SCF Baseball Takes Home Five Awards

Bradenton, Fla - As the #22 SCF baseball team prepares for the final four in the NJCAA Region 8 Baseball Tournament, five of the players were able to take home conference recognitions for their hard work on the field, which was highlighted by freshman Lochlan Radloff winning the Citrus Conference Pitcher of the Year accolade. Radloff also joins freshman Myles Davis and sophomore Luke Boykin on the All-Citrus Conference First Team, while freshman Aidan Ray and sophomore Hayden Gustavson were named to All-Citrus Conference Second Team.

"Very proud of Lochlan, Luke, Myles, Aidan and Hayden for their hard work on the field," said head coach Tim Hill II. "They really deserved this recognition for the work they have done for this season."

Radloff became the fourth Manatee under Hill II to win conference pitcher of the year (Robby Kalaf [2013], Zach Attianese [2018], Michael Forret [2023]). The local product from Lakewood Ranch High School is currently 7-4 with a 3.53 ERA, 32 walks and 93 strikeouts in 81.21 innings of work while throwing six complete games (five of them being shutouts), which is #1 in the state and tied for #1 in the nation. Additionally, Radloff was named as one of the top 10 players in the Citrus Conference. In his start at regionals, he earned a no-decision after throwing six and a third innings with two strikeouts.

"Lochlan is incredible and deserved to win conference pitcher of the year," said Hill II on Radloff. "He's super competitive and had some really good games for us, which even included three straight shutouts. I still think there's a lot of room for hims to keep getting better."

Davis, who has been the team's starting designated hitter after returning to the lineup on March 18, is currently batting .374 with 55 hits, 35 runs, five home runs and 34 RBI. Additionally, the native of Marion, Iowa is currently on a 17-game hitting streak, dating back to April 3.

"Myles has been slowed down by a few injuries, but he has been one of our best hitters," said Hill II on Davis. He has a great approach and good balance in the box where he has been getting some really big hits for us.

Boykin is currently batting .342 with 53 hits, 44 runs, 18 home runs and 48 RBI. His 18 home runs ranks #2 in the state and #10 in the nation.

"Luke winning first team all-conference was well deserved," said Hill II on Boykin. "He improved a lot from last year and proved that in his hitting this year. He's been a really huge par of this team's path to success."

After transitioning from a relief pitcher to starting pitcher, Ray, a native of Anchorage, Alaska, finished the regular season 5-2 with a 4.72 ERA, 36 walks and 69 strikeouts in 68.2 innings.

"Aidan's progression has been really good," said Hill II on Ray. "He's got good stuff and he's continuing to learn how to us the stuff we taught him while being competitive and keeping his emotions under control, so it was nice to see him do well.

Guastavson, who earned second team recognition as a catcher, is currently batting .340 with 49 hits, 36 runs, two home runs and 31 RBI. He went 4-for-8 in the regionals with two RBI. In fact, Gustavson hit the clutch RBI single that gave the Manatees the win over Northwest Florida State for game one of the regionals.

"If you would have told me starting this season he'd be our number one catcher and do something, I'd say probably not," said Hill II. "I think Hayden has worked really had behind the plate to become a pretty good defensive catcher. He's not just a defensive guy, he gives us a lot of offense, knows how to play the game, plays hard and is very versatile while playing other positions when he is not a catcher, but you'll really see the improvement from him behind the plate and has been a key to our success."

The Manatees look to add more to their regime as they face #6 Florida Southwestern to open the final four of the tournament.

Boykin Named Player of the Week

Bradenton, Fla. - While the #22 SCF baseball team prepares for the final four of the NJCAA Region 8 State Baseball Tournament, sophomore Luke Boykin was able to add another weekly accolade to the trophy case as he was named the NJCAA Region 8 Player of the Week. Boykin's weekly award marks the eighth time the Manatees won a weekly award and the second straight week that they won the player of the week award (Myles Davis: April 29).

