Rodrigues Set for National Tournament Appearance

Augusta, Ga - Former SCF court volleyball player Giulia Rodrigues (2020-22) will be the next Manatee to make a national tournament appearance for their respective sport as she helped lead Augusta University punch their ticket to the NCAA DII National Tournament for the seventh time in program history.

Rodrigues, a libero/defensive specialist and native of Fort Lauderdale, began her collegiate career at SCF during the COVID-19 Pandemic. There she had a combined 438 digs, 63 assists and 23 aces in two seasons with the Manatees. Following two seasons on the beach volleyball team, where she helped the Manatees to win the inaugural AVCA Two-Year College Tournament, Rodrigues would then transfer to the University of North Carolina-Asheville where in her lone season she played in 26 matches and finished with 383 digs, 72 assists and 12 aces before transferring to Augusta with two years of eligibility remaining.

"It feels pretty surreal," said Rogrigues. "I feel very blessed to even get the opportunity to be still playing, let alone be going to my first national tournament."

Currently, Rodrigues has 389 digs (3.85 digs/set), 28 aces and 83 assists this season, which included a season-high 28 digs against Lewis.

The Jaguars (20-7), who earned a spot as an at-large bid, will compete in the Southeast Regional as the #4 seed and will face #5 seed Lenoir-Rhyne University (25-7) in the first round of the tournament. If they win, they will face the winner between #1 seed Wingate University and #8 seed Converse University.

"I'm looking forward to having very competitive practices before the match," said Rodrigues on facing Lenoir-Rhyne. "They (Lenoir-Rhyne) are a pretty good team, but I know that Augusta volleyball will come ready to fight and compete. We have been working way too hard to not be coming in confident."

We wish Giulia and Augusta University the best in the NCAA DII National Volleyball Tournament.

SCF VB Closes Season

Bradenton, Fla - While their playoffs chances are diminished, the SCF volleyball team (3-10, 3-10 Sun Lakes) will look to close their season with their final two road matches. The Manatees will first return to New Port Richey to take on Pasco Hernando State (12-11, 10-4 Sun Lakes) at the PHSC Gymnasium Wednesday night, October 30 at 6 pm before taking on St. Pete (10-8, 8-6 Sun Lakes) at the St. Pete Gibbs Campus Gymnasium Thursday afternoon, October 31 at 4 pm.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of their last three games on the road where they went 1-2. They would defeat Lake Sumter State 3-2 before falling to 3-2 to Florida State College at Jacksonville and 3-1 to St. John's River State.

Sophomore Soundoff:

While they were unable to have their 'sophomore day' match against Trinity College, sophomores Jaycie Sheean and Katrina Tallo played key roles for this season as their sophomore seasons wind down. Sheean currently has 96 kills, 14 aces, 56 digs and 13 blocks. In the game against Lake Sumter, She set career-highs in kills (13) and aces (4).

 Tallo has 28 kills, 77 digs and 16 blocks. In the last three matches, she had 28 digs and four kills.

Ultima Weapon:

Freshman Aryanna Spainhower continues to lead the way offensively and defensively for the Manatees. Spainhower currently has 170 kills, 11 aces, 192 digs and 27 blocks while putting together eight double-doubles in kills and digs. In the three matches on the road, Spainhower had a combined 59 kills, five aces, 53 digs and 13 blocks.

AK7 Setting:

Freshman Adasyn Konopka has been on the role since being named the starting setter for the remainder of the season. Konopka currently has 196 assists, 16 kills and 116 digs while putting together five double-doubles of assists and digs. In the last three matches, she had 109 assists, 10 kills and 42 digs, which included a season-high 39 assists against Florida State College at Jacksonville.

Defensive Back Line:

Freshmen Sarah Stouky, Johaliz Colon and Natalie Schwenk have played the back row defense profoundly for serve receive.

Stouky currently has 155 digs, eight aces and 13 digs in her name this season. In the match against St. John's River, she had one of her best outings in serving and defense as she had a season-high 20 digs and four aces.

Colon, who shares rotation with Stouky, currently has 143 digs, 14 assists and eight aces. In the match against St. John's River, she had three aces and 13 digs.

Schwenk, who started in the lineup the last two matches, currently has 116 digs in her name since being bumped up from walk-on to a scholarship player. Schwenk had a combined 34 digs in the last three matches.

Wildberries:

Freshmen Sabrina Calhoun, Ericka Freeman and Lily Shoemaker plays as the wildcards of the team.

Calhoun currently has 45 kills, nine aces, 56 digs and 10 blocks. She had eight kills and 12 digs in the match against St. John's River.

Freeman currently has 35 kills, 28 digs and 21 blocks. She had 13 kills, 11 digs and 13 blocks in the last three matches.

Shoemaker currently has 23 kills, 13 digs and 26 blocks, which included a combined nine blocks in the last three matches.

Scouting Pasco Hernando State:

The Bobcats are coming off of a finishing this past week 3-0 after defeating Lake Sumter 3-1 before shutting out St. John's River and Florida State College at Jacksonville 3-0. They are currently in third place in the standings and secured a spot in the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament.

Sophomore Elizabeth McDonald continues to lead the offensive onslaught for the Bobcats as she has 335 kills, 27 aces, 139 digs and 30 blocks.

Scouting St. Pete:

The Titans are coming off of finishing 2-1 in their last three matches where they shutout Florida State College at Jacksonville (3-0) and Lake Sumter (3-0) and lost 3-2 to St. John's River. They secured the final spot in the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament.

Redshirt sophomore Ranya Mehta leads the way offensively with 204 kills and 34 blocks.

How to Keep Up:

Both games will air livestream and fans can keep with the Manatees on Twitter.

Livestream Links:

@ Pasco Hernando - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjSJASib7q8

@ St. Pete - https://athletics.spcollege.edu/broadcast/watch

SCF VB Wins Thriller Over Lake Sumter

Leesburg, Fla - After batting two hurricanes and limited practice, the SCF volleyball team (3-8, 3-8 Sun Lakes) pulled off a thrilling battle on the road as they defeated Lake Sumter State (8-11, 3-10 Sun Lakes) 3-2 (25-27, 29-27, 16-25, 25-18, 15-12).

"As a whole, the team played well," said head coach Courtney Bobo-McKenzie. "This week we focused a lot on the mental part of volleyball where we ran drills that built grit, fight and finishing. I believe

The first set became neck and neck with both teams going beyond 25 points, but two back-to-back kills by the Lakehawks gave them the first set. The second set was in similar fashion with kills from freshman Aryanna Spainhower and the set going beyond 25 points, but kills by sophomore Jaycie Sheean and freshman Adasyn Konopka kept the momentum going for the Manatees before they sealed the set after a free-ball kill by sophomore Katrina Tallo.

The third set was in the favor of the Lakehawks despite a trying comeback by the Manatees, but the Manatees would respond in the fourth set as kills by Konopka and Spainhower and a Lakehawk attack error sealed the fourth set for the Manatees and force a fifth set.

Heading into the fifth set, Sheean's serving played a vital role in the beginning as she served back-to-back aces before the Lakehawks secured their first point, but the Manatees would make up from the point with a 6-2 run thanks to kills by Spainhower and freshmen Lily Shoemaker and Ericka Freeman made it an 8-3 set before switching sides. After being up 11-4, the Lakehawks would attempt a comeback of their own and cut the Manatees lead to 13-12, but a final push and a final kill by Sheean would seal the victory for the Manatees.

It would be Spainhower that lead the way offensively as she secured her sixth double-double with a season-high 22 kills and 21 digs. She also added one ace, four assists and a season-high five blocks. Sheean would round out the order with career-highs in kills (13) and aces (4) while adding five digs.

In setting, Konopka would lead the way with her third double-double of the season as she finished with a season-high 35 assists and 14 digs to go along with a season-high seven kills and one block.

Defensively, aside from Spainhower, Stouky and freshman Johaliz Colon would lead the back row with 13 and 12 digs respectively. Stouky added three assists, while Colon added one ace and one assist. In the front row, Freeman and Shoemaker would lead with five and four blocks respectively. Freeman added five kills and six digs, while Shoemaker added three kills.

Tallo (two kills, two assists and nine digs) and freshmen Sabrina Calhoun (two kills, one ace, nine digs and one block) and Natalie Schwenk (seven digs and two assists) also contributed in the game.

Up Next:

The Manatees will continue on the road in the panhandle as they travel to Jacksonville to take on Florida State College at Jacksonville (8-16, 1-11 Sun Lakes) at the FSCJ South Campus Gymnasium Saturday afternoon, October 26 at 4:30 pm.

SCF VB Sweep South Florida State

Avon Park, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (2-7, 2-7 Sun Lakes) were able to secure their first sweep in conference play as they shutout South Florida State (2-10, 1-10 Sun Lakes) 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-20).

"I feel the team, as a whole, were starting to get it," said head coach Courtney Bobo-McKenzie. "We're starting to understand the talent an potential we have when we play together. Everything just seemed to click tonight. The morale was up, the discipline and trust amongst us was there and it worked in our favor. I'm glad we can go on the road and have a 'W' that we really needed."

“I thought we did great,” said sophomore Jaycie Sheean. “We really came together with what we had and killed it. A sweep is definitely what we needed. We've struggled this season with closing sets, so this match was a huge confidence booster. We have to keep the same focus and discipline when we face Palm Beach State tomorrow.”

“I thought the team did very well,” said freshman Natalie Schwenk. “Even though it got close at the end, we stuck together and pushed each other to win as a team. Getting a sweep over South Florida State felt amazing. After only having one win under our belts, securing a second win was a wonderful feeling. I'm hoping it motivates us to push through the rest of the season and take every step we need.

All three sets were high scoring with the Manatees continually taking aces by Sheean and freshmen Aryanna Spainhower and Johaliz Colon. Upon the second set, the Panthers tried to creep up and tie the set at 25 apiece, but back-to-back kills by Sheean and freshman Adasyn Konopka helped the second set for the Manatees.

