

1. #20 FSW (14-4, 2-1)

2. Indian River State (15-5, 2-1)

3. SCF (12-7, 2-1)

4. Miami Dade (13-9, 2-2)

5. Hillsborough (13-6, 0-3)

5th Herd Set for MDC

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF basketball (11-7, 1-1 Southern) will return to Hal Chasey Gymnasium for their second conference game at home as they welcome Miami Dade (13-8, 2-1 Southern) Wednesday night, January 18 at 7 pm.

Southern Conference Standings:

1. #22 FSW (14-4, 2-1)

2. Miami Dade (13-8, 2-1)

3. Indian River State (14-5, 1-1)

4. SCF (11-7, 1-1)

5. Hillsborough (13-5, 0-2)

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of their first loss in conference as they fell to #22 FSW 107-80 in Fort Myers. They are currently tied for third in conference with Indian River State.

Sophomores Skylar Wicks, Cobey Harraway and Ronnail Tape have been lead the way for the Manatees in scoring.

Wicks is averaging 18.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists against FSW.

Harraway averages 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. He had 10 points, four rebounds and two assists against FSW.

Tape, who has returned to his hometwon of Fort Myers twice this season, is averaging 8.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He had nine points, four rebounds and two steals against FSW.

In rebounding, alongside Tape and Wicks, freshmen Josh Ijeh and Elijah 'Slim' Terry leads the path. Ijeh is averaging 7.6 rebounds per game to go along with 5.3 points and 2.8 blocks per game, while Terry averages 6.2 rebounds to go along with 6.2 points per game.

Defensively, apart from Wicks and Ijeh sophomore Isaiah 'Ziggy' Josue and freshman Dresean Knight played a part of it. Josue is averaging eight points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, while Knight, a primary blocker, is averaging 2.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

Sophomore Ametri Moss and freshman Kasheem Grady played as the primary key roles off the Manatees' bench.

Moss had one of his best offensive games this season over FSW as he had 26 points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals. Currently, he is averaging 8.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Grady is averaging 6.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Grady had 10 points, one rebound, one assist and one block.

Scouting Miami Dade:

The Sharks are tied for first place in the conference standings with FSW, but are coming off of a 84-73 loss to Indian River State.

Freshman Tyriek Weeks leads the way for the Sharks averaging 16.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, while classmate Jimichael Stillwell averages 14.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game and Covid-sophomore DJ Harrell averages 12.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Series History:

Overall. the Manatees are 6-6 against the Sharks. Last time both teams met, the Manatees won the series 2-1 (69-67: SCF; 85-81: MDC; 68-67: SCF).

How to Keep Up:

The game will air on the SCF Sports Network and fans can keep up with both teams on all social media platforms.

Livestream Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

Social Media:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SCFMensBasketball

Twitter - https://twitter.com/SCF_Basketball

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/scfbasketball/

5th Herd Falls to #22 FSW

Fort Myers, Fla - The SCF basketball team (11-7, 1-1 Southern) fell in their first conference game as they lost to #22 Florida Southwestern (14-4, 2-1 Southern) 107-80 at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena.

The first half saw the Manatees cut the deficit by as much as six points and while they tried to pull a couple of punches, it was not enough for them as the Buccaneers would take the first game of the series.

Four Manatees scored in double figures in the game. It was sophomore Ametri Moss that would the Manatees for the second straight game as he finished with a career-high 26 points (7-for-12 FG, 12-for-13 FT), two rebounds, four assists and three steals off the bench.

Sophomore Skylar Wicks followed with 11 points (4-for-16 FG, 1-for-5 3PT, 2-for-2 FT), four rebounds, three assists, one block and one steals, while classmate Cobey Harraway and freshman Kasheem Grady followed with 10 points each. Harraway (3-for-9 FG, 2-for-6 3PT, 2-for-2 FT) added four rebounds and three assists, while Grady (4-for-6 FG, 2-for-4 3PT) added one rebound, one assist and two blocks.

Sophomore Ronnail Tape rounded out the order with nine points (2-for-8 FG, 2-for-6 3PT, 3-for-4 FT), five rebounds and two steals.

In rebounding, freshman Elijah 'Slim' Terry lead the way with 10 rebounds to go along with four points, one assist and three steals.

Defensively, apart from steals from Moss and Terry, freshman Dresean Knight lead the way with four block to go along with three points and two rebounds, while classmate Josh Ijeh had five points, six rebounds, three steals and one block.

Sophomore Isaiah 'Ziggy' Josue (one assist), redshirt freshman Zach Smith (two points, one rebound, one steal and one block) and freshman Malyk Rebetez (one rebound and one assist) also contributed in the game.

