SCF BVB Punches Their Ticket to Nationals

Lakewood Ranch, Fla - Despite falling short in the two-day NJCAA Region 8 Beach Volleyball Tournament, the #2 seed SCF beach volleyball team (12-5) were still able to punch their ticket to the NJCAA National Beach Volleyball Tournament with a 2-2 split. On day one, they defeated #3 seed Lake Sumter State (8-14) 3-2 before falling to #1 seed and eventual winners, Palm Beach State (21-6) 4-1 before splitting day two winning 3-1 over Lake Sumter State before falling 3-1 to Palm Beach State 3-1 in the finals. This was the third straight year that Palm Beach State has won the NJCAA Region 8 Tournament.

"I thought the team did a really good job last year when we faced Lake Sumter in the semifinals," said athletic director and interim head coach Nick Cichielo. "This year, we were able to push past that. Honestly, both games against Palm Beach were very good. They had a couple of points in our favor and we could have been the champions, so it's hard not to feel good about that."

Day One -

Before SCF played, Palm Beach State defeated #4 seed Florida State College at Jacksonville (1-15) 5-0 to advance to the semifinals.

SCF vs Lake Sumter State:

After the #4 pair fell, sophomore Addison Beaver and freshman Taylor would give the Manatees their first point as the All-NJCAA Region 8 #2 pair defeated redshirt freshmen Madeline Noel and Sydney Pickle 21-17, 21-5. The Manatees would then take the lead as sophomore Aleksandra Wrobel and freshman Emma Acedo Lapieza defeated sophomore Braelyn Mittauer and freshman Sophia Cooper 21-14, 21-12 at the #1 pair.

With two matches left, redshirt freshman Bianca Guerrero and freshman Aryanna Spainhower would seal the victory at the #5 pair defeated freshmen Moira Magnum and Jenna Walker 23-21, 21-18 before the Lakehawks took the #3 pair.

Lake Sumter State vs Florida State College at Jacksonville:

Following their loss to SCF, Lake Sumter would defeat Florida State College at Jacksonville 3-0 to remain alive, while the Manta Rays were the first team eliminated.

SCF vs Palm Beach State:

Wrapping up day one, the Panthers would take the first two pairs before Wrobel and Acedo Lapieza defeated sophomore Ava Andreotta and freshman Jasmine Rayner 21-15, 21-14 at the #1 pair. It would ultimately not be enough as the Panthers would take pairs three and five to advance to the championship game.

Day Two -

SCF vs Lake Sumter State:

On day two, the Manatees would fall at the #4 pair before Beaver and Orris defeated Pickle and sophomore Rylee Martineau in three sets by a score of 18-21, 22-20, 15-9 at the #2 pair. The Manatees would then take the lead as Guerrero and Spainhower would defeat Magnum and Walker 21-10, 21-17 at the #5 pair before Wrobel and Acedo Lapieza defeated Mittauer and Cooper 21-18, 21-12 at the #1 pair to seal the victory and secure an automatic spot in the national tournament.

SCF vs Palm Beach State:

Wrobel and Acedo Lapieza would defeat Andreotta and Rayner 21-8, 21-14 at the #1 pair, it would ultimately not be enough as the Panthers would seal three of the pairs and win the tournament.

Notes:

With her four wins in the tournament, Wrobel now has 33 career wins, which surpasses Yeva Serdiuk (31, 2022-23) for most all-time.

"It felt great," said Wrobel on the milestone. "I'm very happy to reach such a milestone, especially during a critical time as the state tournament. I couldn't have done without my partner Emma (Acedo Lapieza) and my teammates' support to help me achieve this."

With her two wins, Beaver has bumped up to 28 wins, which surpasses Kayla David (27, 2021-22) for third all-time and needs three to surpass Seriduk for second all-time.

Up Next:

As they secured their automatic bid, the Manatees can now focus on the NJCAA National Beach Volleyball Tournament in Huntsville, Alabama. There will be a selection show on April 23 at 3 pm to determine who the Manatees will play in round robin play.

SCF BVB Opens States with Split

Lakewood Ranch, Fla - The SCF beach volleyball team (8-5) were able to start off strong to open their portion of the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament at the UMR Sports Complex as they defeated Lake Sumter State (8-13) 3-2 before falling to Palm Beach State (16-8) 3-2.

FSCJ vs SJR:

On Thursday, St. John's River State (3-15) open the state tournament with a qualifier as they shutout Florida State College at Jacksonville (0-9) to face Palm Beach State in the next round.