Heading into the third and final set, the Panthers would once again try to break the Manatees' spirit of taking the match in three sets, but with one final push and final kill by freshman Sabrina Calhoun seal the sweep and the series win over the Panthers.

Spainhower would lead the way offensively as she finished with a double-double of 12 kills and 14 digs to go along with an ace and one block, while Sheean tied Spainhower with a career-high 12 kills, one aces, five digs and one block.

"Switching to the outside from being a right-side hitter all season was a big change," said Sheean. "Nevertheless, I've been executing fairly well and I'm really pleased with how I played today."

Shoemaker and freshman Ericka Freeman rounded out the order with six kills each. Shoemaker lead the way in front row defense with four blocks, three digs and one ace, while Freeman had two blocks and three digs.

In setting, Konopka secured her first collegiate double-double of 28 assists and 10 digs to go along with two kills and one ace.

"Addy definitely stepped it up," said Bobo-McKenzie on Konopka. "Tonight was her first time this season running a 5/1 as the match wen by. Her confidence and connection grow with the hitters and in looking forward to see what she can bring the rest of the season."

In back row defense, apart from Spainhower's digs, sophomore Katrina Tallo lead the way with 15 digs, two blocks and one kill, while freshman Natalie Schwenk had 13 digs and classmate Johaliz Colon had 10 digs, three assists and two aces.

"I felt very confident in my play today," said Schwenk on her performance. "Even though I had a couple of missed balls, having my teammates as well as coach giving me positive motivation really pushed me to do better for them all."

Calhoun (four kills, two aces, one assists, five digs and two blocks) and freshmen Sarah Stouky (one assist and nine digs) and Nora Leonard (two digs) also contributed in the match.

Sun Lakes Conference Standings:

1. #7 Gulf Coast State (14-2, 8-0)

2. RV Palm Beach State (12-3, 7-2)

3. #10 Pensacola State (13-4, 7-2)

4. St. John's River State (13-8, 5-2)

5. Pasco Hernando State (7-10, 6-3)

6. St. Pete (7-6, 5-4)

7. Indian River State (9-7, 5-5)

8. Lake Sumter State (7-7, 2-6)

9. SCF (2-7, 2-7)

10. Florida State College at Jacksonville (5-13, 1-8)

11. South Florida State (2-10, 1-10)

Up Next:

The Manatees will wrap up their three-game road trip as they travel to Lake Worth to take on RV Palm Beach State (12-3, 7-2 Sun Lakes)  at the Elisabeth W. Erling Gymnasium Saturday afternoon, October 5 at 1 pm.

Three Manatees Make MLB Debuts

Bradenton, Fla -  Three former Manatees made their official Major League Baseball debut for their teams during the 2024 season: CJ Alexander, Justin Wrobleski and Ryan Miller.

"I think it speak to how great this program is and the great tradition that we have here for our baseball players making their debuts in the MLB," said athletic director Nick Cichielo. "It's been a great summer for that and a positive for SCF baseball. Just to see players like CJ (Alexander), (Justin) Wrobleski and Ryan Miller make their debuts within three months of each other is outstanding and it really sets the stage for the upcoming year and I expect the program to have a great year and another one or two in the following years that will make their debut, so I'm really excited to see that happen."

A third baseman from Merrillville, Indiana, who played for the Manatees during the 2018 season, Alexander made his debut with the Kansas City Royals on June 24 against the Miami Marlins. The 2018 Suncoast Conference Player of the Year played in four games where he secured his first MLB hit against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 2. 

He returned to the Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA) where he finished batting .303 with 98 hits, 16 home runs and 54 RBI before being released. Following his release, Alexander was picked up by the Oakland Athletics where he is currently assigned to the Las Vegas Aviators (AAA).

Wrobleski, a left-handed pitcher who played during the 2020 season before transferring to the University of Oklahoma, made his debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 7 against the Milwaukee Brewers where he threw five innings with four strikeouts before earning his first MLB win against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 16 before returning to the Oklahoma Cty Baseball Club.

Miller, a right-handed pitcher and local product from Sarasota who played during the 2017 season, made his debut for Los Angeles Angels on August 27 against the Detroit Tigers where he threw one inning with two strikeouts. He is currently still with the Angels as part of the September call-ups.

Congratulations to Alexander, Wrobleski and Miller on making their much awaited debuts in the MLB.

SCF Softball Welcomes New Coaching Staff

Bradenton, Fla -  The SCF softball team have made changes in their coaching staff as they welcome Brett Sauerwein as the new head coach. Sauerwein joins the Manatees after spending the previous season as the assistant at McKendree University (NCAA DII) in O'Fallon, Illinois and will be the second male head coach in SCF softball program history (Jeffery Roberts, 1999-2007). Additionally, former local softball product Auria Mounts will join the Manatees as Sauerwein's assistant coach and the athletics specialist after previously serving as the assistant softball coach at Palmetto High School.

"I'm excited to bring in someone of Brett's caliber," said athletic director Nick Cichielo. "He's a phenomenal person and really connected to Florida. I feel very confident that he'll take this program to the next level...I'm excited to bring him on and can't wait for him to get started."

A native of Troy, Illinois, Sauerwein graduated from McKendree University where he graduated with his bachelor's in leadership in sports and exercise science and became a graduate assistant (2015) before receiving his master's degree in sports management at Missouri Baptist University (NAIA) where he became an assistant coach for the varsity squad as well as the head coach for the junior varsity squad for the Spartans while piling on 80+ wins, which included a school record 31 wins in 2017.

Sauerwein would then make the move to southwest Florida as he became assistant coach for Ave Maria University (NAIA) for the next three seasons (2019-21) before taking a position as assistant coach for Florida Southwestern (FSW) where he helped the Buccaneers to win back-to-back NJCAA JUCO Softball World Series Championships.

After two seasons with the Buccaneers, Sauerwein would return to his alma mater McKendree where he would help the Bearcats to the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournamant (GLVC) this past season.

"First off, I want to thank Nick (Cichielo) for believing in me to usher this program into a new era," said Sauerwein. "Florida JUCO softball holds a very special place in my heart and I'm very excited to lead this program to national prominence. The goal for the program is to play a fast paced and fundementally sound brand of softball and I'm excited to get on campus and get to work."

A local native from Bradenton, Florida, Mounts graduated from Palmetto High School in 2015 where she was named on the Manatee/Sarasota County All-Area Team. Following two years on varsity for the Tigers, Mounts would enroll at Indian River State to start her collegiate softball career where she played as a pitcher and utility player for the Pioneers. There, she went 17-6 overall with a 3.92 ERA, 37 walks and 116 strikeouts in 131 innings, while at the plated she batted .301 with 89 hits, 82 runs, 14 home runs, 92 RBI, 42 walks and 31 stolen bases while being named to the then All-Southern Conference First Team and the FCSAA All-State Team (2016 first team, 2017 second team) twice. 

Following her graduation from Indian River State, Mounts enrolled at Saint Leo University (NCAA DII) with her last two years of eligibility where she played primarily as a pitcher for the Lions. There she finished her career at 29-15 with a 2.46 ERA, five saves, 91 walks and 187 strikeouts in 293 innings while helping them to the 2018 NCAA DII Softball Championship Semifinals.

Following the end of her softball playing career, Mounts would become the assistant coach at her alma mater, Palmetto High School, in 2023 where she helped the Tigers to an appearance in the FHSAA 6A State Tournament.

Sauerwein and Mounts will look to guide the Manatees to the postseason for 2025 under their new leadership.

SCF VB Ready for Next Two Matches

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (1-4, 1-4 Sun Lakes) will look to get on the positive side and bounce back in their next two games as they travel to St. Pete to take on St. Pete College (4-5, 2-3 Sun Lakes) at the Gibbs Campus Gymnasium Thursday night, September 19 at 6 pm before returning home at Hal Chasey to take on Pasco-Hernando State (3-10, 2-3 Sun Lakes) Friday night, September 20 at 6 pm.

Sun Lakes Conference Standings:

1.#8 Gulf Coast State (12-2, 6-0)

2. RV Palm Beach State (10-2, 5-1)

3. #9 Pensacola State (11-3, 5-1)

4. St. John's River State (11-7, 3-2)

5. Indian River State (7-5, 3-3)

6. St. Pete (4-5, 2-3)

7. Pasco-Hernando State (3-10 2-3)

8. Lake Sumter State (5-5, 1-4)

9. Florida State College at Jacksonville (4-9, 1-4)

10. SCF (1-4, 1-4)

11. South Florida State (1-5, 1-5)

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of a tough match up this past weekend in the panhandle after falling to #8 Gulf Coast State (then #9) and #9 Pensacola State (then #10) both by a score of 3-0.

Freshman Aryanna Spainhower continues to lead the way offensively and in the back row as she has 49 kills and 73 digs so far. Sophomore Jaycie Sheean follows with 26 kills, two aces, 15 digs and 10 blocks, while freshman Sabrina Calhoun has 22 kills, 19 digs and four blocks.

On the setting side of things, sophomore Morgan McGuire leads the way with 73 assists and 40 digs while freshman Adasyn Konopka follows with 30 assists and 28 digs.

Defensively, aside from Spainhower, freshmen Johaliz Colon (five assists, two aces and 55 digs), Sarah Stouky (seven assists, one ace and 57 digs) and Natalie Schwenk (two aces and 36 digs) play strong in the back row, while sophomore Kat Tallo (nine kills, one aces, 22 digs and 10 blocks) and freshman Immani Brown (six kills, six digs and 11 blocks) run the front row defense.

Scouting St. Pete College:

The Titans are entering the matchup on a three-game losing streak after losing to Palm Beach State (3-2), Gulf Coast State (3-0) and Pensacola State (3-1). They are currently in sixth in the standings.

