SCF Baseball Beat SFSC

Avon Park. Fla - The SCF baseball team (22-17, 10-11 Citrus) pulled off another win in non-conference play as they defeated South Florida State (19-19, 8-9 Sun Lakes) 10-7 on the road.

“Impressive job by Preston (Wetherell) and Trey (Clucas) on the mound today,” said head coach Tim Hill II. “The guys do make the game very interesting, but I'm happy that they pulled off the game with a win.”

“I think we established early on that we were going to throw strikes,” said sophomore Trey Clucas. “From the start, the hitters provided us some run support and as a whole we played a solid game all-around. It was big for us.”

“We threw some strikes and ended up getting the 'W',” said sophomore Preston Wetherell.

Hill II sent Wetherell (1-1, 4.66 ERA) for his first start of the season while SFSC head coach Rick Hitt went with sophomore Brandon White (0-1, 8.31 ERA) to counter.

The Manatees would open on the board first at the top of the first beginning with a one-out single by sophomore Jalen Hairston before freshman Pip Smalley sent a double to right center to bring in Hairston before scoring on a wild pitch to make it 2-0 SCF.

The Panthers would respond back in the bottom half of the inning after an RBI single by freshman Brandon Vargas and an RBI double by sophomore Jean Cuello tied the game at 2-2.

After the next two innings went scoreless, the Manatees would add their next series of runs at the top of the fourth. After a one-out singles by Trivella and freshman Walker Vanecek before both runners moved to scoring position on a passed ball. After Vanecek scored on a wild pitch, sophomore Jayce Blalock would seize an opportunity and send a hard ground ball to center to bring in  Trivella. After sophomore LT Cockrill (walk) and sophomore Luis Garrido (single) loaded the bases, sophomore Erick Almonte would hit into a fielder’s choice to bring in Blalock and make it 5-2 SCF. 

At the top of the eighth, Cockrill would show his power as he sent a solo home run to center for his second of the season.

“I called it was the first thing I thought when I hit that home run,” said Cockrill on his home run. “It was the best ball I hit in my life and it went out to dead center, which was awesome.”

The Panthers would then respond in the bottom half of the inning after a sacrifice fly by sophomore Derek Bermudez made it 6-3 still in SCF’s favor.

At the top of the ninth, the Manatees would add their final runs on the board beginning with a lead off single by Hairston. After freshman Allan Gil-Fernandez hit a single of his own, Vanecek would single to left and bring in Hairston before Trivella sent a single to left to bring in Gil-Fernandez for his first collegiate RBI. After a sacrifice fly by Blalock drove in Vanecek, Garrido would line a double to left-center and bring in Trivella to make it 10-3 SCF.

The Panthers would respond in the bottom of the ninth with four runs, but it would be all they could produce as the Manatees sealed the victory.

Wetherell and White would both earn no-decisions. Wetherell gave up two runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts in four innings, while White gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts in one inning.

“A little bumpy in the beginning, but I felt good on the mound,” said Wetherell. “I could have thrown more strikes, but I still came out strong."

Clucas would earn the win after throwing three scoreless innings with one hit, two walks and three strikeouts in three innings of relief. Freshman Dylan DeLeo would earn the save after throwing one-third of a scoreless inning of relief.

“I felt really good on the mound,” said Clucas. “For me, it was establishing on throwing first pitch strikes in the zone and attacking hitters in the zone. When I do that, I felt I did what I did and contribute to the team.”

Sophomore Andrew Dawson would fall to 0-3 after giving up three runs on four hits with one walk in one inning of relief.

Five Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Vanecek and Garrido that lead the way in hitting as they each had three hits. Vanecek (3-for-3) added one RBI, two runs and two walks, while Garrido (3-for-5) added one RBI.

Hairston (2-for-5), Gil-Fernandez (2-for-4) and Trivella (2-for-5) rounded out the order with two hits each. Hairston added two runs, while Gil-Fernandez added one run and one walk and Trivella added one RBI and two runs.

Blalock lead the way in offense as he went 1-for-4 with two RBI and one run.

Smalley (1-for-5, one RBI and one run) and Cockrill (1-for-3, one home run and one walk) had the remaining two hits, while Almonte (one RBI), and freshmen Gavyn Bowen (one inning of relief with one strikeout) and Ryan Salttery (two-thirds of an inning of relief with one strikeout) also contributed in the game.

For the Panthers, Bermudez lead the way in hitting and offense as he went 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Notes:

This was the debut of Trivella, who sat out last season due to injury

“It's been a long road,” said Trivella on his debut. “I worked so hard for this. Mentally, I'm very prepared to come back and do much more.”

“It was good to see Mario make his official debut for us,” said Hill II on Trivella’s debut. “We have been anticipating this for him after he got cleared, so it was good to see him in his first game.”

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

Santa Fe. (22-15. 12-9 Citrus) defeated Florida State College at Jacksonville (12-12, 6-11 Sun Lakes) 4-3.

Seminole State College (18-21, 6-15 Citrus) defeated Eastern Florida State (19-18-1, 10-11 Citrus) 8-3 in non-conference play.

Hillsborough (21-19, 9-12 Citrus) fell to Pasco-Hernando State (21-17, 11-7 Sun Lakes) 12-2.

RV Florida Southwestern (26-13, 16-5 Citrus) defeated St. Pete (14-22, 7-14 Citrus) 19-7 in non-conference play

Polk State (25-17, 12-9 Citrus) defeated the University of Tampa JV (8-7) 10-7.

Central Florida (22-16, 10-11 Citrus) defeated St. John's River State (25-16, 10-8 Sun Lakes) 11-7.

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. RV Indian River State (28-8, 16-5)

2. RV Florida Southwestern (26-13, 16-5)

3. Miami Dade (20-18, 13-8)

4. Polk State (25-17, 12-9)

5. Santa Fe (22-15, 12-9)

6. Central Florida (22-16, 10-11)

7. SCF (22-17, 10-11)

8. Eastern Florida State (19-18-1, 10-11)

9. Hillsborough (21-19, 9-12)

10. St. Pete (14-22, 7-14)

11. Seminole State College (18-21, 6-15)

12. Daytona State (13-20, 5-16)

Up Next:

The Manatees will resume Citrus Conference play as they face RV Indian River State (28-8, 16-5 Citrus) for their next series. Sophomore Brandon Clarke (5-2, 4.65 ERA) will be given the nod to start game one in Fort Pierce.