PBSC vs SJR:

Following their victory over Florida State College at Jacksonville, Palm Beach State would shutout St. John's River 5-0 to advance to the winner's bracket, while the Vikings fell into the loser's bracket.

SCF vs Lake Sumter:

The Manatees would open with a quick victory as the freshmen duo of Aleksandra Wrobel and Addison Beaver defeated the duo of sophomores Cassidy Rountree and Leanne Blue 21-14, 21-13 at the #2 spot. The sophomore duo of Bailee Perry and Isabella Rebimbas would follow with a two-set victory over sophomores Berklee Andrews and Allie Cox 21-14, 21-11 at the #4 spot.

Needing only to clinch one more match, the duo of sophomore Kayla Gentry and freshman Rhea Kohl defeated sophomore Kaylee Hunt and Yarelis Lopez Osorio 21-7, 21-12 at the #1 spot to help the Manatees advance to the winner's bracket and face Palm Beach State.

Despite the Manatees winning the first three matches, play would resume as the Lakehawks would win at the #3 and #5 spots in three sets. The Lakehawks would move down to the loser's bracket.

LSSC vs SJR:

Following SCF's win, Lake Sumter would defeat St. John's River State 3-1 to advance in the loser's bracket while St. John's ended their season.

SCF vs PBSC:

The Manatees opened quickly with Wrobel and Beaver defeating the duo of Marilyn Cesaro and Aleksandra Hamuda at the #2 spot before Perry and Rebimbas defeated Giovanna Bock and Patrycja Kabala at the #4 spot, but the Panthers ultimately took the remaining pairs to advance to the finals of the tournament.

Up Next:

The Manatees would look to keep their playoff hopes alive as they face Lake Sumter in the loser's bracket Saturday morning, April 20 at 11 am. If they win, then they will automatically qualify for the NJCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in Huntsville, Alabama. If they lose, they will await for a chance for an at-large bid.

SCF Baseball Dances to States

Bradenton, Fla - After falling in game two and being forced to play a third game, the dreams for the next focus became a reality for the RV SCF baseball team (35-24) as they punched their ticket to the NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament Final Four by shutting out #9 Santa Fe (40-10) 10-0 in six innings via the 10-run playoff mercy rule.

"I'm just really proud of the guys," said head coach Tim Hill II. "They worked their butts off and we faced a really good team. Ryan (Stefiuk) put up an amazing shutout and the guys coming out the gate and they were so focused. I couldn't be more proud of them, not just because they're good ballplayers, but are a fun group that I said from the beginning."

"From the beginning of the year, we wanted to win," said sophomore Kevin Karstetter. "They (Santa Fe) came out here to force a third game, but it did not matter because we are going to Lakeland for the first time in a while and that's all that matters."

"I think everybody rolling into the field today was very optimistic and very comfortable coming into this game," said sophomore Ryan Stefiuk. "Santa Fe is a very good team and in order to win, we have to pitch well, get ahead on defense and hit, which we did all three of those tasks. Just looking forward to playing in Lakeland."

"Santa Fe is a very good team with very good defense," said sophomore Victor Sanchez. "We were a big family and I'm happy that we worked together and won as a team."

Hill went with Stefiuk (2-3, 4.95 ERA) to start game three while Santa Fe head coach Johnny Wiggs went with sophomore Jacob Phillips (5-1, 5.62 ERA).

At the top of the first, Stefiuk would get into some trouble after the Saints hit back-to-back singles, but thanks to sophomore Richie Morales and freshman Erick Almonte getting redshirt sophomore JP Herrholz to turn a double play, Stefiuk would strikeout sophmore Jahlani Rogers to end the top half.

In the bottom of the first, the Manatees would get on the board first beginning with Morales leading off with a walk and stealing second. After Almonte bunted and reached base on a fielding error by Phillip, and moved Morales to third, Karstetter would line a single to left and bring in Morales. Sophomore Lucas Ismaili would then draw a walk to load the bases before Wiggs pulled Phillips and sent sophomore Jalen Hudson to the mound.

After the pitching change, sophomore Mario Lopez would smack a single to left to bring in Almonte and Karstetter. After Sanchez drew a walk to reload the bases, the Saints would make another pitching change as sophomore Gavin Book would come in. After that, sophomore Ben Gilbert would hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Ismaili and make it 4-0 SCF.

In the bottom of the second, Karstetter would show why he was named the Suncoast Conference Player of the Year as he belted a two-run homer to left to bring in Morales for his 12th of the season and increased the Manatees' score to 6-0. In the bottom of the third, Almonte would then extend the lead to 7-0 after bringing in sophomore Liam Moreno.