Redshirt sophomore Rayna Mehta leads the way for the Titans offensively as she has 104 kills, 17 digs and 10 blocks, while freshman Lucy Raines follows with 82 kills and 84 digs. Defensively, sophomore Larianys Serrano Santiago leads with 126 digs and 33 assists, while classmate Ahnika Johnston has 19 blocks and 47 kills.

Prior to playing SCF, the Titans will play Pasco-Hernando State Wednesday night, September 18 at 6 pm.

Scouting Pasco Hernando State:

Like St. Pete, the Bobcats are also entering their match with SCF on a three-game losing skid after falling to Santa Fe (3-2), Gulf Coast State (3-0) and Pensacola State (3-2). They are currently seventh in the standings.

Sophomore Elizabeth McDonald leads the Bobcats with 195 kills, 77 digs and 16 blocks, while Kendyl Okin follows with 103 kills, 15 aces, 33 digs and 38 blocks (12 solo). Defensively, sophmore Mallori Grey leads with 214 digs and 17 assists.

How to Keep Up:

Both matches will air livestream and fans can keep up with both teams on all social media platforms.

Livestream Links:

@ St. Pete - https://athletics.spcollege.edu/broadcast/watch

vs Pasco-Hernando State - https://team1sports.com/scfmanatees/

Social Media:

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

X - https://X.com/SCFVolleyball?s=09

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/volleyball_scf/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

SCF VB Set for Weekend Challenge

Bradenton, Fla. - After securing their first win of the season, the SCF court volleyball team (1-2, 1-2 Sun Lakes) will look to keep their momentum going for their first road trip of the season. The Manatees will travel six hours to the panhandle as they face #9 Gulf Coast State (10-2, 3-0 Sun Lakes) at the Billy Harrison Fieldhouse in Panama City Friday night, September 13 at 7 pm (6 pm central) before traveling to Pensacola to take on #10 Pensacola State (8-3, 2-1 Sun Lakes) at the Hartsell Arena Saturday afternoon, September 14 at 2 pm (1 pm central).

Sun Lakes Conference Standings:

1. Palm Beach State (9-1, 4-0)

2. #9 Gulf Coast State (10-2, 4-0)

3. #10 Pensacola State (8-3, 2-1)

4. Pasco-Hernando State (3-7, 2-1)

5. Indian River State (6-4, 2-2)

6.St. Pete (4-4, 2-2)

7. #25 St. John's River State (9-7, 1-2)

8. SCF (1-2, 1-2)

9. South Florida State (1-3, 1-3)

10. Lake Sumter State (4-3, 0-3)

11. Florida State College at Jacksonville (3-8, 0-2)

Last Time Out:

After falling in their first two matches to Indian River State (3-0) and Palm Beach State (3-0), the Manatees are coming off securing their first win of the season and in conference play at home after defeating South Florida State 3-2 in a come from behind victory.

They are currently tied for seventh in conference with Indian River State, but are eighth in the standings overall.

Super Saiyan Built Juggernauts:

The trio of sophomore Jaycie Sheean and freshmen Aryanna Spainhower and Sabrina Calhoun have been leading the offense for the Manatees on attacking.

Since making her debut with the Manatees this year from Purdue University - Northwest, Sheean has became a key part of the their offense. The native of Rockford, Illinois currently has 21 kills, eight digs, seven blocks and one ace. In the match against South Florida State, Sheean had a career-high 10 kills.

Spainhower had one of her best offensive and defensive games in her match with South Florida State as she secured her first collegiate double-double of 16 kills and 25 digs. The local product from Braden River currently has 30 kills, 49 digs, three aces and five blocks. Additionally, Spainhower's 25 digs put her in the FCSAA 25 Dig Club.

Calhoun currently has 18 kills, three aces and 10 digs in her name so far. Against South Florida State, she had 14 kills and three digs in the match.

Libero  Domination:

The freshmen duo of defensive specialists Johaliz Colon and Sarah Stouky have played strongly in the back row. Colon currently has 33 digs and three assists this season, while Stouky currently has 29 digs, five assists. In the match against South Florida State, Colon had 14 digs in her name, while Stouky had 15 digs and three assists.

Mighty Assist:

Sophomore Morgan McGuire plays a strong role at the setter position. McGuire currently has 43 assists, 16 digs and four blocks. She secured her eight career double-double against South Florida State as she had 34 assists and 11 digs.

Freshman Adasyn Konopka also plays a key part in assists as she has 30 assists and 26 digs. Konopka had four assists and seven digs against South Florida State.

Wildcard Status:

Sophomore Katrina Tallo and freshman Natalie Schwenk play as the wildcards of the team.

Tallo currently has five kills, 18 digs and eight blocks. She had a career-high 11 digs in the win over South Florida State.

Schwenk, the lone walk-on on the team, currently has 21 digs and two aces so far. The Pennsylvanian had nine digs and two aces against South Florida State.

Scouting Gulf Coast State:

The Lady Commodores are coming off of 3-0 win over St. Pete College. They are currently second in conference and are ranked #9 in the NJCAA Top 25 National Polls.

Freshman Danna Aguilera leads the offense as she has 146 kills, 11 aces and 119 digs while sophomore Morgan Langley leads the defense with 233 digs and nine aces.

Scouting Pensacola State:

The Lady Pirates are coming off of a 3-0 win over Florida State College at Jacksonville. They are currently ranked #10 in the NJCAA Top 25 National Poll.

Freshman Catie Woolf leads the offense with 110 kills, 12 aces, 79 digs and 12 blocks, while sophomore Maddie Mire leads the defense with 163 digs and 12 aces.

How to Keep Up:

Both games will air livestream and fans can keep up the Manatees on all social media platforms.

Livestream Links:

@ Gulf Coast State - https://www.commodoreproductions.com/live/

@ Pensacola State - https://piratenetwork.live/broadcastevents/

Social Media - 

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

X - https://X.com/SCFVolleyball?s=09

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/volleyball_scf/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

SCF VB Secures Come From Behind Win vs South Florida State

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball Team (1-2, 1-2 Sun Lakes) secured their first win of the season and in Sun Lakes Conference play under a new era as they came from behind to defeat South Florida State (0-3, 0-3 Sun Lakes) 3-2 (19-25, 24-26, 25-18, 25-19, 15-12).

"Overall, today's game was great," said head coach Courtney Bobo-McKenzie. "We were a little nervous when we first started off, but I'm glad we finally found something that worked. The last two games, we were going through a lot of rotations to see what works for our team and I'm glad we found it and through that we were able to fight and finish. Even though we were down two to three points the last two games, we clicked with the setter/hitter connection and we ended up with the victory in the last three sets."

"I thought the setter/hitter connection was so much better and we meshed together a lot more," said freshman Sabrina Calhoun. "We really worked together and the energy on the court and on the bench was amazing. It was a really great team win overall."

"The first two sets, we did start off too slow to get back into the match for momentum," said freshman Aryanna Spainhower. "From the end of those games, we came back and fought hard to secure the win."

The first set saw the Manatees get into a little bit of trouble as the Panthers took advantage of hitting in the middle. By the second set, the Manatees started mounting some strong defense in the front row thanks to sophomores Katrina Tallo and Jaycie Sheean, but it would be to no avail with the Panthers taking the set.

At the start of the third set, the Manatees would gain their momentum thanks to kills by Calhoun and Spainhower. As the score went 15-13 SCF, Tallo would get the Manatees' rally going behind the line. With her serving and strong attacks by Calhoun and Spainhower, the Manatees would pull off with the third set after a Panther attack error.

In the fourth set, the Manatees got off to a slow start, but Tallo's defense and offense by Calhoun, Spainhower and Sheean kept the Manatees' spark going. When the Manatees tied the score at 16 all, Sheean would put together a 6-0 run before a Calhoun and a Panther attack error gave the Manatees the fourth set and force a fifth.

In the final set, the Manatees struggled briefly as the Panthers tied the set at 11 apiece, but after a timeout by Bobo-McKenzie the Manatees found their momentum as sophomore Morgan McGuire would seal the victory with a final kill in the back right corner for the win.

Three Manatees lead the way offensively. It was Spainhower that would lead the way overall as she secured her first collegiate double-double of 16 kills and 25 digs while also adding one assist and one ace.

"I felt like I played an amazing game," said Spainhower. "Me and my setters did very well, especially when we're running a fast ball down the middle. For getting a double-double, it's obviously really impressive for a game and hope to beat my record now and surpass it."

"I always believed that Aryanna would make a big impact as a local player," said Bobo-McKenzie on Spainhower. "She's a strong player with a lot of energy."

Calhoun would follow with 14 kills, three digs and one ace while Sheean rounded out the order with 10 kills, one ace, four digs and one block.

"I played great," said Calhoun. "While I just came back from an injury, it was great to play and come back out not worrying about getting hurt while playing and being able to execute on the court."

McGuire would secure her eighth career double-double as she finished with 34 assists, 17 digs, two kills, one ace and four blocks (one solo).

"I'm proud that Morgan came in as our sophomore setter for the match," said Bobo-McKenzie on McGuire. "She really showed some leadership and took control of her game."

Defensively, apart from Spainhower and McGuire, Tallo and freshmen Johaliz Colon and Sarah Stouky had 11, 14 and 15 digs respectively with Tallo adding two kills and two blocks, while Colon adding two assists and Stouky adding three assists.

Freshmen Adasyn Konopka (two kills, four assists and seven digs), Natalie Schwenk (two aces and nine digs) and Immani Brown (three kills, two assists, two digs and one block) also contributed in the match.