Boykin is coming off of helping the Manatees' sweep over RV Northwest Florida State in the Niceville Regional. There, he would go 4-for-9 (.444) with three home runs, five runs scored and seven RBI. In the second game of regionals, he would hit two home runs with three runs scored and four RBI. In fact, not only was he the second Manatee to have a multi-home run game this season (first being Myles Davis), but he is the first Manatee to hit two home runs in a postseason game under head coach Tim Hill II's leadership.

Currently, the transfer from the University of Georgia is batting .342 with 53 hits, 44 runs, 18 home runs and 48 RBI. In fact, Boykin's 18 home runs are not only ranked #2 in the state, but are ranked #10 in the nation.

Boykin and the Manatees will look to continue to play strongly in the postseason as they face #7 Florida Southwestern State on May 9.

SCF Baseball Set for Final Four

Bradenton, Fla - After a successful sweep in regional, the #22 SCF baseball team (37-19) will now look to set their sights on the next task of the NJCAA Region 8 State DI Baseball Tournament and that is the final four. The Manatees will take on #6 Florida Southwestern (41-14) at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida Friday afternoon, May 9 at 1 pm.

Final Four:

Friday, May 9 - 
 #7 Florida Southwestern vs #25 SCF, 1 pm

 #11 Gulf Coast State vs Central Florida, 5 pm

Saturday, May 13 - 

Game one loser vs game two loser, 1 pm
Game one winner vs Game two winner, 5 pm

Sunday, May 14 - 

Game four loser vs Game three winner, 1 pm

Game four winner vs Game five loser, 5 pm

Monday, May 15 (if necessary) - 

Game six winner vs Game six loser (if team loses), 10 am.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of sweeping Northwest Florida State in the Niceville Regionals of the NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament. They would win game one 13-9 before winning game two 11-6. As a result of their wins in regionals, they would punch their ticket to the final four of the tournament. Additionally, the Manatees bumped up to #22 in the nation in the NJCAA Top 25 National Polls.

Baseball Awards:
Both the Citrus and Panhandle conferences have certain awards and accolades: Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Fireman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, FCSAA All-State (first and second team), Jean Williams Scholar-Athlete Award (FCSAA All-State), FCSAA All-Tournament Team, FCSAA All-Tournament Team MVP and FCSAA All-Tournament Team Coach of the Year. The first team and second team is placed individually by position including designated hitter.

Citrus Conference Coach of the Year:

The Citrus Conference Coach of the Year award would be awarded to Florida Southwestern head coach Zac Cole. Cole enters his third season as head coach for the Buccaneers and takes home his first coach of the year for them.

Citrus Conference Player of the Year:

The Citrus Conference Player of the Year was awarded to Dawson Harman from Central Florida. Harman, a transfer from High Point University, is currently batting .383 with 69 hits, 64 runs, 22 home runs and 61 RBI. His 22 home runs are ranked #1 in the state and ranked tied for #4 in the nation.

Citrus Conference Pitcher of the Year:

Freshman Lochlan Radloff was unanimously named the Citrus Conference Pitcher of the Year. Additionally, he was named a member of the All-Citrus Conference First Team and on the Citrus Conference Top 10 Players List.

Radloff is currently 7-4 overall with a 3.53 ERA, 32 walks and 93 strikeouts in 81.2 innings of work. In addition, he has thrown six complete games (five shutouts), which is #1 in the state and tied for #1 in the nation, while his 93 strikeouts rank #1 in the state and #6 in the nation. In his last start against Northwest Florida State, Radloff threw six and a third innings with two strikeouts for a no-decision.

Citrus Conference Defensive Player of the Year:

Sophomore Jordan Thomas from Polk State was named the Citrus Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Thomas had a 1.000 fielding percentage with 102 putouts and six assists with no errors while batting .346 with 63 hits, 36 runs, one home run, 36 RBI and 18 stolen bases. Additionally, he was named a member of the Citrus Conference Second Team and Citrus Conference All-Defensive Team.