Other Southern Conference Scores:

Indian River State (14-5, 1-1 Southern) defeated Miami Dade (13-8, 2-1 Southern) defeated 83-74.

Southern Conference Standings:

1. #22 FSW (14-4, 2-1)

2. Miami Dade (13-8, 2-1)

3. Indian River State (14-5, 1-1)

4. SCF (11-7, 1-1)

5. Hillsborough (13-5, 0-2)

Up Next:

The Manatees will return home to continue conference play as they welcome Miami Dade Wednesday night, January 18 at 7 pm.

SCF Softball Opens Season With JUCO Classic

PC: Fast Pitch Headquarters

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF softball team look to put the 2022 season behind and focus on the 2023 season. The Manatees will open on neutral grounds as they travel to Clearwater for the traditional three-day Adidas JUCO Kickoff Classic and Showcase at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex. They will face East Florida State College(12:30 pm) and Gulf Coast State (5:30 pm) on day one before playing Georgia Highlands (1:30 pm) and St. John's River State (4 pm) on day two.

The following is the list of teams joining SCF:

#12 College of Central Florida

Daytona State College
Eastern Florida State College
#1 Florida Southwestern State College
Georgia Highlands College (GA)
Georgia Military College (GA)
Gulf Coast State College
Indian River State College
Lake-Sumter State College
Miami Dade College
Northwest Florida State College
Parkland College (IL)
Pasco-Hernando State College
Pensacola State College
Santa Fe College
Seminole State College (FL)
South Georgia State College (GA)
St Johns River State College
St Petersburg College
Tallahassee Community College
University of SC Union (SC)

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of finishing last season 25-25 overall with a 6-13 record in the Suncoast Conference. It was the second straight season where they failed to qualify for the NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA State Tournament.

Conference Tweaks:

With the 2023 season up and running, this also means that there will be changes for it. For the start of the season, all the conferences (both DI and DII) have been tweaked. #1 Florida Southwestern, the two-time reigning and defending NJCAA JUCO Softball World Series Champions, will be leaving the Suncoast Conference and move to the Southern Conference.

The following is where the teams are going to as listed:

Mid-Florida -

College of Central Florida

Daytona State College

Santa Fe College

Seminole State College (FL)

Panhandle - 

Pensacola State

Northwest Florida State

Tallahassee CC

Chipola College

Gulf Coast State

Southern - 

Florida Southwestern

Miami Dade

Eastern Florida State

Indian River State

Suncoast - 

SCF

Polk State

Hillsborough

St. Pete

DII - 

Pasco-Hernando State

Florida State College at Jacksonville

St. John's River State

Lake Sumter State

South Florida State

Fun Fact:

SCF is 7-2 in their season opener and 28-16 at the JUCO Kickoff Classic.

Meet the Coaches:

The Manatees are lead by head coach Mandy Schuerman, who enters her eighth season as head coach and is ranked the third winningest head coach in SCF Softball program history. In fact, Schuerman has 239 wins so far in her career and need only two to surpass Meredith Headings (240, 2007-14) for second all-time.

Schuerman is joined by associate head coach Tony Cummings and first-year assistant coaches Shannon Eckaus and Samantha Hampton.

Meet the Newcomers:

With the departures of Gracie Mullett, Mikayla DiSantis, Riley Trice, Alli Bloski and Hannah Murray, and Remi Hebert switching to play with the SCF beach volleyball team, Schuerman was able to land seven newcomers to join the team.

Taylor Halback:

A local catcher/utility player from Venice, Halback joins after graduating from Venice High School and reunites with sophomores and Venice alum Liv Siebert and Jordan O'Brien.

Halback played three years on varsity where she averaged a career .295 with 31 hits, two home runs and 22 RBI. As a member of the Indians, she helped lead them to the regional finals of the FHSAA 6A State Tournament and the FHSAA 7A State Tournament regional quarterfinals.

Maddisan Noriega:

An outfielder from Fort Worth, Texas, Noriega joins the Manatees after graduating from Timber Creek High School in Fort Worth. In fact, she is the first player from Texas to play with the Manatees.

As a member of the Falcons, Noriega had a career batting average of .357 with 51 hits, 23 RBI and 10 stolen bases while leading them to two straight appearances to the Texas UIL 6A Region 1 and 3 State Tournament. Her senior year was her most productive as she finished batting .378 with 41 hits, 17 RBI and 31 runs while leading the team to the regional finals of the 2022 Texas UIL 6A Region 1 and 3 State Tournament.

Karsyn Rutherford:

A local left-handed pitcher/utility player, Rutherford joins Halback from Venice High School and is also reuniting with Siebert and O'Brien.

