Bradenton, Fla - After falling in their season open, the SCF baseball team (1-1) pulled off a major upset back at Wynn Field as they defeated #6 Northwest Florida State (1-2) 7-5 in their home opener on day two of the SCF Legends Classic.
"Northwest Florida is a very good program, are very well coached and have very good athletes," said head coach Tim Hill II. "That's why we have this tournament and to get a win on our field against a good team like that is good. I thought the environment was good and both teams played pretty hard where every pitch meant something and it pay dividends down the road."
"We did really well," said sophomore Jalen Hairston. "Our pitchers kept us in the game and we had some big hits that came around and the RBI helped us keep the pitchers in the game"
"I thought there were some moments we saw from a lot of our guys and some things we need to work on," said redshirt freshman Palmer O'Beirne. "I'm super excited to get going with these guys."
"While we did struggle early with the bats, at the end of the day we picked each other up and showed teamwork," said freshman Hayden Gustavson. "Every guy played a part in this game."
Hill II sent sophomore Ed Wagner to the mound for the start, while Northwest Florida head coach Doug Martin went with freshman Mack Estrada.
After a scoreless first inning, the Raiders would get on the board first at the top of the first after an RBI single by sophomore Cayden Gaskin.
Following the end of the top of the third, the Manatees would take their first lead of the game beginning with a leadoff single by sophomore Preston Wetherell and a walk by classmate Luis Garrido. After freshman James Asmus drew a walk to load the bases, classmate Luke Boykin would get hit by a pitch and reload the bases and bring in Wetherell for the first run of the game. One batter later, sophomore LT Cockrill would draw a walk to reload the bases a second time and bring in Garrido to make it 2-1 SCF.
At the top of the fourth, the Raiders would tie the game at 2-2 after a one out solo home run by sophomore Cade Sadler for his third of the season before retaking the lead after an RBI double by sophomore Tyler Lejune. This would signal the end for Wagner as Hill would send O'Beirne to take over and finish the fourth with his first collegiate strikeout.
In the bottom half of the fourth, the Manatees would regain the lead as Hairston would drive in Wetherell and Garrido with a three-run homer to right for his first of the season and make it 5-3 SCF.
The Raiders would cut the Manatees' lead to 5-4 after an sophomore Cayden Gaskin scored on a double play at the top of the sixth. O'Beirne was still able to get out of the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees would add their insurance runs as Gustavson would send a triple to right to bring in Boykin and freshman Allan Gil to make it 7-4 SCF.
At the top of the eighth, Hill would send freshman Daniel Hartley to the mound for O'Beirne. Despite giving up and RBI single by sophomore Colby Jones, the Auburndale native was able to get out of the eighth.
At the top of the ninth, Hartley face a little bit of a jam after hitting the leadoff batter and a wild pitch sent him to second, but after a strikeout, Hartley saw a moment and was able to pick off the runner at second before a final fielder's choice sealed the deal for the Manatees first win.
Wagner and Estrada both earned no-decisions in their starts. Wagner gave up three runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts in three and two-thirds innings, while Estrada gave up two runs on one hit with five walks and four strikeouts in two and two-thirds innings.
O'Beirne would earn his first collegiate win of the season after giving up one unearned run on two hits with two walks and six strikeouts in three and a third innings of relief. Hartley would earn his first collegiate save after giving up one run on one hit with one walk and one strikeout in two innings of relief.
Sophomore Parker Dilloff would be hit with the loss after giving up three runs on two hits with three walks and five strikeouts in one and two-thirds innings of relief.
Gustavon and Wetherell would be the leaders in hitting as they each finished 2-for-3. Gustavon added two RBI, while Wetherell added two runs, one walk and a stolen base.
Hairston lead the way offensively as he going 1-for-3 with the three-run homer and one walk.
Boykin (1-for-3, one RBI and one run) and Gil-Fernandez (1-for-4, one run) had the remaining two hits while Garridon (two runs and three walks), Cockrill (one RBI and two walks) and freshman James Asmus (one walk) also contributed in the game.
For the Raiders, Gaskin lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-4 with an RBI, two runs and a stolen base, while Lejune and Sadler each had two hits and an RBI.
Following SCF's win, Gulf Coast State (2-0) defeated Indian River State (0-3) 12-2 in five innings, while Miami Dade (2-0) defeated Indian River State 15-12 in a 7 pm game.
Up Next:
The Manatees will wrap up the SCF Legends Classic as they play Indian River State Sunday afternoon, January 28 at 2:30 pm. Sophomore Liam Best will be given the nod to start for the game.
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