While the Manatees kept their lead, Stefiuk and the defense played a big part at the top of the fifth. After Stefiuk gave up a lead off single from freshman Corey Filley, sophomore Hunter Keen would try to add another hit to the board, but Karstetter's quick reaction got him to dive after a line drive for the out. Two batters later, Herrholz would send a fly ball that was going foul, but Moreno would make an incredible diving catch to keep the Saints from getting another runner on base.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Manatees added their final runs of the game. After a leadoff single by Karstetter and an Ismaili walk, sophomore Brayden Woodburn would pop a single to center to bring in Karstetter and move Ismaili to third. After Lopez was intentionally walked to load the bases, all eyes turned to Sanchez to make something happen. On a 1-0 count, the transfer from Chipola College would line a single to left and bring in Ismaili and Woodburn to seal the deal.

"When I got up to the plate to get a hit, my mind was saying 'I need to help my team in someway' and that's what I did with my team," said Sanchez on the game-winning hit.

"I told Victor the inning before to stay focused," said Hill on Sanchez. "If you get up next inning, then you have a chance to win the game for us."

Stefiuk would improve to 3-3 after throwing a six-inning six-hit shutout with two walks and five strikeouts.

"I felt pretty good," said Stefiuk on his game. "I knew the difference in the game was going to be me limiting that one inning. In comparison to my last few games, there is always one inning that bites me on the butt, so I was trying to limit as much as I could to get ahead and luckily I was able to do it."

Phillips would finish his sophomore season 5-2 after giving up three runs (two earned) on one hit with one walk in no innings pitched.

Eight of the Manatees in the lineup had at least one hit in the game. Karstetter would lead the way in hitting and offense as the Suncoast Player of the Year finished 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and three runs.

"I felt good," said Karstetter. "When it come down the line, you want to win and I was super focused today. While I had to make up some ground for the first two games, it paid off with a team win."

"While he didn't swing the bat like he did all year, credit to Santa Fe's pitching where they threw good arms at us, Kevin busted out today," said Hill on Karstetter. "He was the man for sure"

Lopez and Sanchez would follow Karstetter offensively as they were both 1-for-3 with two RBI and a walk each.

Almonte (1-for-3, one RBI and one run), Ismaili (1-for-1, two runs and three walks), Woodburn (1-for-3, one RBI, one run and one walk), Gilbert (1-for-2, one RBI) and Moreno (1-for-2, one run) had the remaining four hits, while Morales (two runs, two walks and a stolen base) also contributed in the game.

For the Saints, freshman Drake Harman would lead the way in hitting as he finished 2-for-3 at the plate.

Notes:

With his three hits, Karstetter now has 233 career and 101 hits this season. He is the first Manatee to get 100 hits since Al Corbeil and is 11 away from breaking Corbeil's single season hit record (110, 1999).

With his one walk, Woodburn now has 50 this season and 90 in his career. He is 11 shy of surpassing Jody Reed (59, 1982) for the single season record and 20 away from breaking Joey Collis (109, 1994-95) for the career walks record. 

Other Regional Scores:

#14 Miami Dade (34-14-1) defeated Pensacola State (35-18) 6-0 in the third game and took the series 2-1.

#3 College of Central (48-6) defeated Florida Southwestern (31-23) and took the series 2-0 on Saturday.

Northwest Florida State (32-17-1) defeated Polk State (33-23) 14-11 on a walk-off homer. The Raiders took the series 2-1.

Up Next:

The Manatees will look to keep their focus in session as they prepare for Lakeland and the final four of the NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament. They will face Miami Dade in the opening round.

SCF Baseball Upsets #9 Santa Fe in Regionals

Bradenton, Fla - Freshman Michael Forret became the story of the game as the RV SCF baseball team (34-23) upset #9 Santa Fe (39-9) 4-3 at Robert C. Wynn Field for game one of regionals in the NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament.

"What a great ballgame it was for us, especially it being a playoff game," said head coach Tim Hill II. "Santa Fe is an excellent ball club and coach Wiggs has been doing it for a quite a while and knows what he's doing with great athletes. Fortunately, we came out on top and it was a really good win."

"I think right from the first pitch, we were a little more focused on this game where it's like 'no one is going to beat us on our field," said Forret. "We came focused, prepared and energetic. We did a good job and even if we only scored four runs, it was enough to get the win while the guys battled the balls in play with some great plays of their own, but overall we came in prepared for this game."

While Hill went with Forret to start the game, Santa Fe head coach Johnny Wiggs went with the Mid-Florida Conference Pitcher of the Year in sophomore Tobin Moran to counter.