Rutherford was the ace for the Indians on the mound and finished her career 30-5 overall with a 2.14 ERA, 47 walks and 133 strikeouts while batting .263 with 26 hits and eight RBI and leading them to the FHSAA 6A and 7A State Tournament. Her junior year was her most productive as she went 17-4 with a 2.42 ERA, 26 walks and 64 strikeouts in 112.1 innings.

Stephanie Oaks:

A slapping outfielder from Tallahassee, Oaks joins the team after graduating from Florida State University High School. In six seasons with the Seminoles (7th-12 grade), Oaks batted a .370 career average with 107 hits and 40 RBI while leading them to six straight appearances in the FHSAA 3A and 4A District and State Tournaments.

Haley Rosenbaum:

An infielder from Mayo, Florida, Rosenbaum joins after graduating from Lafayette High School. In fact, she graduated with fellow Lafayette alum and SCF volleyball player Emily Lyons.

Rosenbaum was a three-sport athlete for the Hornets playing volleyball, basketball and softball. In fact, Rosenbaum and Lyons both played volleyball, basketball and softball together on the same team.

With the volleyball team, she played middle blocker for her lone season where she had 76 kills, 92 digs, 63 blocks and 48 aces while helping them to the FHSAA 1A State Tournament.

With basketball, she played five seasons where she averaged 9.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game with her most productive years her senior year where she averaged 13.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.9 steals per game. She also helped lead the Hornets to five straight appearances in the FHSAA 1A State Tournament.

In softball, she played three years on varsity for the Hornets where she had batted .348 in her career with 54 hits, three home runs, 33 RBI, 63 runs and 29 stolen bases while she helped them to the FHSAA 1A State Tournament.

Brielle Bostow:

A pitcher/utility player from Tarpon Springs, Bostow joins after graduating from East Lake High School. With the Eagles, she helped them to appearances in the FHSAA 8A State Tournament before parting ways from the team to instead play travel ball.

Vanessa Neptune:

An infielder/catcher from New Port Richey, Neptune joins the Manatees after graduating from J.W. Mitchell High School. Neptune was a two-sport athlete playing both basketball as well as softball. Additionally, she follows the footsteps of her older sister and SCF alum, Kassidy (2015-16).

With the basketball team, she averaged 3.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while helping the Mustangs to three straight appearances in the FHSAA 6A District Tournament with her most productive year being her senior year where she averaged six points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.

In softball, Neptune played all four years on varsity where batted a career .349 with 96 hits, six home runs, 70 RBI and a .530 slugging percentage while leading the Mustangs to one appearance in the FHSAA 7A State Tournament and two final four appearances in the FHSAA 6A State Tournament.

Alissa Kessler:

A local first baseman from Bradenton, Kessler joins the Manatees after transferring from Florida Atlantic University. She will have two years of eligibility remaining. She did not play for the Owls.

Prior to signing with FAU, Kessler played at Bradenton Christian School for seven seasons on varsity (6th-12th grade) where she finished her career with a .419 career batting average, 142 hits, 17 home runs, 100 RBI, 134 runs scored and 25 stolen bases in 103 games played while also helping the Panthers to trips to the FHSAA 2A and 3A State Tournaments.

Historically, Kessler is the first NCAA DI player to join the Manatees softball program, the first NCAA transfer to join the Manatees since Erika Shick (2013-14 from NCAA DII University of Tampa) and the first NCAA transfer to play for Schuerman.

Returning Blood:

With the seven newcomers joining, Schuerman was able to bring back nine sophomores: Presley O'Kimosh, Olivia 'Liv' Siebert, Tori Copeland, Jordan 'JoJo' Brien, Renee Dixon, Molly Starinsky, Gabi Nicholson, Chantel Schurr and Sam Carlin.

After rotating between catcher and utility player, O'Kimosh finished her freshman campaign batting .209 with 18 hits, one home run, 10 RBI and 11 runs.

Siebert, the primary speed runner, batted .330 with 37 hits, 10 RBI, 28 runs and 25 stolen bases. At the end of her freshman season, the Venice native was named on the All-Suncoast Second Team.

After transferring from Warner last season, Copeland, a primary contact hitter, finished her freshman campaign batting .318 with 42 hits, two home runs, 14 RBI, 23 runs and 13 stolen bases. She joined Siebert on the All-Suncoast Second Team.

O'Brien played in four games with one hit, one run and one stolen base before redshirting the remainder of the season due to a shoulder injury. She will have two years of eligibility with the Manatees.

Primarily playing as a defensive substitution, Dixon played in 10 games where she scored one run in the season.