Citrus Conference Fireman of the Year:

The Citrus Conference Fireman of the Year was awarded to sophomore Justin Minaberry from Indian River State. Minaberry is currently 4-1 with a 2.92 ERA, four saves, 15 walks and 55 strikeouts in 37 innings. He was also named a member of the Citrus Conference First Team as a reliever.

Citrus Conference First Team:

Alongside Radloff, sophomore Luke Boykin and freshman Myles Davis were named to the Citrus Conference First Team.

Boykin is currently batting .342 with 53 hits, 44 runs, 18 home runs and 48 RBI. In the Niceville Regional, the transfer from the University of Georgia went 4-for-9 with three home runs and seven RBI. 

Davis, who returned to the lineup from injury as the starting designated hitter, is currently batting .382 with 60 hits, 38 runs, six home runs and 36 RBI. At the regionals, Davis went 5-for-10 with a home run and two RBI. Currently, the native of Marion, Iowa is on a 17-game hitting streak.

Other members that joined the All-Citrus First Team are the following by team:

Hillsborough: Angel Matos (C)

Polk State: Jake Echols (P)

Florida Southwestern: Jake Mueller (INF), Devin Parks (OF), Carlos Sanchez (OF), Nik Periera (C), Abel Albarran (P), Josiah Velazquez (P)

Indian River State: Maikol Lucena (INF), Jacob Souza (OF), Brett Patten (OF), Jake Weatherspoon (C), Lucas Glendinning (P), Justin Minaberry (P)

Miami Dade: Cain Copeland (INF), Michael Petite (OF), Jordan Vargas (P)

Central Florida: Dawson Harman (INF), Victor Martinez (DH)

Eastern Florida State: Owen Simmons (P)

Santa Fe: Robert Nedry (INF), Ryan Chase (INF)

Citrus Conference Second Team:

Sophomore Hayden Gustavson and freshman Aidan Ray were named to the Citrus Conference Second Team.

Gustavson, who primarily plays as a catcher and corner infielder, is currently batting .340 with 49 hits, 36 runs, two home runs and 31 RBI. At the Niceville Regionals, he went 4-for-8 with two RBI, which included hitting the go-ahead run in the first game.

After transitioning from a middle relief to opening starting pitcher on March 20, Ray has made an improvement to the Manatees' rotation. Currently, the Alaskan native is 5-2 with a 4.72 ERA, one save, 36 walks and 69 strikeouts in 68.2 innings of work. He earned the win against Northwest Florida State throwing five and two-thirds innings with five strikeouts.

Other members that joined SCF on the All-Suncoast Second Team included the following by teams:

St. Pete: Jose Rangel (INF), Mel Rubiera (OF)

Polk State: Jordan Thomas (OF), Wade Johnson (P)

Florida Southwestern: Anthony Ruocco (INF), Luke Orfi (INF), Brock Knoerr (DH), Andrew McLaughlin (P), 

Seminole State College of Florida: Juan Orozco (INF), Gialdri Gomez (OF)

Indian River State: Shane Lavin (P), Sammy Beir (P)

Miami Dade: Talan Beckford (INF), Santiago Carriles (C)

Central Florida: Jay Jung (P)

Eastern Florida State: Jason Mack (INF), Jeff Davis (OF), Bo Tabola (C), Michael Benedict (P)

Santa Fe: Zach Dejesus (OF), Lucas Johns (P)

Wild Ones:

Alongside the conference selected, sophomores Oscar Hernandez, Mario Trivella, Connor O'Sullivan and Daniel Hartley, redshirt freshman Cole Dement, and freshmen Ben Ryan, Holden Brauner, Mattie Counts, Ryan Kaitz, Clayton Evans, Austin Monahan and Will Rawls play as the wildcards of the team.