Notes:

1. This was Bobo-McKenzie's first win as the head coach for the Manatees.

2. With her 25 digs, Spainhower was named on the FCSAA 25 Dig Club.

3. With her 34 assists, McGuire now has 534 career assists and needs 63 more to surpass Sanja Vojnovic (596, 2015) for 17th all-time

Sun Lakes Conference Standings:

1. Palm Beach State (8-1, 3-0)

2. #9 Gulf Coast State (9-2, 3-0)

3. #10 Pensacola State (8-3, 2-1)

4. St. Pete (4-3, 2-1)

5. Pasco-Hernando State (3-7, 2-1)

6. #25 St. John's River State (9-6, 1-1)

7. Indian River State (5-4, 1-2)

8. SCF (1-2, 1-2)

9. Lake Sumter (4-2, 0-2)

10. Florida State College at Jacksonville (3-7, 0-2)

11. South Florida State (0-3, 0-3)

Up Next:

The Manatees will head to the panhandle for their next two games as they travel to Panama City to face #9 Gulf Coast State Friday night, September 13 at 7 pm eastern (6 pm central) before heading to Pensacola to take on #10 Pensacola State Saturday afternoon, September 14 at 2 pm eastern (1 pm central).

SCF VB Opens Season at Home

Bradenton, Fla. - With the 2023 season faded away in the distance, the SCF volleyball team will look to open the 2024 season at home at Hal Chasey Gymnasium as the Manatees welcome Indian River State (4-2) Friday night, September 6 at 5 pm, Palm Beach State (5-1) Saturday afternoon, September 7 at 1 pm and South Florida State Tuesday night, September 10 at 6 pm.  It will be the first time since the 2021 fall season that the Manatees open their season at home.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off off one of their best seasons since 2014 as they went 14-9 overall with a 6-7 record in the Sun Lakes Conference (5-3 in the south division). They would finish second in their division behind Pasco-Hernando State and qualify for the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament where they would shutout Lake Sumter State in the quarterfinals before falling to runner-up Gulf Coast State in the semifinals.

Following the end of their season, then head coach Lynn Burnett would take on a new role as the head coach for court volleyball and beach volleyball at New College of Florida (NAIA) in Sarasota.

Conference/Rule Changes:

The Sun Lakes Conference will go amongst another change this year as Indian River State will move their volleyball program to division two after dropping their women's basketball program this upcoming year. Additionally, because the number of teams expanded, the Sun Lakes will now be one full conference instead of being separated into two divisions. Additionally, all teams will be allowed to have up to two liberos per team.

The conference for division one and division two will be as listed:

Citrus Conference -

Florida Southwestern State

Miami Dade

Polk State

Daytona State

Santa Fe

Eastern Florida State

Hillsborough

Sun Lakes -

SCF

St. Pete

South Florida State

Palm Beach State

Gulf Coast State

Pensacola State

Florida State College at Jacksonville

Pasco-Hernando State

Indian River State

St. John's River State

Lake Sumter State

New Leader of the Pack:

After the departure of Burnett, a nationwide search took place to find a new head coach for the Manatees and in a successful move, the new head coach was decided: Courtney Bobo-McKenzie.

Bobo-McKenzie, a native of Tampa, joins the Manatees after four seasons being the head coach for Sumner High School in Tampa.

McKenzie is joined by assistant coach Eunyce Vercosa. Vercosa, a native of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Vercosa, joined the Manatees in September 2023 as an assistant coach for the beach volleyball program before she was promoted to be the head coach where she helped the Manatees to a third-place finish in the NJCAA National Beach Volleyball Championship in May. She is also the current head coach for Premium Beach Volleyball Academy in St. Petersburg, Be Volleyball Academy, INC and Manatee High School. 

Additionally, Vercosa is a current beach volleyball player professionally in the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) where she has participated in numerous beach tournaments in Brazil and the US as well as several FIVB tournaments in Russia, Korea, Mexico and China with her highest finish being ninth on two occasions.

Bring in The Newcomers:

The Manatees will be without 12 players as they have graduated and/or continued playing volleyball collegiately: Bailee Perry, Kloe Pinto, Amee Beedle, Alannah McCaughey, Rachel Carroll, Elise Bakken, Isabella Rebimbas, Teresa Briefeneder, Shelby Pillow, Caelan Cook, Katie Keefe and Emily Lyons.

Despite that, Bobo-McKenzie was able to bring in nine newcomers to join the Manatees for the 2024 season.

Johaliz Colon:

A defensive specialist/setter from Davenport, Florida, Colon joins the Manatees after graduating from Davenport High School where she was a two-sport athlete playing both volleyball and flag football.

As a member of the flag football team, Colon helped the Broncos to a 5-5 record during her junior year. On the volleyball team, she helped the Broncos in the same year to the semifinals of the FHSAA 5A District Tournament while finishing her lone season with 14 kills, 55 aces, 239 digs and 17 assists before continuing to play at the club level for the Orlando Tampa Volleyball Academy.

Prior to Davenport High School, Colon played for Ridge Community High School during her freshman and sophomore years where she had six kills, 45 aces, 350 digs and 37 assists. There she helped the Bolts to appearances in the FHSAA 7A District Tournament.

Sabrina Calhoun:

An outside hitter from Zephyrhills, Florida, Calhoun joins the Manatees after graduating from Zephyrhills High School. As a player for the Bulldogs, Calhoun helped them to three straight appearances in the FHSAA 5A District Tournament.

Adasyn Konopka:

A setter from Riverview, Florida, Konopka joins the Manatees from All-In Volleyball Academy in Brandon, Florida.

Prior to All-In Volleyball Academy, Konopka played at East Bay High School in Gibsonton, Florida where in her lone season (junior year) with the Indians finished with 375 assists, 156 digs, 36 kills, 45 aces and six blocks while leading them to an appearance in the FHSAA 6A District Tournament.

Immani Brown:

A middle blocker from Orlando, Florida, Brown joins the Manatees from Lake Nona Volleyball Academy in Orlando where she helped them to win several tournaments, including a third place finish at club nationals.

During her time with Lake Nona, Brown also graduated from Econ River High School in Orlando, Florida.

Sarah Stouky:

A defensive specialist from Port St. Lucie, Florida, Stouky joins the Manatees after graduating Jensen Beach High School in Jensen Beach, Florida. As a member of the Falcons, Stouky helped them to a 25-6 overall record with a 2-0 record in 5A District 13, which would follow with a trip to the semifinals in the FHSAA 5A Girls Volleyball State Tournament.

Prior to Jensen Beach, Stouky played her first three years at Centennial High School in Port St. Lucie where she was a two-sport athlete playing both indoor volleyball and flag football for the Eagles before transferring.

On the flag football team during her freshman year, Stouky played in four games while helping the Eagles to an appearance in the FHSAA 2A Flag Football State Tournament. On the volleyball team, Stouky played four years on varsity where she helped the Eagles to four straight appearances in the FHSAA 7A District Tournament. 

Throughout her high school career, Stouky compiled a combined 901 digs, 125 aces, 254 assists, 1,293 receptions and 25 kills in her high school career.

Aryanna Spainhower:

A local product and outside hitter/setter from Bradenton, Spainhower joins the Manatees after graduating from Braden River High School where she was a three-sport athlete playing court volleyball, beach volleyball and flag football for the Pirates.

On the flag football team, Spainhower played her senior year where she was a wide receiver, linebacker and defensive end. Offensively, she had 68 catches for 851 yards (50.1 yards per game) and 15 touchdowns (12 receiving touchdowns), while defensively she had 44 tackles, one sack and eight interceptions. She would help the Pirates to an 18-2 record (3-0 in districts) and win the FHSAA 1A District Championship before helping them to the FHSAA 1A State Final Four. Additionally, she was named a member of the Herald-Tribune All-Area First Team.

On the beach volleyball team during her sophomore year, she helped the Pirates to an 8-4 overall record (5-3 in districts) while making an appearance in the FHSAA 1A District Tournament.

On the indoor volleyball team, Spainhower would play her junior and senior year on varsity for the Pirates where she finished with 339 kills, 49 aces, 29 blocks (16 solo) and 695 digs while being named a member of Herald-Tribune All-Area First Team. Additionally, she helped the team to two straight regional semifinal appearances in the FHSAA 5A State Volleyball Tournament.

Nora Leonard:

A outside hitter/defensive specialist from Inverness, Florida, Leonard joins the Manatees from Seven Rivers Christian School in Lecanto, Florida where she was a four-sport athlete playing court volleyball, basketball, tennis and softball.

Leonard first volleyball played at Osceola High School in Seminole, Florida for the junior varsity team where she helped the Warriors to a 5-3 overall record before transferring to Seven Rivers Christian School.

On the basketball team in her sophomore year at Seven Rivers Christian, Leonard played in 22 games for the Warriors where she averaged 0.9 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 0.6 steals per game while helping them to an appearance in the FHSAA 2A State Tournament.

On the softball team in her sophomore year, Leonard played in 11 games where she batted .143 with two hits, three runs and two RBI while helping them to an appearance in the FHSAA 2A State Softball Tournament.

On the tennis team for her junior and senior year, Leonard helped them to an appearance in the FHSAA 1A Districit Tournament her senior year.

For the volleyball team at Seven Rivers Christian, Leonard played three years on varsity where she finished with 122 kills, 74 aces, 11 blocks (four solo) and 428 digs while leading the Warriors to three straight appearances in the FHSAA 2A District 9 Tournament. Her junior year was her most productive as she finished with 73 kills, 42 aces and 195 digs.

Lily Shoemaker:

A middle blocker/right side hitter from Valrico, Florida, Shoemaker joins the Manatees from Bloomingdale High School in Valrico. As a member of the Warhawks, she played her senior where she finished with 102 kills, 40 blocks (22 solo), 31 digs and two assists while leading them to the final in the FHSAA 5A District 10 Tournament.

