Bradenton, Fla - The SCF baseball team (17-9, 7-5 Citrus) will put spring break in their rearview mirror and prepare for their next midweek game. The Manatees will welcome St. Pete College (9-15, 4-8 Citrus) to Robert C. Wynn Field Monday night, March 11 at 6 pm before they play Miami Dade (13-13, 7-5 Citrus) for their next Citrus Conference series. Game one will take place at the Kendal Campus Baseball Field in Miami Thursday night, March 14 at 5 pm before returning to Wynn Field for a doubleheader Saturday afternoon, March 16 at 1 and 4 pm.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of claiming their third series in Citrus Conference play where they defeated and upset #17 Florida Southwestern. They would win game one on the road in Fort Myers by a score of 11-3 in eight innings via the eight-run mercy rule. Following that, the series would head to Bradenton where they would split the doubleheader losing game one 11-5 before winning game two 13-7 to take the series.
Currently, the Manatees are tied for third place in the conference standings with Miami Dade.
Conquering the Breaking Balls:
Since his return from limited play last season, sophomore Brandon Clarke continues to have a strong fight on the mound as the ace for the Manatees. Clarke is currently 4-1 with a 4.86 ERA, 12 walks and 53 strikeouts. In his last start, the North Carolinian threw six innings with six strikeouts in the win over FSW.
Strong Bomb Hitting:
Leading the charge at the plate is sophomores Jalen Hairston and Santiago Ordonez and freshman Allan Gil-Fernandez.
Hairston has struggled in the last two weeks until his first collegiate grand slam set the tone to help the Manatees take the rubber game over Florida Southwestern. The upcoming Kentucky transfer is batting .365 with 38 hits, five home runs and 30 RBI.
Ordonez has been one of the more consistent batters in the games for hitting. The transfer from Florida State is batting .387 with 24 hits, one home run and 11 RBI. In the first game of the doubleheader, Ordonez hit his first collegiate home run and went 4-for-6 with four RBI.
Gil-Fernandez is batting .333 with 34 hits, four home runs and 38 RBI. In game one of the series, the Dominican native hit his first collegiate grand slam with a season-high seven RBI.
Pip Pip Hurray:
Freshman Pip Smalley has been consistent both on the mound and at the plate. Smalley is batting .351 with 26 hits, two home runs and 15 RBI while on the mound he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and three strikeouts. He earned his first win of the season after throwing two-thirds of a scoreless inning of relief with one strikeout.
Zigging and Zagging the Mound:
Freshman Trevor Zeigler has been improving himself in the bullpen since joining the Manatees from the University of Cincinnati. Zeigler is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA, two saves, 18 walks and 24 strikeouts. In his last outing, he threw two scoreless innings of relief with one walk and three strikeouts in the rubber game win over FSW.
Almonte's Groove:
Since his return to the lineup from injury, sophomore Erick Almonte has been hitting the ball well. Almonte is batting .408 with 20 hits, one home run, 11 RBI. He hit his first home run in the series finale over FSW
Running Wild:
Sophomores Luis Garrido, Ed Wagner, Preston Wetherell and Bryan Gomez and freshmen Hayden Gustavson, Walker Vanecek, Palmer O'Beirne and Luke Boykin play their part as the wildcard players.
Garrido is batting .347 with 33 hits, 10 RBI, 29 runs and six stolen bases.
Wagner is 2-3 with a 5.60 ERA, 15 walks and 41 strikeouts.
Wetherell, one of several hybrid players, is batting .264 with 14 hits, one home run and five RBI at the plate while on the mound he is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA, six walks and 11 strikeouts.
Gomez is currently 2-0 with a 4.87 ERA, 19 walks and 29 strikeouts. He will be given the nod to start the game against St. Pete on Monday.
Gustavson is batting .325 with 27 hits, one home run and 13 RBI.
Vanecek is batting .262 with 11 hits, one home run anf 15 RBI
O'Beirne is 4-0 with a 3.79 ERA, 12 walks and 27 strikeouts.
Boykin is batting .250 with 24 hits, two home runs and 22 RBI.
Scouting St. Pete:
The Titans are coming off of winning their series over Daytona State. They would fall in the first game by a score of 12-2 before winning their doubleheader by scores of 7-4 and 12-7. Currently, they are tied in last place in conference with Daytona State.
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