Hernandez, who is the #3 starting pitcher, is currently 8-4 with a 5.15 ERA, 21 walks and 53 strikeouts in 73.1 innings of work. The upcoming transfer for the University of Tampa earned the win over St. Pete after throwing a five-inning complete game with four strikeouts in his last start. Additionally, his eight wins are ranked #3 in the state and tied for #24 in the nation.

Trivella is currently batting .318 with 54 hits, 48 runs, seven home runs and 43 RBI. He went 2-for-9 against Northwest Florida State with a home run, two RBI and four runs scored.

O'Sullivan is currently batting .313 with 35 hits, 25 runs, one home run and 18 RBI.

Hartley, who has played primarily as the closing pitcher, is currently 4-1 with a 2.55 ERA, four saves, five walks and 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings of work. He earned the win over Northwest Florida State after throwing one and two-thirds innings of relief with four strikeouts.

Dement, who played as the setup pitcher, is currently 3-2 with a 3.32 ERA, three saves, 16 walks and 57 strikeouts in 40.2 innings. He threw one inning of relief with two strikeouts.

Ryan, who has been the secondary power hitter, is batting .318 with 47 hits, 44 runs, eight home runs and 46 RBI.

Brauner is batting .320 with 48 hits, 29 runs, five home runs and 33 RBI.

Counts, who has played as a speedster and contact batter, is currently batting .307 with 35 hits, 32 runs and 26 RBI.

Kaitz is currently batting .280 with 23 hits, 20 runs, three home runs and 17 RBI.

Evans, who has played a primary role as Radloff's starting catcher, is batting .273 with 21 hits, 16 runs, three home runs and 15 RBI. He played a key role in game one of the Niceville Regionals by providing insurance runs as he went 1-for-3 with two RBI and two walks.

Monahan played one of his best games in the Niceville Regionals where he threw three and a third scoreless innings with two strikeouts. He is currently 0-1 with a 4.67 ERA, two saves, eight walks and 16 strikeouts in 27 innings.

Rawls, who has played a key role in the lineup, is currently batting .362 with 17 hits, 13 runs and 11 RBI. He went 2-for-4 with a run in game two of the Niceville Regionals.

Scouting #6 Florida Southwestern:

The Buccaneers, who are ranked #6 in the nation and won the Citrus Conference Regular Season Championship, are coming off of winning their hosted Fort Myers Regional over Pensacola State to punch their ticket to the final four. They would fall 12-6 in game one before winning games two and three 11-3 and 9-3 respectively.

At the plate, sophomore Jake Mueller leads the way offensively batting .337 with 65 hits, 13 home runs and 59 RBI. He was named a member of the All-Citrus Conference First Team.

Meanwhile, sophomore Abel Albarran leads the way for the Buccaneers on the mound as he is 6-1 with a 3.96 ERA, one save, 36 walks and 61 strikeouts in 63.2 innings. Like Mueller, Albarran was named a member of the All-Citrus Conference First Team.

Mueller and Albarran are joined by eight other players on the All-Citrus Conference First and Second Teams: Devin Parks (.370, 51 hits, five home runs and 36 RBI), Carlos Sanchez (.320, 63 hits, seven home runs and 55 RBI), Nik Periera (.351, 53 hits, 10 home runs and 41 RBI), Josiah Velazquez (2-2, 3.26 ERA, five saves, 10 walks and 43 strikeouts), Anthony Ruocco (.374, 70 hits, two home runs and 39 RBI), Luke Orfi (.342, 67 hits, six home runs and 37 RBI), Brock Knoerr (.338, 47 hits and 32 RBI) and Andrew McLaughlin (5-3, 3.12 ERA, 18 walks and 47 strikeouts).

How to Keep Up:

Livestats will be provided by GameChanger and all games will air on the FCSAA Digital Network.