Natalie Schwenk:

A libero/defensive specialist from Reading, Pennsylvania, Schwenk joins the Manatees as a walk-on after graduating from Exeter Township High School in Reading, Pennsylvania. As a member of the Eagles, Schwenk helped them to the semifinals of the Berks County Interscholastic Athletic Association (BCIAA) girls volleyball tournament.

Key Returners:

Bobo-McKenzie was able to also bring back three returners to help the newcomers out: Katrina Tallo, Morgan McGuire and Jaycie Sheean.

Tallo, a middle blocker/right side hitter and local product from Sarasota, finished her freshman year with 42 kills, 17 assists, eight aces, 46 digs and 29 blocks (eight solo).

McGuire, a setter from Brandon, Florida finished her first year with 491 assists, 11 kills, 28 aces and 199 digs. Additionally, she put up seven double-doubles in assists and digs.

Sheean, a middle blocker/right side hitter from Rockford, Illinois, joined the Manatees after transferring from the University of Purdue - Northwest (NCAA II) last season where she sat out and utilized a medical redshirt.

Scouting Indian River State:

Indian River State is coming off of finishing last season 7-16 overall with a 1-13 record in the Citrus Conference before they dropped down to the Sun Lakes Conference this year. They are lead by first-year head coach Erin Ergle, who was the assistant coach for Indian River State last season.

The Pioneers are coming off of opening their first six matches of the 2024 season.  At the Viking Invitational in Leesburg, they would sweep Bishop State Community College (3-1), USC Lancaster (3-0), #16 Cape Fear Community College (3-0) and College of Southern Maryland (3-0) before falling in their home opener to Hillsborough (3-2) and Santa Fe (3-2). Prior to facing SCF, they will face Pasco-Hernando State Wednesday night, September 4.

Sophomore Katejion Robinson leads the way in offense and front row defense as she has 78 kills, nine aces, 59 digs and 13 blocks. Freshmen Amelia Langelier (48 kills, 12 digs and eight blocks) and Camryn Childers (47 kills, 13 aces and 60 digs) follow Robinson's offense, while classmate Maya Rhamy (18 assists and 95 digs) and rising sophomores Hannah St. Croix (29 kills, eight aces, 12 digs and 13 blocks) lead the defense.

Overall, the Manatees are 14-4 against the Indian River State. Last time both teams met was during the 2021 season where they split with the Manatees winning the first match 3-0 (forfeit) and losing the second match 3-0.

Scouting Palm Beach State:

Palm Beach State is coming off of finishing last season 6-16 overall with a 6-7 record in the Sun Lakes Conference. They would finish third behind SCF and fail to make the NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA DII State Volleyball Tournament, despite being the host of the tournament. The team is lead by head coach Drew Colvin, who enters his 18th season with the program and ninth as the head coach.

The Panthers are coming off off opening their season at the Viking Invitational in Palatka where they would sweep Monroe College (3-1), College of Southern Maryland (3-0), Bishop State Community College (3-2) and USC Lancaster (3-2) before splitting a doubleheader in Fort Pierce after defeating Santa Fe (3-2) before being swept by Hillsborough (3-0). They will play Pasco-Hernando State Wednesday night, September 4 prior to facing SCF.

Sophomore Patrycja Kabala leads the way offensively with 85 kills, 13 aces and 49 digs, while freshman Sophia Soderbeg leads the defense with 105 digs

Overall, the Manatees are 15-21 against the Panthers. In their last series, the Manatees swept Palm Beach State at home and on the road both by a score of 3-1.

Scouting South Florida State:

The Panthers are coming off of finishing last season 5-11 overall with a 3-10 record in the Sun Lakes Conference. They would finish fourth overall in the standings and would not qualify for the state tournament. 

The team is lead by head coach Kim Crawford, who enters her 22nd season as head coach. Key returners for the Panthers include Kelsey Dodd (39 assists, 12 aces and 282 digs; All-Sun Lakes First Team), Ce'Mone Jose (62 kills, 17 digs and 41 blocks) and Danielle Worthy (68 kills, 27 digs and 53 blocks).

Prior to playing SCF, the Panthers will take on St. Pete College Wednesday night, Sept 4.

Overall, the Manatees are 32-12 against the Panthers. Last time, both teams split their series with the Manatees winning 3-0 at home before losing 3-0 in Avon Park.

How to Keep Up:

All three matches will will air on the SCF Sports Network and fans can keep up with the Manatees on all forms of social media.

Livestream Link - https://team1sports.com/scfmanatees/?B=1014290

Social Media - 

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

Twitter - https://twitter.com/SCFVolleyball?s=09

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/volleyball_scf/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Sauerwein Named SCF Head Softball Coach

Bradenton, Fla -  The SCF softball team have made changes in their coaching staff as they welcome Brett Sauerwein as the new head coach. Sauerwein joins the Manatees after spending the previous season as the assistant at McKendree University (NCAA DII) in O'Fallon, Illinois and will be the second male head coach in SCF softball program history (Jeffery Roberts, 1999-2007).

"First off, I want to thank Nick (Cichielo) for believing in me to usher this program into a new era," said Sauerwein. "Florida JUCO softball holds a very special place in my heart and I'm very excited to lead this program to national prominence. The goal for the program is to play a fast paced and fundementally sound brand of softball and I'm excited to get on campus and get to work."

A native of Troy, Illinois, Sauerwein graduated from McKendree University where he graduated with his bachelor's in leadership in sports and exercise science and became a graduate assistant (2015) before receiving his master's degree in sports management at Missouri Baptist University (NAIA) where he became an assistant coach for the varsity squad as well as the head coach for the junior varsity squad for the Spartans while piling on 80+ wins, which included a school record 31 wins in 2017.

Sauerwein would then make the move to southwest Florida as he became assistant coach for Ave Maria University (NAIA) for the next three seasons (2019-21) before taking a position as assistant coach for Florida Southwestern (FSW) where he helped the Buccaneers to win back-to-back NJCAA JUCO Softball World Series Championships.

After two seasons with the Buccaneers, Sauerwein would return to his alma mater McKendree where he would help the Bearcats to the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournamant (GLVC) this past season.

Sauerwein will look to guide the Manatees to the postseason for 2025 under their new leadership.

SCF Baseball Players Get Drafted

Bradenton, Fla - Former players that have played for the SCF baseball team will make their dreams of playing baseball professionally for Major League Baseball (MLB) a reality as five players were selected in the 2024 MLB draft with Brandon Clarke highlighting the way as the first pick of the Manatees that have been selected. Classmate Jalen Hairston and former Manatees Christian Gordon and Owen Ayers were also selected in the draft while fellow former Manatee Tony Rossi signed as an undrafted free agent.

Clarke, a left-handed pitcher, was selected in the fifth round (148th overall) by the Boston Red Sox  while also being committed to the University of South Carolina. While listed #177 in the MLB.com Top 250 prospect, the native of Cary, North Carolina finished his two seasons with the Manatees 6-4 with a 4.73 ERA, 43 walks and 113 strikeouts in 78 innings of work. After appearing towards the end of the 2023 season due to injury following his transfer from Alabama, Clarke made his breakout season this past season as one of the nation's best pitchers as he went 6-2 with a 4.36 ERA, 35 walks and 107 strikeouts while being named a member of the All-Citrus Conference First Team. His 107 strikeouts ranked 

Hairston, an infielder from Winter Haven, Florida, was selected in the 18th round (539th overall) by the Cincinnati Reds. For two seasons with the Manatees, he batted .376 with 91 hits, 64 runs scored, six home runs and 47 RBI while being named a member of the All-Citrus Conference First Team and the All-NJCAA Region 8 First Team.

Gordon, a left-handed pitcher from Monroe, Virginia, was selected in the 16th round (474th overall) by the Chicago Cubs. After completing his freshman year at Liberty University, Gordon joined the Manatees during the 2022 season. There he went 1-1 with a 6.65 ERA, 29 walks and 25 strikeouts in 23 innings of work. 

Following his season with the Manatees, he would transfer to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) for the next two seasons where he went 10-4 overall with a 4.16 ERA, 53 walks and 133 strikeouts in 110.1 innings where he was recently named a member of the All-Atlantic 10 Conference Second Team. Additionally, during the 2024 season, Gordon helped the Rams to win the Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Tournament and automatically qualify for the 2024 NCAA College Baseball World Series.

Ayers will also Gordon on the Cubs as he was selected in the 19th round (572nd overall). A switch hitting catcher/outfielder and local product from Sarasota, Ayers played three seasons for the Manatee (2020-22) where he compiled a career .276 batting average with 137 hits, 117 runs, 23 home runs and 112 RBI while earning a spot on the 2022 All-Suncoast Conference First Team.

Ayers would then transfer to Marshall University where he finished second all-time in career doubles in program history (39) and finished his career batting .288 with 101 hits, 66 runs, 12 home runs and 49 RBI.

Rossi, a right-handed pitcher from Lake Mary, Florida, signed with the New York Yankees after being undrafted in the MLB Draft. He played for the Manatees for two seasons (2020-21) where he went 5-3 overall with a 5.37 ERA, one save, 40 walks and 91 strikeouts in 68.2 innings before transferring to the University of North Carolina - Charlotte for the next three years where he finished 9-2 with a 5.05 ERA, seven saves, 54 walks and 116 strikeouts in 87.1 innings of work with the 49ers. Last year, Rossi originally signed a contract with the San Francisco Giants as an undrafted free agent before opting to return to UNC Charlotte for his redshirt senior year.

Congratulations to all of our former Manatees who were drafted and/or signed contracts in the MLB.

Bobo-McKenzie Named Head VB Coach

Bradenton, Fla - Following Lynn Burnett's departure to run the indoor and beach volleyball program at New College of Florida and an extensive search, the SCF volleyball team has officially named Courtney Bobo-McKenzie the head coach.

