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.
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