Livestats Link - https://web.gc.com/teams/n7j7U9bdJC3t/2025-spring-state-college-of-florida

Livestream Link - https://team1sports.com/fcsaa/?B=2408936

SCF Baseball Sweeps Niceville Regional, Advances to Final Four

Niceville, Fla - The #25 SCF baseball team (37-19) have officially punched their ticket to the final four of the NJCAA Region 8 State Baseball Tournament as they defeated #18 Northwest Florida State (32-17) 11-6 in the Niceville Regional. 

"I'm really happy for the guys and proud of the effort they gave up here," said head coach Tim Hill II. "It's not an easy thing to do to sweep somebody up at their place where both games were a battle. I'm happy for the guys in our program to be back in the final four again. We're looking to keep getting better so we can make a run next weekend in Port Charlotte."

"I thought the team played great," said sophomore Luke Boykin. "The energy was through the roofs from the first pitch of the series to the last. We really wanted the win. Through all of it, it feels good but the job isn't finished. Winning this upcoming weekend will be better."

"Overall, I feel we played great this weekend," said freshman Austin Monahan. "The pitchers threw well and the hitters put up plenty of run support. All in all, it was a great experience to win the regional and go to the final four.

Hill II sent freshman Aidan Ray (4-2, 4.29 ERA) to the mound, while Northwest Florida State head coach Doug Martin went with freshman Thomas Conrad (7-3, 2.73 ERA) to counter.

The Manatees, who were the home team for game two of the regionals, would open on the board first in the bottom of the first. After freshman Mattie Counts reached on a fielding error and classmate Myles Davis hit an infield single, sophomore Luke Boykin would once again show off his power as he sent a three-run homer to center for his 17th of the season and give SCF a 3-0 lead.

After the second inning went scoreless, the Manatees would increase their lead as Boykin began the bottom of the third with a leadoff solo home run to center for his 18th of the season and second of the game. Two batters later, sophomore Mario Trivella would reach second on fielding error before sophomore Hayden Gustavson chopped an infield single to the pitcher to bring in Trivella and advance to second on an error to make it 5-0 SCF.

At the top of the fourth, the Raiders would get their first run on the board as sophomore David Alvarez would send a solo home run to left for his ninth of the season, but the Manatees would respond back in the bottom half of the inning beginning with a leadoff single by freshman Will Rawls and Counts drawing a walk. After Boykin drew a walk to load the bases, freshman Holden Brauner would line a single towards the second baseman to bring in Rawls before Counts and Boykin scored on a fielding error to make it 8-1 SCF.

At the top of the fifth, the Raiders added to their run count as Alvarez would hit an RBI single. One inning later, Northwest Florida State would cut the lead to 8-6 as freshman Tristan Bittle would send a grand slam to left for his first collegiate home run of the season. After a run reached base on a fielding error, Hill II would pull Ray and send freshman Austin Monahan to the mound for a relief appearance where he was able to get out of the sixth.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees would put the final runs on the board beginning with back-to-back walk drawn by Trivella and Gustavson before the Raiders made a pitching change. After the change, sophomore Connor O'Sullivan would bunt and reach base on a throwing error as Trivella and Gustavson scored. One batter later, Counts would bring in O'Sullivan with sacrifice fly to make it 11-6. From there, with a final pop out to Trivella, the Manatees would seal the win in the Niceville Regionals.

Ray would improve to 5-2 after giving up six runs on five hits with six walks and five strikeouts in five and two-thirds innings. Monahan would throw three and a third scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts.

"I felt great on the mound," said Monahan. The biggest thing was I had confidence that no matter where the ball was hit, my guys behind me were making the play."

"Aidan Ray did some good things and gave us a chance to win and Austin Monahan was terrific retiring all 10 batters he faced," said Hill II on Ray and Monahan.

Conrad would fall to 7-5 after giving up eight runs (four earned) on six hits with three walks and two strikeouts in four innings. Sophomore Jackson Evers gave up two runs on one hit with two walks and two strikeouts in two innings of relief, while classmate Joe Wittig gave up one unearned run on two hits with two strikeouts in two innings of relief.