"Courtney stood out from the beginning due to her experience in NJCAA Region 8 and her ties to Florida volleyball recruiting as a club coach," said athletic director Nick Cichielo. "She has demonstrated tremendous enthusiasm partnered with a calm and decisive demeanor, which I think will translate well to the college level. I look forward to seeing how she develops in her new role."

A native of Brandon, Florida, Bobo-McKenzie joins the Manatees while also working as the head coach for the Florida Elite Volleyball Academy (FEVA) U17 and U18 teams and Sumner High School in Riverview, Florida.

"First, I want to thank Nick (Cichielo) for give me this wonderful opportunity," said Bobo-McKenzie. "Becoming a college coach is something I have wanted since I started my coaching journey after my playing days were over. I am looking forward to working with the team to become the best student-athletes they can possibly be. We will embrace the community while also working hard to become the best team possible. With hard work and dedication, we can accomplish great things this year."

"What I'm looking forward to the most is establishing the talent that comes throughout Florida. I'm also looking for to building and growing the volleyball program."

Bobo-Mckenzie started her volleyball career at Brandon Senior High School (2006-10). After completing her senior year and graduating, she enrolled at Broward College (2010) before transferring to Palm Beach State College (2011-12) the following year where she had 23 kills, one dig and nine blocks. Following her stints with the Seahawks and Panthers, she would enroll at Benedict College (NCAA DII) in Columbia, South Carolina where during her senior year she helped the Tigers to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tournament while finishing that year with 47 kills, eight aces, 15 digs and 22 blocks.

After Benedict College, she would enroll at the University of South Florida where she received her bachelor's degree in communications before earning her masters in Clinical Mental Health at Webster University. After earning her master's degree, Bobo-McKenzie became a school counselor for the Hillsborough County Public Schools before becoming the head coach for Sumner High School in 2020 where she helped the Stingrays to four straight district tournament appearances in the FHSAA (5A, 6A and 7A).

Bobo-McKenzie will look to build around four returners from last season and lead them to another appearance in states in her SCF coaching debut.

SCF VB Host Senior Showcase

Bradenton, Fla - Newly named head coach Courtney Bobo-McKenzie and the SCF volleyball team will host a one-day senior showcase on Saturday afternoon, May 18 at 1 pm at Hal Chasey Gymnasium for all unsigned high school seniors. 

All participants must bring a physical and sign a liability waiver. If the participants are under 18, then they must have their parent or parental guardian signed the waiver

For more information, please contact Courtney Bobo-McKenzie by email at bobomcc@SCF.edu

SCF BVB Finishes 3rd in Nationals

Huntsville, Ala - The SCF beach volleyball team (13-7) closed the 2023-24 athletic season on a strong note. Despite falling 4-1 to Richard Bland (24-13) in in the semifinals, the Manatees would defeat conference rival Lake Sumter State (13-16) 3-2 for a third place finish at the NJCAA Beach Volleyball Championship at John Hunt Park in Huntsville.

Palm Beach State (23-8) would win the NJCAA Beach Volleyball Tournament for the second consecutive year after defeating Richard Bland 4-1 in the finals.

“I think our team did a great job, not just at nationals, but all season,” said head coach Eunyce Vercosa. “They worked really hard with so much practice and did what they needed to do. We can't control the result, but I loved the personas that they had and how we finished to the end. After losing in the semifinals, they came in with a completely different mindset and finished for third, which was amazing. I'm so proud of the team and what we built all season.”

“I think with two coaches coming in this year and being thrown into it, we did an amazing job,” said assistant coach Kat Paraspolo “Me an Eunyce connected really well together and came together to teach them as much as we could with our time with them this. I thought they did such an amazing finish with all the circumstances.”

Consolation Pool:

Gaston College (11-23) would win the consolation pool after defeating Trinidad State (2-14) 3-2 and shutting out Bryant and Stratton (0-9) 5-0 to finish in seventh place. Trinidad State would defeat Bryant and Stratton 3-2 to finish in eighth, while Bryant and Stratton finished in last place.

Quarterfinals:

Richard Bland (#3 seed) would open with a 4-0 shutout win over Sandhills CC (#6 seed) (13-19) to advance to the semifinals and face SCF, who secured a first round bye.

In the second quarterfinals matchup, Lake Sumter State (#5 seed) would narrowly defeat Mesa CC (#4 seed) (16-14) 3-2 to face #1 seed Palm Beach State in the semifinals.

As a result of their losses, Sandhills CC and Mesa CC were sent to the 5th place bracket.

5th Place Match:

Heading into the 5th place bracket, Mesa CC would shutout Sandhills CC 5-0 to finish in fifth place, while Sandhills CC finished in sixth.

SCF vs Richard Bland:

Sophomores Rhea Kohl and Kayla Gentry would get the lone win as they defeated the Region 10 Pair of the Year in sophomores Sarah Heath and Jordan Schlageter 21-11, 21-19 on the court #1 before the Statesmen took the remaining four matches to advance to the championship finals.

Palm Beach State would then defeat Lake Sumter State 3-0 to also advance to the championship finals before winning the title.

SCF vs Lake Sumter State:

With the championship finals out of their sight, the Manatees would look to be in the top three as they faced their state foe in the third place bracket.

Sophomore Amanda Gaudinho Pizzol and freshman Teresa Briefeneder would fall to sophomore Jayden Ponsford and freshman Braelyn Mittauer 21-7, 21-10 on the #3 court before sophomore Caelan Cook and freshman Morgan McGuire would then fall to sophomores Berklee Andrews and Allie Cox 22-20, 21-14 on the #4 court. 

The Manatees looked to lose hope and were about to claim a fourth place finish, but sophomores Bailee Perry and Isabella Rebimbas would give them a fighting chance on the #5 court as they defeated sophomore Mazi Watson and freshman Kai Register with a 21-19 pair decision.

With two matches left, both were in dead heat ties in the third set, but the Manatees would breathe more life as freshmen Aleksandra Wrobel and Addison Beaver defeated sophomores Cassidy Rountree and Leanne Blue 21-14, 19-21, 15-13 on the #2 court to tie the matchup.

On the #1 court, Gentry and Kohl were put to the test against sophomores Yarielis Lopez Osorio and Kaylee Hunt as their third set would extend with several ties and lead changes, but a kill by Kohl and an attack error from the Lakehawks sealed the victory for the Manatees.

Notes:

1. For this season, Gaudinho Pizzol, Gentry, Wrobel, Kohl, Beaver and Perry all finished in the top 10 in career wins (Gaudinho Pizzol, 18; Gentry, 18; Wrobel, 18; Kohl, 17; Beaver, 16; Perry, 13)

Final Placings:

1. Palm Beach State *

2. Richard Bland College ^

3. SCF

4. Lake Sumter

5. Mesa CC

6. Sandhills

7. Gaston

8. Trinidad State

9. Bryant and Stratton

* National Champions

^National Runner-Up

Up Next:

This concludes the season for the Manatees as they will turn their focus on the 2025 season.

SCF BVB Finishes 4-0 in Pool Play

Huntsville, Ala - The SCF beach volleyball team (12-6) are now guaranteed a spot in the championship bracket of the NJCAA Beach Volleyball Tournament at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama as they shutout Trinidad State (1-13) 5-0 before defeating Mesa CC (15-13) 3-2.

SCF vs Trinidad State:

The sophomore duo of Kayla Gentry and Rhea Kohl would open the door with a 21-15, 21-9 set win over freshmen Ellie Ames and Deniz Yileri at the #1 court. Classmates Bailee Perry and Isabella Rebimbas would follow with a two-set decision of their own winning 21-13, 21-6 over sophomore Neveah Martinez and freshman Raeann Savage on the #5 court before freshmen Aleksandra Wrobel and Addison Beaver sealed the decider with a 21-16, 21-14 win over freshmen Claire Johnson and Sophia Quizon on the #3 court.

As played continued, sophomore Amanda Goudinho Pizzol and freshman Teresa Briefeneder defeated sophomores Anna Jasinsky and Eimaya Medina 21-19, 21-18 on the #3 court before sophomore Caelan Cook and freshman Morgan McGuire sealed the sweep with a three-set decision over freshman Amya Speller and sophomore Nikolina Werbick by a score of 21-14, 11-21, 15-5.

SCF vs Mesa:

Wrobel and Beaver would once again open with a victory on the #2 court by a score of 21-14, 21-11. The Thunderbirds would then tie the series after Kohl and Gentry fell at the #1 court.

With three matches left, Cook and McGuire would win on the #4 court 21-17, 21-7 before Perry and Rebimbas won on the #5 court with a 21-15 pair decision to seal the victory. The Thunderbirds would secure the final match on the #3 court over Goudinho Pizzol and Briefeneder.

Other NJCAA Scores:

Richard Bland (23-12) defeated Lake Sumter State (12-15) 4-1 and Gaston College (9-23) 5-0 while Lake Sumter State defeated Gaston College 4-1.

Palm Beach State (21-8) shutout Bryant and Stratton (0-7) and Sandhills CC (13-17) 5-0 while Sandhills CC defeated Bryant and Stratton 4-1.

Up Next:

The Manatees will look to focus on the championship bracket Saturday morning, May 4 at 10:30 am. As a result of going 4-0 in pool play, the Manatees will be listed as the #2 seed and will await the winner of the 9 am match between Richard Bland (#3 seed) and Sandhills CC (#6 seed).

