“We started off really well with a big inning in the third,” said head coach Tim Hill II. “We have been traveling a lot and it hasn't been easy for us. St. Pete is a good program and a tough conference opponent when we play them in conference in April. I wanted to challenge the guys to play well and they did.”
“I thought we did well and came out really hot” said freshman Palmer O’Beirne. “We were hot with our bats and made a lot of good plays on the field. While we did make a few mistakes, we overcame those and were able to come out on top.”
“Very good hitting for us today,” said sophomore Erick Almonte. “While we were a little sloppy, it did not matter because we were the victors in this game.”
Hill II sent O’Beirne (3-0, 3.97 ERA) to the mound, while St. Pete head Oscar Espada went with sophomore Jeff Polledo (1-2, 10.13 ERA) to counter.
After the first inning went scoreless, the Manatees would get on the board first as sophomore Luis Garrido would bring in freshman Hayden Gustavson. The Manatees would increase their lead further at the top of the third beginning with a leadoff walk by sophomore LT Cockrill. After Almonte hit a single to left and advanced to scoring position on a throw, sophomore Jalen Hairston, who celebrated his birthday, sent a single to left to bring in Cockrill before freshman Pip Smalley sent a double to right to bring in Almonte and Hairston. After back-to-back singles by Gustavson and freshman Allan Gil-Fernandez loaded the bases, classmate Luke Boykin would poke a single to left to bring in Smalley and Gil-Fernandez. One batter later, after a bunt single by Garrido, Cockrill would show his speed and send a triple to right to bring in Garrido before the Manatees batted around with Almonte sending an infield single to short to bring in Cockrill and make it 9-0 SCF.
The Titans would try to cut the deficit between the fourth and eighth inning, but a final showing hy Smalley would seal the victory for the Manatees.
O’Beirne would earn a no-decision after throwing three scoreless innings with two hits and six strikeouts.
“I felt really good,” said O’Beirne. “I just went out there with the mentality of attacking hitters and throwing what I want to throw to work it out for me.”
“Palmer's pitching was very good,” said Hill II on O’Beirne. “He threw a lot of strikes and was in control which helped him utilize his breaking ball when he needed to. I thought he looked really well.”
Freshman Dylan DeLeo would improve to 2-0 after throwing one and two-third scoreless innings with three walks and two strikeouts.
Polledo would drop to 1-2 after giving up nine runs on 10 hits with two walks and one strikeout in three innings of work.
Four Manatees had a multi-hit game. Smalley (2-for-4) and Boykin (2-for-4) lead the way in offense as they each had two hits, one run, one walk and two RBI. Smalley also threw one scoreless inning of relief with one strikeout.
Almonte (2-for-4) and Gustavson (2-for-5) rounded out the order with two hits apiece. Almonte added an RBI, one run and two walks, while Gustavson added one run.
"I felt good at the plate," said Almonte. "I'm just working on a few things, but it was a good result in the end."
Hairston (1-for-5, one RBI, one run and one stolen base), Gil-Fernandez (1-for-3, one run and two walks), Garrido (1-for-4, one RBI and one run), Cockrill (1-for-4, one RBI, two runs and one walk) and sophomore Jayce Blalock (1-for-1, one walk) had the remaining five hits while sophomore Preston Wetherell (one inning of relief with one strikeout) and freshmen Gavyn Bowen (one inning of relief) and Aidan McBride (one and a third innings of relief with one strike out) also contributed in the game.
For the Titans, freshman Jose Rangel lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-4 at the plate, while classmate Dylan Andino lead the way offensively after going 1-for-3 with three RBI.
Citrus Conference Standings:
1. #17 Florida Southwestern (17-6, 8-1)
2. SCF (15-8, 5-4)
3. Indian River State (13-7, 5-4)
4. Central Florida (14-8, 5-4)
5. Hillsborough (14-9, 5-4)
6. Santa Fe (14-9, 5-4)
7. Eastern Florda State (13-9-1, 5-4)
8. Miami Dade (11-12, 5-4)
9. Seminole State College (13-9, 3-6)
10. Daytona State (11-10, 3-6)
11. Polk State (12-14, 3-6)
12. St. Pete (7-14, 2-7)
Up Next:
The Manatees will resume conference play as they face #17 Florida Southwestern (17-6, 8-1 Citrus) for their next three-game series. Game one will take place at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers Thursday afternoon, March 7 at 2 pm while games two and three will take place at Robert. C. Wynn Field in Bradenton Saturday afternoon, March 9 at 1 and 4 pm.
Sophomore Brandon Clarke (3-1, 5.27 ERA) will be give the nod to start game one on Thursday, while classmate Ed Wagner (2-2, 4.75 ERA) will start the first game of the doubleheader Saturday
No comments:
Post a Comment