For the first two innings, it was a pitcher's duel between Forret and Moran getting out, however Forret would have the advantage with five strikeouts after the top of the third.

In the bottom of the third, the Manatees would get on the board first. After sophomores Liam Moreno (reached on an error) and Richie Morales (hit by a pitch) reached base, freshman Erick Almonte would line a single to right to bring in Moreno for the first run of the game. Sophomore Lucas Ismaili would then groundout and bring in Morales to make it 2-0 SCF.

At the top of the fourth, the Saints would take their first lead of the game as freshman Josh Hogue would hit an RBI single before redshirt sophomore JP Herrholz would hit a two-run double to make it 3-2 Santa Fe. Even though the Saints had the lead, Forret remained calm and was able to finish the fourth.

After Forret shutdown the top of the fifth, the Manatees would fight back in the bottom half of the inning beginning with a leadoff double by Almonte and an infield single by sophomore Kevin Karstetter, sophomore Mario Lopez, Jr. would pop a single center to bring in Almonte to tie the game before sophomore Brayden Woodburn lined a single of his own to bring in Karstetter to make it 4-3 SCF.

From there, Forret would cruise through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings and prevent the Saints from scoring and reaching no more than first base. At the top of the ninth, Hill had sophomore Ben Gilbert warm up and be on standby in case Forret wanted to come out, but Forret made the decision to finish the game. With one final push and a strikeout to redshirt sophomore Jahlani Rogers, the Suncoast Pitcher of the Year would seal the deal for the win.

Forret would improve to 10-2 after throwing a complete game, giving up three runs on five hits with nine strikeouts.

"I kind of locked in after they (Santa Fe) had their inning and good teams usually have that kind of inning," said Forret. "After that, I locked in after their pitcher made me mad and when I get mad, I turn into a new kind of machine and that's what they got."

"I'm glad he pitched the entire game," said Hill on Forret. "While we were monitoring his pitch and he nearly reaches his limit and I'm glad he got the final three outs. He was definitely the story of the game tonight."

Moran would be hit his first loss and bump to 8-1 after giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts in four and a third innings. Sophomore Ryan Brown threw a third of a scoreless inning of relief, while freshman Chase Chappell threw three and a third scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit with five strikeouts.

Almonte and Gilbert lead the way in hitting as they each had two hits and one stolen base. Almonte added one RBI and one run.

Karstetter (1-for-4, one run), Lopez (1-for-4, one RBI), Woodburn (1-for-3, one RBI and one walk) and sophomore Victor Sanchez (1-for-2) had the remaining four hits, while Ismaili (one RBI), Morales (one run) and Moreno (one run) also contributed in the game.

For the Saints, Herrholz lead the way offensively as he finished 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Notes:

With his one hit, Karstetter now has 230 career hits.

With his one walk, Woodburn now has 47 this season (87th in his career). He is now 18 away from surpassing Jody Reed (59, 1982) for the single season record and 23 away from breaking Joey Collis (109, 1994-95) for the career walks record.

Other Regional Scores:

#3 College of Central Florida (47-6) defeated Florida Southwestern (31-21) 11-3 in eight innings.

#14 Miami Dade (32-13-1) defeated Pensacola State (34-17) 11-3 in seven innings.

Polk State (32-21) defeated Northwest Florida State (30-16-1) by a score of 5-3.

Up Next:

The Manatees will to complete the sweep in regionals over Santa Fe. Freshman Ed Wagner (8-1, 3.63 ERA) will be given the nod to start for the Manatees, while the Saints will likely go with sophomore Corey Braun (6-1, 3.70 ERA).

While game two is at Wynn Field, the Manatees will be the away team for the game.

SCF Baseball Close Regular Season with Win

Bradenton, Fla - The RV SCF baseball team (33-23, 18-6 Suncoast) closed out the regular season at Robert C. Wynn Field as they defeated the IMG Academy postgraduate team 11-6.

“It was good to play a game so we didn't have to sit so long between our last game last Wednesday and open up with the state tournament Friday,” said head coach Tim Hill II. “I thought it was important to get this game as a tune up for us. I thought IMG did pretty good against us. They threw some decent arms at us, but it was good to have a competitive game and nice to come out on top.”

“We knew it was the last game before going to the playoffs,” said sophomore Mario Lopez, Jr. “We wanted to finish on a good note rolling into a Friday and we did a good job of that.”