Four players had a multi-hit game for the Manatees. It was Boykin that would lead the way in hitting and offense as he went 2-for-4 with two home runs, three runs scored, four RBI and a walk. 

"I coud feel the positive energy from my teammmates at the plate," said Boykin on his batting. "When you got your guys backing you up like that, it makes it easier to put the batt on the ball. I was just happy I could do what I could to help us win."

Davis would follow going 2-for-5 with one run scored, while Brauner went 2-for-5 with an RBI and Rawls rounded out the order going 2-for-4 with a run. Gustavson had the remaining hit as he went 1-for-3 with a run.

For the Raiders, Alvarez lead the way in hitting as he went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, while Bittle lead the way offensively going 1-for-5 with a grand slam. Fielding-wise, the Raiders had seven errors in the game compared to the Manatees one.

Notes:

With his hits in the game, Davis extends his hitting streak to 17 games.

Other Regional Scores:

Central Florida (36-16) defeated #11 Indian River State (34-16) 12-1 in five innings to complete the Fort Pierce Regional.

#7 Florida Southwestern (40-14) defeated Pensacola State (27-20) 11-3 in seven innings in the Fort Myers Regional and force game three Sunday, May 4 at 1 pm.

#12 Gulf Coast State (34-14) defeated Miami Dade (31-22) 12-0 in seven innings in the Panama City Regional to force game three Sunday, May 4 at 2 pm (1 pm central).

Up Next:

The Manatees will await the winner between #7 Florida Southwestern and Pensacola State in the third game of the Fort Myers Regional.

SCF Baseball Edges Game One of Regionals

Niceville, Fla - The #25 SCF baseball team (36-19) were able to open game one of regional play in tight-knit fashion as they defeated #18 Northwest Florida State (32-16) 13-9 in the Niceville Regional of the NJCAA Region 8 State Baseball Tournament.

"It was a very hard fought game," said head coach Tim Hill II. "I thought both sides played with a lot of intensity and energy. I thought we were in control of the game the entire way until the seventh and eighth inning got away from us a little bit, but during that ninth inning the guys had some tough at-bats that became clutch hits for a big win."

Hill II sent freshman Lochlan Radloff (7-4, 3.23 ERA) to the mound, while Northwest Florida State head coach Doug Martin went with freshman Cooper Powell (5-0, 4.19 ERA) to counter.

The Manatees would open on the board first beginning with a one-out walk by freshman Myles Davis. After a double by sophomore Allan Gil Fernandez, classmate Luke Boykin would send a double to left to bring in Davis and Gil Fernandez before freshman Ben Ryan brought in Boykin with a double of his own. One batter later, sophomore Hayden Gustavson would pop a single to right to bring in Ryan to make it 4-0 SCF.

In the bottom of the second, the Raiders put their first runs on the board as freshman Sam Bradley would send a leadoff solo home run to left for his 10th of the season before redshirt sophomore Preston Murphy sent a two-run homer to left for his first of the season and cut the Manatees lead to 4-3.

At the top of the third, the Manatees began to extend their lead beginning with Boykin hitting a solo home run to left for his 16th of the season. After Ryan drew a walk, sophomore Mario Trivella would show his power as he sent a two-run homer to left for his seventh of the season to make it 7-3 SCF.

After the next two innings went scoreless, the Manatees would increase the lead further as Davis would bring in sophomore CJ Richard with a two-run homer to left for his sixth of the season and bump the Manatees' lead to 9-3.

In the bottom of the seventh, after redshirt freshman Cole Dement came in for Radlofff, the Raiders started to catch up and cut the lead to 9-7 after two sacrifice flies by sophomores Matt Farner and David Alvarez and classmate Sylas Boris scoring on an error. One inning later, the score would be tied at 9-9 after an RBI single by sophomore Mathew Keller and an RBI double by freshman Tristan Bittle before sophomore Daniel Hartley was able to finish the inning.