Bracket Schedule:

Consolation Pool - 

Gaston vs Trinidad State @ 10 am (9 am Central)

Gaston vs Bryant and Stratton @ 2 pm (1 pm Central)

Bryant and Stratton vs Trinidad State @ 4:30 pm (3:30 pm Central)

Championship Bracket - 

Quarterfinals:

#3 seed Richard Bland vs #6 seed Sandhills CC @ 9 am (8 am Central)

#4 seed Mesa CC vs #5 seed Lake Sumter State @ 9 am (8 am Central)

5th place Bracket - 

Match One Loser vs Match Two Loser @ 2 pm (1 pm Central)

Semifinals - 

#1 Palm Beach State vs Match One Winner @ 11:30 am (10:30 am Central)

#2 SCF vs Match Two Winner @ 11:30 am (10:30 am Central)

3rd Place Bracket - 

Match Three Loser vs Match Four Loser @ 3:15 pm (2:15 pm Central)

Championship Bracket - 

Match Three Winner vs Match 4 Winner @ 4:30 pm (3:30 pm Central)

SCF BVB Sweeps Pool Play of Nationals

Huntsville, Ala - The SCF beach volleyball team (10-6) started off strong in pool play on day one of the NJCAA Beach Volleyball Championship at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama as they shutout Bryant and Stratton (0-6) 5-0 before defeating Richard Bland (21-12) 3-2.

“This team has been growing during the season,” said head coach Eunyce Vercosa. “All the players' being has been so important for the team and I feel grateful as a coach for this amazing team we created this season.”

“I think the team did pretty well, even though some of us were not playing the way they wanted,” said sophomore Amanda Gaudinho Pizzol “Overall, we did what we needed to do, despite the hours of travel we had.”

“Overall, I thought we did well,” said freshman Teresa Briefeneder. “The first matchup was a slow start for us after a long bus trip, but it was good to come out on top and win all five matches as a team. In the second match, I thought we played well together today. We struggled in previous games, but it was really nice that we could push each other and take the best of each other to get the win.”

SCF vs Bryant and Stratton:

Sophomores Kayla Gentry and Rhea Kohl defeated sophomore Morgan Neitzell and freshman Mia Lenius 21-5, 21-7 on the #1 court. Perry and Rebimbas would follow with a 21-9, 21-4 win over freshmen Addison Miller and Melissa Lynn Bruhn on the #5 court before Gaudinho Pizzol and Briefeneder sealed the victory with a 21-7, 21-8 over freshmen Allison Erhlich the #3 court.

Play would resume as Cook and McGuire defeated freshman Philomena Hall and Paxton Longseth 21-9, 21-11 at the #4 court before freshmen Addison Beaver and Aleksandra Wrobel defeated freshmen Cayce Farrell and Michaela Reige 21-18, 21-8 at the #2 court.

Prior to SCF's win, Richard Bland shutout Bryant and Stratton 5-0.

SCF vs Richard Bland College:

Gentry and Kohl would once again put to the challenge at the #1 court against sophomore Sarah Heath and Jordan Schlageter, but with a strong focus, Gentry and Kohl would take down the reigning NJCAA Region 10 Pair of the Year with a 21-13 pair decision. This would put the Statesmen on edge as Perry and Rebimbas would fall to freshman Phoebe Heath and Peyton Osetenson at the #5 court 21-18, 21-14 before they took the lead after Beaver and Wrobel fell to sophomore Leilani Goggin and freshman Alexis Scipione in three sets (21-10, 19-21, 10-15) at the #2 court.

All eyes turned towards the final two courts that were also in three sets. Gaudinho Pizzol and Briefeneder, who struggled in the first set before making a comeback in the second set, would face them in a battle with sophomore Morgan Green and freshman Kiley Pickett at the #3 court. A costly mistake on Richard Bland's side would give Gaudinho Pizzol and Briefeneder a momentum change as they took the final two points and win in three sets (21-19, 21-15, 17-15).

On the final court, Cook and McGuire fought valiantly and were able to defeat freshmen Addison White and Aubrey Hyndshaw in three sets on the #4 court (21-16, 20-22, 15-13) to give the Manatees the victory.

Other NJCAA Tournament Scores:

Palm Beach State (19-8) shutout Gaston College (9-21) and Mesa CC (12-12) both by a score of 5-0.

Lake Sumter State (11-14) shutout Sandhills CC (12-16) and Trinidad State (1-12) 5-0 while Sandhills CC defeated Trinidad State 4-1.

Up Next:

The Manatees will be back in action Friday morning, May 3 for a second round of pool play. They will face Trinidad State at 10:15 am before facing Mesa CC at 4:30 pm.

SCF BVB Set for Nationals

Bradenton, Fla - Despite a heartbreaking loss at the NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament, the SCF beach volleyball team (8-6) will make their dream a reality for a national championship as they will travel 10 hours northwest to compete in the three-day nine-team NJCAA Beach Volleyball Championship at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama May 2-4. The Manatees will open their part of the tournament with pool play against Bryant and Stratton (0-4) and Richard Bland (20-11). 

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of finishing third in the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament at the UMR Sports Complex in Lakewood Ranch. They would defeat Lake Sumter State 3-2 in their opening match before falling 3-2 to eventual winners and defending champions Palm Beach State. They would try to go for the second automatic qualifying spot against Lake Sumter State, but they would fall 3-1.

Despite finishing third in the tournament, the Manatees were able to secure a spot in the national tournament as an at-large bid.

NJCAA Beach Volleyball Tournament Breakdown:

The NJCAA Beach Volleyball Tournament will be a nine-team tournament that is put into three pools of play. All three pools will play a series of round robin matches to determine the seed order of the tournament. Following round robin play

Palm Beach State (17-8) is the defending champions after winning the inaugural tournament last year.

Qualifying Teams:

Aside from their fellow conference members in Palm Beach State and Lake Sumter State (9-14), the following is the list of teams that will join the Manatees in the national tournament and the pool order:

Richard Bland (20-11) - Region 10*

Gaston College (9-19) - Region 10*

Sandhills (11-15) - Region 10*

Mesa (11-11) - Region 1*

Bryant and Stratton (WI) (0-4) - Region 4*

Trinidad State (1-10) - Region 9*

*Automatic Qualifier

Pool 1 -

Palm Beach State

Mesa

Gaston

Pool 2 -

Lake Sumter

Sandhills CC

Trinidade State

Pool 3 -

Richard Bland

SCF

Bryant and Stratton

Pairs Domination:

Leading the way our of the pairs is sophomore Kayla Gentry and freshman Rhea Kohl. Gentry and Kohl, who play as the #1 pair, are currently 11-2 overall as a pair. 

The freshman duo of Aleksandra Wrobel and Addison Beaver follow as they are 11-0 at the #3 spot. In fact, they are the only pair for the Manatees that are unbeaten.

Scouting Richard Bland:

Richard Bland College hails from Petersburg, Virginia and represents NJCAA Region 10. They are lead by head coach Stephanie Champine, who enters her second season as head coach.

The Statesmen are coming off of finishing first in the conference play as the regular season champions before winning the NJCAA Region 10 State Tournament after defeating Spartanburg Methodist (4-0) in semifinals and eventual runner-up Sandhill Community College (3-0).

Leading the way is the sophomore duo of Sarah Heath and Jordan Schlageter. The pair, who play as the #1 pair, are 5-5 overall and were named the NJCAA Region 10 Pair of the Year.

Last season, the Manatees split with the Statesmen winning the first match 3-2 before losing the second match 3-1.

Scouting Bryant and Stratton:

Bryant and Stratton hail from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and represent NJCAA Region 4. They are lead by head coach Heather Curley, who enters her fifth season as head coach.

The Lady Bobcats played four matches where they lost of their matches. Despite that, they qualified for the national tournament automatically as they were the only college in Wisconsin with a beach volleyball program.

Times of Matches:

5/2:

Palm Beach State vs Gaston CC @ 10 am (9 am Central)

Lake Sumter State vs Trinidad State @10 am (9 am Central)

Richard Bland vs Bryant and Stratton @10:15 am (9:15 am Central)

Sandhills vs Trinidad State @ 11:30 am (10:30 am Central)

Mesa vs Gaston CC @ 11:30 am (10:30 am Central)

SCF vs Bryant and Stratton @ 3 pm (2 pm Central)

Lake Sumter State vs Sandhills CC @4:15 pm (3:15 pm Central)

Palm Beach State vs Mesa CC @ 4:15 pm (3:15 pm Central)

SCF vs Richard Bland @ 4:30 pm (3:30 pm Central)

How to Keep Up:

All matches will air on the NJCAA Network. Fans can also keep up with the Manatees on all social media platforms:

Livestream Link - https://www.njcaa.org/network/landing/index

Social Media Links - 

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

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

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

SCF Baseball Completes Sweep Over St. Pete

Bradneton, Fla - The SCF baseball team (30-24, 17-16 Citrus) closed their season on a strong note as they completed their first sweep in conference after defeating St. Pete College (17-31, 10-23 Citrus) 9-1 and 14-9.

"It was nice to finally sweep a team today with two wins," said head coach Tim Hill II. "While we did end the season on a positive note, it was a very disappointing season overall as we came shy of making the playoffs by one game. I look to focus on building a team for the 2025 season that can get back to the tournament."

Game One:

Hill II sent sophomore Brandon Clarke (5-2, 4.67 ERA) to start game one, while Titans head coach Oscar Espada went with sophomore Esad Pena (5-4, 6.02 ERA) to counter.

At the top of the first, Titans would get on the board early after an RBI single by freshman Carlos Sanchez before Clarke finished the top of the inning. In the bottom half of the inning, the Manatees would respond back beginning with a leadoff single by Almonte, which would be followed with a stolen base before moving to third on a throwing error. After Hairston drew a walk and stolen second, Almonte would score on a balk to tie the game at 1-1 before sophomore Santiago Ordonez would send a single to right-center to bring in Hairston made it 2-1 SCF. Following Ordonez's single, freshman Walker Vanecek would bring in his power as he hit a two-run homer to left for his fifth of the season to make it 4-1 SCF.

After the next two innings went scoreless, the Manatees would increase their lead in the bottom of the fourth beginning with a leadoff single by sophomore Preston Wetherell. After freshman Mario Trivella was hit by a pitch, Almonte would send a single to right and bring in Wetherell before Trivella scored on a fielding error and Almonte advance to third on the same error. After Gil-Fernandez was hit by a pitch, Ordonez would send a hard single to left to bring in Almonte to make it 7-1 SCF.