“Our pitchers threw a lot of strikes today and establish the fastball in the zone a lot” said freshman Trey Clucas. "I think that has been the key for us when we throw strikes and we keep that up, we're tough to beat. The hitters did really well too and it was a great team win overall.”

“I thought it was a great team win overall,” said freshman Bryan Gomez. “Pitching did great and the batters swung the ball really well. We had a few bumps in the road, but we got the job done.”

Hill sent Gomez to start the first inning. After the first inning went scoreless and Gomez finished his inning with two strikeouts, freshman Brandon Clarke would come in at the top of the second and do the same result as Gomez as he struck out two batters.

In the bottom of the second, the Manatees would get on the board first beginning with a leadoff single by Lopez. After sophomore Ben Gilbert drew a one out walk, sophomore Austin Dearing would chop a hard ground ball to right to bring in Lopez for the first run. Classmate Liam Moreno would then bring in Gilbert with a groundout to make it 2-0 SCF.

Sophomore Ryan Stefiuk would then come in at the top of the third and breeze through with ease. In the bottom half of the inning, the Manatees would extend the lead further as Lopez would bring in sophomores Kevin Karstetter and Brayden Woodburn with a three-run homer off the right field scoreboard for his sixth of the season to make it 5-0 SCF.

The Manatees would then send freshman Jeremy Weaver to the mound for the fourth before the Ascenders scored on a failed pickoff attempt and a wild pitch. In the bottom half of the inning, the Manatees would make the score 6-2 after a sacrifice fly by Karstetter brought in Moreno.

Freshman Ed Wagner would then come in at the top of the fifth and breeze through it. In the bottom half of the inning, the Manatees continued to bring in more runs. After Lopez (single), Gilbert (walk) and freshman LT Cockril (walk) loaded the bases, Dearing would pop a single to left to bring in Lopez before Moreno drove in Cockrill with a sacrifice fly to make it 8-2.

Sophomore Cameron Clines would then come in at the top of the sixth, but would give up three runs on a two-run double and and an RBI single to make it 8-5 still in favor of SCF. Clines would get out of it and strike out the next two batters.

After sophomore Nick Romagnola shut out the seventh and Clucas shutout the eighth, the Manatees would add their final runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning. After a single by Karstetter and a walk drawn by sophomore Lucas Ismaili, freshman Evan Mastromauro would pop a double to right to bring in Karstetter and Ismaili before Lopez drove Mastromauro with a single to left to make it 11-5 SCF.

The Ascenders would add one final run off of a solo home run, but freshman Preston Wetherell shook it off and sealed the deal for a Manatee win.

Gomez would earn a no-decision after throwing one scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Wagner would improve to 8-1 after throwing one scoreless inning of relief.

Three Manatees finished with a multi-hit game. Lopez would lead the way in hitting and offense as he finished a game-high 4-for-5 with a home run, four RBI and three runs scored.

"I knew we had a couple days off and I wanted to clean things up with those two days," said Lopez. "The biggest thing is to be confident come Friday."

"Mario had a good day," said Hill on Lopez. "It was nice to see that home run go backside off the scoreboard. He swung the bat really good."

Karstetter would finish 2-for-3 with an RBI, two runs and one walk, while Dearing rounded out the order finishing 2-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base.

Ismaili (1-for-4, one run), Mastromauro (1-for-2, two RBI and one run), Woodburn (1-for-3, one run) and freshman Erick Almonte (1-for-5) had the remaining two hits, while Cockrill (one run and one walk), Gilbert (one run and two walks) and Moreno (two RBI and one run), Clarke (one scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts), Stefiuk (one scoreless inning of relief with one strikeout), Weaver (one inning of relief with one walk and three strikeouts), Clines (one inning with two walks and three steikouts), Romagnola (one scoreless inning of relief), Clucas (one scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts) and Wetherell (one inning of relief with two strkeouts) also contributed in the game.

Notes:

With his two hits and one RBI, Karstetter now has 229 career hits and 164 career RBI. Additionally with the the double, it was his 30th this season and the 58th in his career. He is four away from setting the single season doubles record held by Paul Stryhas (1997).

Up Next:

While the regular season has come to a close, the Manatees will continue to play on as they face #9 Santa Fe (39-8) in the regional portion of the NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament. It will be best two out of three game and will take place at Wynn Field on Friday night, May 5 at 6 and Saturday afternoon, May 6 at 1 pm. If necessary, game three will take place Sunday afternoon, May 7 at 1 pm.

Freshman Michael Forret (10-2, 3.38 ERA) will be given the nod to start game one, while Wagner (8-1, 3.65 ERA) will start game two.