At the top of the ninth, the Manatees would put together their finishing touches with the rally they needed. After back-to-back singles by Trivella and sophomore Walker Vanecek before freshman Will Rawls came in to pinch run for Vanecek, Gustavson would line a single to right and bring in Rawls to make it 10-9 SCF. One batter later, freshman Clayton Evans would give the Manatees some insurance runs as he sent a double to right to bring in Trivella and Gustavson before freshman Mattie Counts brought in Evans with a single to right to make it 13-9 SCF. From there, Hartley was able to get out of the inning and seal the victory for the Manatees.

Both Radloff and Powell would earn a no-decision from their starts. Radloff gave up seven runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts in six and a third innings, while Powell gave up four runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts in one and two-third innings.

Hartley would improve to 4-1 after giving up one run on four hits with four strikeouts in one and two-thirds innings of relief, while Dement gave up one run on no hits with one walk and two strikeouts in one inning of relief.

Sophomore Bryon Rincones would fall to 2-3 after giving up four runs on four hits in two-thirds of an inning of relief.

Five Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Davis (3-for-5) and Gustavson (3-for-5) that lead the way in hitting as they each had three hits. Davis added two RBI, two runs and one walk, while Gustavson added two RBI, one run and one stolen base.

Boykin would lead the way offensively as he went 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs and three RBI, while Trivella (2-for-5) and freshman Holden Brauner (2-for-4) rounded out the order also with two hits each. Trivella would also add two runs and two RBI to the mix.

Richard (1-for-5, one run), Gil Fernandez (1-for-4, one run), Ryan (1-for-3, two runs, one RBI and one walk), Evans (1-for-4, two RBI, one run and two walks), Counts (1-for-1, one RBI) and Vanecek (1-for-1) had the remaining hits for the Manatees.

For the Raiders, Murphy would lead the way offensively as he went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI.

Other Regional Scores:

Pensacola State (27-19) defeated #7 Florida Southwestern (39-14) 12-6 in the Fort Myers Regional.

Central Florida (35-16) defeated #11 Indian River State (34-15) 13-4 in the Fort Pierce Regional.

Miami Dade (31-21) defeated #12 Gulf Coast State 5-3 in the Panama City Beach Regional.

Regional Schedule (May 2):

#25 SCF vs #18 Northwest Florida State (@2 pm/1 pm central) - Niceville Regional

#12 Gulf Coast State vs Miami Dade (@ 3 pm/ 2 pm central) - Panama City Regional

#11 Indian River State vs Central Florida (@1 pm/12 pm central) - Fort Pierce Regional

#7 Florida Southwestern vs Pensacola State (@1 pm/12 pm central) - Fort Myers Regional

Up Next:

The Manatees will look to go for the sweep over Northwest Florida State Saturday afternoon, May 3 at 2 pm (1 pm eastern). 

Davis Takes Home Two Weekly Accolades

Bradenton, Fla. - Freshman Myles Davis took home two weekly awards for the SCF baseball team as he was not only named the NJCAA Region 8 Player of the Week, but was named the NJCAA National Player of the Week. He became the first Manatee since Brandon Fields (2022) to receive the national weekly award.

Davis, a native of Marion, Iowa, batted .625 (10-for-16) with three home runs and nine RBI in four games last week against then #11 Florida Southwestern (now #7) and St. Pete. He is currently batting .374 with 55 hits, 35 runs, five home runs and 34 RBI as the starting DH.

Against FSW, Davis went 4-for-5 with two home runs, four runs scored and five RBI, in which he was the first Manatee to hit a multi-home run game since Owen Ayers on March 28, 2022. In the series against St. Pete, Davis went 6-for-11 with a home run and four RBI.

Davis and the Manatees will look to keep their momentum going as they travel to Niceville to take on Northwest Florida State in the Niceville Regional of the NJCAA Region 8 State Baseball Tournament.

SCF Baseball Reach NJCAA Top 25 Polls

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF baseball team rose in the ranks nationally as they landed at #25 in the NJCAA National Poll on Monday. 

