SCF SB Back to Neutral Grounds

Bradenton, Fla - After their historical moment Thursday, the SCF softball (10-8) will return on the road for the next four games. The Manatees will first head to neutral grounds as they face Seminole State College of Florida (16-3) and Eastern Florida State (8-12) for the Courtney Miller Invitational at the Boombah Sports Complex Saturday afternoon, February 25 at 1:15 and 3:30 pm before traveling to Ocala to take on #12 College of Central Florida (14-4) Tuesday afternoon, February 28 at 1 and 3 pm.

The Manatees are 10-6 at the Courtney Miller Invitational.

Suncoast Standings:

1. SCF (10-8)

2. St. Pete (8-8)

3. Polk State (4-6)

4. Hillsborough (5-10)

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of, from an international standpoint, a historical doubleheader where they welcomed Western University from London, Ontario, Canada. The Manatees would sweep them by scores of 6-2 and 11-0 (5). The Manatees softball is the first athletics program out of all six of their athletic programs at SCF to face a college or university from another country.

Coping to the Plate:

Sophomore Tori Copeland has been swinging a hot bat in five of the last six games. Copeland is currently batting .412 with 21 hits, one home run, 12 RBI and four stolen bases. The former Warner Royal was 4-for-7 with an RBI and four runs scored against Western University.

Got Wings:

Freshman Alissa Kessler still remains as one of the Manatees best power hitters. Kessler is currently batting .438 with 21 hits, two home runs and 13 RBI. She was 1-for-3 with one RBI against Western University.

Spicy Contact:

Despite struggling a bit, sophomore Chantel Schurr is still batting .241 with 13 hits, one home run, six RBI and six stolen bases.

Speed Threats:

Sophomore Olivia Seibert and freshmen Haley Rosenbaum and Stephanie Oaks lead the way in baserunning.

Siebert is batting .250 with 11 hits, seven RBI and 12 stolen bases. She was 1-for-5 with two RBI and one stolen base in her last outing.

Rosenbaum came off of one her best outings against Western University as she was 2-for-5 in the series with an RBI and a career-high five stolen bases. Currently, she is batting .293 with 12 hits, three RBI and 12 stolen bases.

Oaks is batting .225 with nine hits, three RBI and nine stolen bases.

Life is One Pitch at a Time:

Sophomore Sam Carlin and freshmen Brielle Bostow and Karsyn Rutherford have been leading the way on the mound so far this season.

Carlin is currently 3-1 with a 3.65 ERA, nine walks and nine strikeouts. The product of Riverview High had a complete game against Western University where she had one strikeout.

Bostow had one of her best showings against Western University where she threw a three-hit shutout with one strikeout in the 11-0 win. Bostow is currently 3-4 with a 2.44 ERA, 16 walks and 23 strikeouts.

Rutherford is 4-3 with a 2.84 ERA, nine walks and 14 strikeouts. In her last outing, she threw a complete game against Santa Fe with five strikeouts.

All in Wild:

For the wildcards, sophomores Presley O'Kimosh, Gabi Nicholson and Renee Dixon and freshmen Taylor Halback and Maddisan Noriega lead the way.

O'Kimosh played in game one against Western University as she went 2-for-2 with an RBI. She is currently batting .250 with six hits and four RBI.

Nicholson was 1-for-1 with a home run (an inside-the-park home run) and three runs scored in the second game against Western University. The Tennessee native is batting .214 with six hits, two home runs and seven RBI.

Dixon, primarily playing as a pinch hitter, is batting .364 with four hits and three RBI.

Halback, who is third on the team in RBI, is batting .286 with six hits and 11 RBI. She was 2-for-2 in the second game against Western University with three RBI.

Noriega is batting .172 with five hits, four RBI and six stolen bases. She was 1-for-1 with two-RBI single in the first game.

Scouting Seminole State College:

The Lady Raiders, who are the host of the tournament, are coming off of sweeping Hillsborough by scores of 11-3 (5) and 6-1. They will Miami Dade Friday, February 24 in a doubleheader prior to their hosted tournament. The Lady Raiders head coach Courtney Miller, who the tournament is named after, enters her 28th season as head coach and has 1,177 wins as their head coach.

At the plate, sophomore Brianna Abel and Angelina Badalament lead the offense each batting .400 with three home runs. Abel has 20 hits and 17 RBI, while Badalament has 22 hits and 14 RBI. In overall batting, classmate Taylor Malz is batting .458 with 27 hits, one home run and 13 RBI.

On the mound, Badalament is 6-1 with a 1.56 ERA, nine walks and 33 strikeouts, while sophomore Keivana Durand is 7-1 with a 1.02 ERA, eight walks and 62 strikeouts.

Overall, the Manatees are 9-16 against the Lady Raiders. Last time both teams met was last season at the JUCO Kickoff Classic where the Manatees won 3-1.

Scouting Eastern Florida State:

The Lady Titans are coming off splitting their last doubleheader losing game one 11-7 before winning game two 11-1 (6). They will face South Florida State in a doubleheader Friday, February 24.

Sophomore Makenzie Fore leads the offense batting .396 with 19 hits, one home run and 10 RBI. Freshman Grace Snell follows batting .304 with one home run and 13 RBI.

On the mound, sophomore Mandy Hedetniemi-Taylor leads the way going 3-3 with a 1.67 ERA, 12 walks and 48 strikeouts. Classmate Trinity Howard is 3-2 with a 3.54 ERA, 12 walks and 24 strikeouts.

The Manatees are 9-5 overall against the Lady Titans. They played the Lady Titans earlier this season where they fell by a score of 9-1 (5) at the JUCO Kickoff Classic.

How to Keep Up:

Both games will have livestats via GameChanger and fans can keep up with the softball team on all forms of social media.

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)