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.
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