SCF SB Opens Eight Home Games With Midwest Showdown

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF softball team (11-11) return home to the SCF Softball Complex for the next eight games. The Manatees will welcome Kalamazoo Valley CC Tuesday afternoon, March 7 at 2 and 4 pm.

Suncoast Conference Standings:

1. Polk State (9-7)

2. SCF (11-11)

3. St. Pete (9-10)

4.Hillsborough (9-12)

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of being swept by #9 College of Central Florida where they lost by scores of 8-2 and 7-3. They are currently in second place in the standings.

Bostow is Bossing:

Freshman Brielle Bostow, despite her record, remains versatile on the mound. While she is 3-6 overall, Bostow is still throwing a 2.09 ERA with 18 walks and 34 strikeouts.

Killshot Karsyn:

Freshman Karsyn Rutherford has also been playing as a big part of the Manatees in the circle. Rutherford is currently 5-4 with a 3.01 ERA, 12 walks and 18 strikeouts. At the plate, the product of Venice High is batting .308 with one RBI.

Batting to Life:

Sophomores Tori Copeland and Chantel Schurr and freshmen Alissa Kessler and Taylor Halback remain as the key batters in the lineup.

Copeland is batting .375 with 24 hits, two home runs and 15 RBI. She had a home run and two RBI against Central Florida

Schurr, who is more of a contact hitter, is batting .233 with 16 hits, two home runs, seven RBI and seven stolen bases. She had a home run against CCF.

Kessler, the primary powerhouse batter, was 2-for-7 against CCF. She is currently batting .410 with 25 hits, two home runs and 15 RBI.

Halback, who also plays a strong role at the plate, is batting .259 with seven hits and 12 RBI. 

Speed Threats:

On the basepaths, sophomore Olivia Seibert and freshmen Haley Rosenbaum, Stephanie Oaks and Maddisan Noriega lead the way.

Seibert is batting .268 with 15 hits, 10 RBI and 12 stolen bases, while Rosenbaum, who is one of the hybrid batters, is batting .294 with 15 hits, one home run, four RBI and 14 stolen bases. Oaks is batting .200 with 10 hits, three RBI and nine stolen bases, while Noriega is batting .152 with five hits, four RBI and six stolen bases.

Wilding Out:

As far as the wildcard players, sophomores Sam Carlin, Presley O'Kimosh and Gabi Nicholson play the roles.

Carlin is currently 3-1 with a 3.65 ERA, one save, nine walks and nine strikeouts. In her last outing on the mound, she threw a complete game against Western University with one strikeout.

O'Kimosh is batting .233 with seven hits and four RBI.

Nicholson is batting .222 with eight hits, one home run and six RBI.

Coach 250:

Head coach Mandy Schuerman, who enters her ninth season as head coach for the Manatees, set another milestone to her coaching career as she earned her 250th win as head coach after defeating Eastern Florida State. Her next milestone is 300 and needs 50 to do so and to become the second head coach with 300 wins as head coach for the Manatees.

Scouting Kalamazoo Valley:

Kalamazoo Valley hails from Kalamazoo, Michigan and represent NJCAA Region 12 (DII MCCAA). They are lead by first year head coach Emily VanFleet. VanFleet was the assistant coach for the team from 2016-22 before taking the head coach position after former head coach Morgan VanderBor left to become assistant coach for Western Michigan University.

The Cougars are coming off of 25-14 overall with a 21-7 record in conference where they made to the NJCAA Great Lakes District A Tournament.

Key returners for the Cougars include pitcher Sophia Pavese (6-5, 3.84 ERA, 23 walks and 62 strikeouts; MCCAA All-Western Conference Honorable Mention), Kylie Smalley (.481, 65 hits, one home run, 20 RBI and 11 stolen bases; NJCAA Region 12 All-Region Team, All-MCCAA Team, MCCAA All-West Conference First Team and MCCAA West Conference All-Freshmen Team), Camille Wadley (.361, 48 hits, six home runs and 42 RBI; MCCAA All-West Conference Second Team), Lily Brower (.333, 29 hits, 10 home runs and 29 RBI; MCCAA All-West Conference Second Team) and Shelby Bennett (.342, 39 hits, seven home runs and 37 RBI).

The Manatees hold a 3-1 series advantage over the Cougars.

How to Keep Up:

Both games will have live stats provided by GameChanger and will air on the SCF Sports Network. Fans can keep up with the team on their social media.

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

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)