After transferring from Suncoast rival Polk State, Starinsky, who also played majorly as a pinch runner and defensive substitute, played in 15 games with one hit, three runs, one stolen base and one RBI.

Nicholson finished her freshman campaign batting .220 with 27 hits, two home runs, 23 RBI and eight stolen bases.

After transferring from Jones College, the 2021 NJCAA JUCO College Softball World Series runner-up, Schurr returns to the Manatees after finishing her first season with them batting .258 with 32 hits, four home runs, 22 RBI and 12 stolen bases.

Carlin, who rotated between outfielder and pitching, finished her freshman campaign batting .162 with six hits and two RBI while on the mound she threw a 9.33 ERA with six strikeouts and six walks in six innings of relief.

Scouting Eastern Florida State:

The Lady Titans are lead by head coach Shelby Petik, who enters her second year as head coach and are coming off of finishing last season 26-24 overall with a 14-12 record in the Southern Conference.

Key returners for the Lady Titans include first baseman/pitcher Makenzie Fore (.352, 43 hits, three home runs, 27 RBI and 33 runs scored/2-1, 2.07 ERA, 14 walks and 23 strikeouts; All-Southern Conference First Team), infielder Brooke Theisen (.416, 62 hits, one home run, 21 RBI, 44 runs and 19 stolen bases; All-Southern Conference First Team, FCSAA All-State Second Team), pitcher Mandy Hedetniemi-Taylor (13-6, 2.13 ERA, 19 complete games, 56 walks and 123 strikeouts; All-Southern Conference First Team), pitcher Trinity Howard (6-15, 12 complete games, 4.62 ERA, 57 walks and 63 strikeouts; All-Southern Conference Second Team) and catcher Rachel Lamoureaux (.270, 24 hits, 10 RBI and 18 runs; All-Southern Conference Second Team).

The Manatees are 9-4 against the Titans.

Scouting Gulf Coast State:

The Commodores are coming off of finishing last season 39-18 overall with an 8-12 record in the Panhandle Conference. They are lead by head coach Scott Thomas, who enters his fourth season as head coach for the Commodores. Furthermore into last season, the Commodores failed to qualify for the FCSAA State Tournament.

Key returners for the Commodores include Cassidy Boltz (.318, 56 hits, four home runs and 46 RBI; All-Panhandle Second Team), Collier Peaden (.424, 86 hits, 29 RBI and 39 stolen bases; All-Panhandle First Team) and Jabby Terrell (.371, 66 hits, 30 RBI, 32 stolen bases; All-Panhandle First Team).

Overall, the Manatees are 3-2 against the Commodores.

Scouting Georgia Highlands:

Georgia Highlands hails from Rome, Georgia and like East Georgia State they represent NJCAA Region 17. They are lead by first-year head coach Jordan Thornton, who was the assistant coach for the last three seasons.

The Chargers finished last season 16-36 overall with a 9-15 record in conference. They did not qualify for the GCAA State Tournament.

Key returners for the Chargers include Ansley Todd (.276, 40 hits, one home run and 15 RBI; All-GCAA Second Team), Bradley Tharp (.267, 32 hits, one home run and 12 RBI) and Katie Traynor (1-0, 7.37 ERA, 23 walks and 14 strikeouts).

This will be the second time the Manatees face the Chargers as they hold a 1-0 lead. The first time both teams met was on January 28, 2017 where the Manatees won 4-3 coincidentally at the JUCO Kickoff Classic.

Scouting St. John's River:

The Vikings are lead by first-year head coach Joe Pound. Pound spent the last four seasons as their hitting coach.

The Vikings are coming off of finishing last season 23-33 overall with a 9-11 record in the Mid-Florida Conference. They did not make the FCSAA State Tournament.

Key returners include Alyssa Taylor (.317, 39 hits, eight home runs and 21 RBI; All-Mid-Florida First Team) and Emily Stewart (.319, 60 hits, four home runs and 28 RBI; All-Mid-Florida First Team).

The Manatees are 10-8 against the Vikings. Last time both teams met was at 2022 JUCO Kickoff Classic where the Manatees won 7-5.

How to Keep Up:

Fans can watch the games livestream on FloSoftball and follow livestats on GameChanger. They can also keep up with the team on all social media platforms:

Livestream Link - https://www.flosoftball.com/watch

GameChanger - https://gc.com/t/spring-2023/state-college-of-florida-softball-23-manatees-varsity-63d22260b6ee00dbd9000001

Social Media:

Twitter - https://twitter.com/SCFSoftball (@SCFSoftball)

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/scf_sb/ (@SCF_SB)