One inning later, the Manatees would put their final runs on the board beginning with a leadoff walk by freshman Luke Boykin. After Trivella was hit by a pitch and both runners advanced to third on a wild pitch, Almonte would line a single to left to bring in Boykin and Trivella to make it 9-1 SCF before sealing the victory.

Clarke would improve to 6-2 after giving up one unearned run on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts in five innings. Freshman Daniel Hartley would throw two scoreless innings of relief with one walk and two strikeouts.

Pena would fall to 5-5 after giving up seven runs (six earned) on seven hits with two walks and one strikeout in four innings. Freshman Andres Bermudez would give up two runs on two hits with two walks in two innings of relief.

Almonte would lead the way in hitting and offense as he went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs and two stolen bases. Ordonez would also finish with a multi-hit as he went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run.

Vanecek (1-for-4, one home run and two RBI), Hairston (1-for-3, one run, one walk and one stolen base), Wetherell (1-for-4, one run) and sophomore Luis Garrido (1-for-4, one stolen base) had the remaining hits, while Gil-Fernadez (one walk and one stolen base), Boykin (one run and one walk) and Trivella (two runs and one walk) also contributed in the game.

For the Titans, sophomores Colton Pizzio and Jordan Smiley and freshman Carlos Sanchez each had one of three hits.

Game Two:

Looking to complete the sweep, Hill II sent redshirt freshman Palmer O'Beirne (6-1, 5.15 ERA) to start the final game of the season, while Espada went with freshman Jose Zayas (2-3, 5.40 ERA).

The Manatees would get on the board first in the bottom of the first as Ordonez would send a double to right-center to bring in Gil-Fernandez for the first run of the game. At the top of the second, the Titans would tie the game thanks to a solo home run by Sanchez for his fourth of the season before they took a 3-1 lead thanks to an RBI single by sophomore RJ Gutierrez and a run scoring on an error. The lead would increase to 7-1 for the next three innings thanks an RBI groundout by sophomore Diego Aponte and a run on a wild pitch (third inning), an RBI single by sophomore Brett Wagner (fourth inning) and an RBI single by Gutierrez (fifth inning).

After holding the Titans scoreless at the top of the sixth, the Manatees would then respond in the bottom half of the inning. After back-to-back singles by Hairston and Gil-Fernandez and Vanecek drawing a walk to load the bases, Garrido would send a single to center to bring in Hairston and Gil-Fernadez. After freshman Hayden Gustavson hit a single to reload the bases, Trivella would draw a bases-loaded walk and bring in Vanecek before Garrido scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-5 still in St. Pete's favor.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees would go on a scoring rally to go for the lead. After Ordonez reached base on a dropped third strike, Vanecek and Garrido would hit back-to-back single to load the bases before Ordonez and Vanecek scored on back-to-back wild pitches to tie the game at 7-7. After Gustavson drew a walk, Garrido would score on a wild pitch to give the Manatees an 8-7 before Trivella would show his power as he did in the opening game on Thursday as he towered a two-run blast to left for his second home run of the season. After a two-out single by Almonte, Hairston would send a double to center to bring in Almonte before Gil-Fernandez would send a two-run blast of his own to left for his 10th of the season.

The Manatees would then add their final run of the game as Almonte would send a double to center to bring in freshman Collin Mastromauro for a 14-7 lead. The Titans would add two runs at the top of the ninth after a sacrifice fly by Gutierrez and an RBI single by freshman Jose Rangel, but it would all the Titans could produce as a final double play sealed the victory and sweep for the Manatees.

O'Beirne and Zayas would each earn a no-decision. O'Beirne would give up five runs (four earned) on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts in three innings, while Zayas gave up five runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts in five and a third innings.

Wetherell would improve to 2-3 after giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits with two walks and one strikeout in three innings of relief. Freshman Dylan DeLeo gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits in three innings of relief.

Sophmore Owen Marsh would fall to 3-6 after giving up seven runs (four earned) on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts in one and a third inning of relief. Freshman John Aponte would five up two runs on five hits with three strikeouts in one and a third innings of relief.

All nine Manatees in the starting lineup had at least one hit with seven Manatees having a multi-hit game. It was Gil-Fernandez and Hairston that lead the way in hitting as they each had three hits. Gil-Fernandez (3-for-5) added two RBI and three runs, while Hairston (3-for-6) added two runs scored and one RBI. Hairston would finish 4-for-9 at the plate in both games.

Almonte would finish 2-for-5 with an RBI, one run and one walk and finished 5-for-9 with four RBI.

Garrido (2-for-4), Ordonez (2-for-5), Vanecek (2-for-5) and Gustavson (2-for-4) rounded out the order in hitting as they each had two hits. Garrido added two runs and two RBI, while Ordonez added one run and one RBI, Vanecek added two runs and one walk and Gustavson added one run and one walk.

Trivella lead the way in offense as he went 1-for-4, with a home run, three RBI, one run and one walk, while Mastromauro went 1-for-4 with one run.

For the Titans, Wagner lead the way in hitting as he went 4-for-5 with an RBI and a run, while Sanchez followed going 3-for-5 with three runs and an RBI.

Up Next:

This concludes the 2024 season for the Manatees. They will focus on the 2025 season in January.

SCF Baseball Slays Titans

Clearwater, Fla - Despite their playoff chances coming to an end, the SCF baseball team (28-24, 15-16 Citrus) were able to pull off a mercy rule victory as they shutout St. Pete College (17-29, 10-21 Citrus) 10-0 in five innings via the mercy rule.

“To not be in playoff contention is disappointing, which was our own fault,” said head coach Tim Hill II. “We still played hard and didn't roll over and the guys responded in one of the better games they played.”

“I feel we played baseball really well on both sides,” said sophomore Bryan Gomez. “Hitting was outstanding and I was trying my best to keep us in the game and everything worked out pretty well.”

“Today was a tough day for us, especially missing playoffs,” said sophomore Santiago Ordonez. “Overall, I think we made a good comeback and had the right mindset to go out there and do what we've been trying to do all year.”

“Today, we played as a team and we executed with a lot of hits,” said freshman Mario Trivella.

“It was a fun day,” said freshman Allan Gil-Fernandez. “The hitting was good and Bryan (Gomez) was spectacular and did what he need to do on the mound.”

Hill II sent Gomez (5-1, 4.74 ERA) to start the final conference road game of the season, while Titans head coach Oscar Espada went with sophomore Braeden Cochran (3-7, 7.60 ERA) to counter.

After the first two innings went scoreless, the Manatees would open on the board first at the top of the third. After sophomore Jalen Hairston drew a two-out walk, Gil-Fernandez wasted no time as he sent a two-run blast to left for his ninth of the season.

“I just was looking for my pitch,” said Gil-Fernandez. “Coach (Hill) gave the green light on 3-0 and once I hit it, I knew it was gone.”

Ordonez would add to the fire as he hit a solo home run to left for his fourth of his season to make it 3-0 SCF.

“I didn't try to do too much and was trying to see the ball up,” said Ordonez. “Luckily, I got a good pitch up and a good barrel on it.”

Meanwhile, Gomez remain on top as the New Yorker would shut the door in the third. At the top of the fourth, the Manatees would extend their lead further. After Trivella and freshman Luke Boykin hit back-to-back singles, sophomore Erick Almonte would ground into a fielder’s choice and reach first while Trivella was called out at second. After Almonte stole second, Hairston would send a single to right-center to bring in Boykin and Almonte to make it 5-0 SCF.

At the top of the fifth, the Manatees would add their final runs of the game beginning with a leadoff walk by Ordonez. After freshman Walker Vanecek hit a single, sophomore Luis Garrido would move the runners to scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before Ordonez scored on a wild pitch. One batter later, Boykin would show his speed on a 1-2 count as he lined a ball to left past the left fielder to bring in Vanecek before putting on the afterburners to score with an inside the park home run for his fourth of the season before Trivella sent a solo home run of his own to left for his first collegiate home run of the season.

“It felt awesome,” said Trivella on his first collegiate home run. “I've been waiting for this for almost two years and I finally got it. I got a good barrel and it paid off.”

After Almonte hit a single to left, Hairston would power a triple to left-center to bring in Almonte to make it 10-0 SCF before Gomez closed the bottom half of the inning to seal the victory for the Manatees.

Gomez would improve to 6-1 after throwing a two-hit five inning shutout with one walk and two strikeouts.

“I felt comfortable on the mound,” said Gomez. “My mindset was just throwing strikes and get ahead as soon as I could to work on my off-speed pitches. The key to this game was establish my fastball for strikes and be as efficient as I could and it worked.”

“Bryan threw the way we expected him to throw this year,” said Hill II on Gomez. “He had some ups and downs, but we know what he was capable of and threw a good ball game.”

Cochran would fall to 3-8 after giving up eight runs on 10 hits with two walk and four strikeouts in four and two-thirds innings. Freshman Garrett Moran would give up two runs on three hits with one strikeout in one-third of an inning of relief.

Five Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Hairston that lead the way as he went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Boykin would follow after going 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, two runs and one walk, while Ordonez went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs and one walk and Trivella went 2-for-3 with a home run. Vanecek would round out the order going 2-for-3 with a run.

Gil-Fernandez (1-for-3, home run, two RBI), Almonte (1-for-4, two runs and two stolen bases) and Garrido (1-for-2) had the remaining hits.

For the Titans, sophomores Brett Wagner and RJ Gutierrez had the lone two hits.

Up Next:

The Manatees will wrap up the season against St. Pete at Wynn Field Saturday afternoon, April 27 at 1 and 4 pm. Sophomore Brandon Clarke will be give the nod to start game, while redshirt Palmer O’Beirne will start game two.