"I thought the guys played really well," said head coach Tim Hill II. "We had a few more walks than usual, but they took care of their home field and swung the bats really well with help from South Florida State. They did what they needed to do get the win."
"I think we're all starting to buy in to playing as a team," said Ismali. "We're all believing in each other in contrast to last year. Now everyone is seeing a different result this season and I think that's been a big part of it."
"I think we're just coming together so nicely," said freshman Cameron Clines. "This team is not cliquy at all where they have their own little groups. Everyone is in it for each other and I love that we're in this together. Overall, we played really well in this game and had no errors on the board. We're shaping up to be a really good game."
Hill sent freshman Jeremy Weaver to the mound, while South Florida State head coach Rick Hitt went with sophomore Logan Wynne to counter.
After a scoreless first inning, the Manatees would get on the run column first as sophomore Ben Gilbert would send a bunt single to bring in classmate Lucas Ismali for a 1-0 SCF lead.
At the top of the third, the Panthers would take a 3-1 lead after an RBI single and two runs scored on two wild pitches. In the bottom half of the inning, the Manatees would not would go down without a fight beginning with a lead off double by Karstetter. After classmate Brayden Woodburn would send a triple to right to bring in Karstetter, sophomore Austin Dearing would send a sacrifice fly to left to bring in Woodburn and tie the game at 3-3.
At the top of the fourth, Hill would pull Weaver out and send sophomore Liam Best to the mound for a couple of batter before Clines came in. Despite loading the bases, the transfer from Georgia Tech would get out of the jam.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Manatees would regain their lead beginning with back-to-back singles by Gilbert and freshman LT Cockrill. After two outs, Karstetter would draw a walk to load the bases for Dearing. On the first pitch, sophomore Reid Lisle, who came in for Wynne, would throw a wild pitch and send Cockrill home to give the Manatees the lead. Gilbert would then score on another Lisle wild pitch before Dearing drew a walk to load the bases for Ismali. Sophomore Brandon Chorzolewski would then come in for Lisle before Karstetter scored on another wild pitch from Chorzolewski before Ismali sent a single to center to bring in Woodburn and Dearing for an 8-3 SCF lead.
In the fifth, after freshman Jalen Hairston threw a scoreless inning, the Manatees would extend the lead in the bottom half. After sophomore Richie Morales and freshman Erick Almonte drew back-to-back walks before they moved to scoring position on a passed ball, Karstetter would send a single to left and bring both runners in before scoring on a wild pitch to make it 11-3 SCF.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Manatees added more to their lead with a Ismali leadoff single before he moved to second on a passed ball. After two strikeouts, Gilbert would draw a walk before Morales singled to center to bring in Ismali which would follow with Gilbert scoring after sophomore Liam Moreno reached first on a drop third strikeout.
At the top of the eighth, the Panthers would add to their score thanks to a two-run homer by sophomore Nick Garagazzo to make it 13-5 still in favor of SCF.
In the bottom half of the eighth, the Manatees would add their final runs on the board beginning with back-to-back walks drawn by Gilbert and Cockrill. After Moreno hit a single to load the bases, Karstetter would showcase his true power at the plate as the Pennsylvanian sent a grand slam to left for his second home run of the season and his first collegiate grand slam in his career to make it 17-5 SCF.
The Panthers would two more run on a two-RBI single by sophomore Ian Anderson, but it would be all they could produce as the Manatees secured the win at Wynn Field.
"I think our team is really showing off this year," said Gilbert. "We're coming out strong with everybody playing for each other with the same energy and I thought we were just dialed in."
Weaver would earn a no-decision after giving up three runs on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts in two and third innings. Clines would get his first collegiate win of the season after throwing one scoreless inning of relief with two walks.
"It's exciting, even if it's my second appearance," said Clines on getting his first win. "There are some things to work on, but I'm feeling good on my pitching. I just got to keep calm on the mound."
Wynne would get the loss after giving up three runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts in three innings.
On the offensive end, three players had a multi-hit game. It was Karstetter that lead the way overall offensively as he finished 3-for-4 with a home run, five RBI, four runs, two walks and one stolen base. Ismali would follow leading in overall hits as he finished 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs.
"Over the weekend, I was struggling a little bit," said Ismaili. "On these two off days I had, I worked really hard to keep my brain in positive manner, which was something I've been working on for this season while just seeing the ball and driving it."
Gilbert would round out the order going 2-for-3 with one RBI, two runs, two walks and a stolen base.
"I thought I did pretty well," said Gilbert on his game. "There's alway room for improvement, but tonight I felt confidence in the box."
Morales (1-for-4, one run, one RBI, two walks and a stolen base), Almonte (1-for-3, one run, one walk and a stolen base), Woodburn (1-for-4, one RBI, two runs and three walks), Cockrill (1-for-4, one RBI, one run and two walks), Moreno (1-for-2, one RBI and one run), Dearing (one RBI, one run and one walk), Best (two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout), Hairston (one scoreless inning of relief with one strikeout), sophomore Evan Maustromauro (one inning of relief with one walk) and freshmen Preston Wetherell (one inning of relief with two strikeouts) and Trey Clucas (one scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts) also contributed in the game.
For the Panthers, Anderson and sophomore Brylan West both had two hits each with Anderson, Garagozzo and Jakoby Stanley had two RBI.
Notes:
This was win #346 for Hill as he is now four away from reach #350 in his career.
Other Suncoast Scores:
Hillsborough (2-4) fell to #4 College of Central Florida (4-0) by a score of 11-10. The Hawks will face Lake Sumter State (2-1) Saturday afternoon, February 4 at 1 pm.
Polk State (0-5) fell to Santa Fe College (5-0) by a score of 11-6. The Eagles will take on Daytona State (1-2) Friday afternoon, February 3 at 2 pm.
Up Next:
The Manatees will head to neutral grounds for the next three games as they will compete in the three-day Panama City Beach College Baseball Classic Tournament. They will open against Wallace CC-Dothan Friday, February 3 at 2 pm (1 pm Central). Michael Forret will be given the nod to start the first game of the tournament.
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