The Manatees had a busy and important week in their last four games of the regular season.  On Tuesday, they would win an 12-11 extra inning game over then #11 Florida Southwestern (now #7). Following that win over #11 FSW, the Manatees would head into the weekend against St. Pete College where they would sweep them by scores of 12-2, 7-4 and 13-2. As a result, they would finish in third place in the Citrus Conference with a helping hand from then #7 Indian River State (now #11) winning a doubleheader and the series over then #21 Central Florida. 

The Manatees finished the regular season 35-19 with nine wins over Top 25 ranked opponents at the NJCAA Division I and II levels. SCF will now focus on the postseason where they will be on the road in a best-of-three series Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the Nicevillw Regional at the NWFSC Baseball Complex.

SCF Baseball Sweeps SPC in Regular Season Finale

Clearwater, Fla - The SCF baseball team (35-19, 20-13 Citrus) were able to take their second sweep of Citrus Conference play on the road as they defeated St. Pete (9-39, 6-27 Citrus) 7-4 in nine innings and 15-2 in five innings on St. Pete's sophomore day. With the two wins and #7 Indian River State taking two wins over #21 Central Florida in their doubleheader, the Manatees finished third in the Citrus Conference.

"It was nice to finish the season on a positive note," said head coach Tim Hill II. "It’s always  tough to sweep teams in our conference when were down to our last out in the first game, but Luke (Boykin), Ryan (Kaitz) and Mario (Trivella) had some tough at-bats to give us the lead and then we did what we needed to do in extra innings. The bats came alive better in the second game and Oscar threw well. We have some guys in our lineup that can hit the ball out, so that obviously helped us today, especially Myles (Davis), who had a big week for us. I'm very glad to be back in postseason for our 50th state tournament appearance and I'm so very happy for the guys who have worked hard to get us back into the state tournament.

"Overall, I thought we played very well," said sophomore Oscar Hernandez. "The first game was a bit of a battle, but good teams are able to win games like that. The sweep was definitely huge for us to gain momentum before next week while still locking in on the little things for the playoffs. Making the playoffs feels great, but we know the job is far from over. Getting this program back to the playoffs was the first step and now we have to keep winning."

"It felt good to take this series," said sophomore Walker Vanecek. "We took care of who we needed to take care of."

"We definitely handled our business today," said sophomore Connor O'Sullivan. "We had a lot of contributions from a lot of different players. It was a nice series series win and sweep as a team. Going into the playoffs with all this positive momentum cannot be understated. We are all very excited for the opportunity that we have in front of us in the next coming weeks."

Game One:

Hill II sent freshman Lochlan Radloff (7-4, 3.33 ERA) to start game one, while St. Pete head coach Oscar went with sophomore Mel Rubiera (0-2, 5.28 ERA) to counter.

For the first four innings of the game between Radloff and Rubiera as both pitchers were able to prevent runs from getting on the board. Eventually, the Titans would get on the board first in the bottom of the fifth after a bases loaded walk by freshman Drew Pynes and sophomore Yeriel Pastrana getting hit by a pitch would give them a 2-0 lead. The Manatees would then cut the Titans' lead to 2-1 at the top of the sixth after Vanecek drove in freshman Ryan Kaitz with a single to left to make it 2-1 SPC.

At the top of the seventh, the Manatees would take their first lead of the game as sophomore Mario Trivella would send a triple to right-center to bring in Kaitz and sophomore Luke Boykin to make it 3-2 SCF. The Titans would not go down quietly as they tied the game at 3-3 after an RBI single by Pynes before the game went into extra innings.

After the eighth went scoreless for both teams, the Manatees would rally together and retake the lead. After Boykin (hit by a pitch), Kaitz (single) and Trivella (walk) loaded the bases, Vanecek would pump up the Manatees bats as he grounded a single to center to bring in Boykin and Kaitz before sophomore Connor O'Sullivan would pop a single to center to bring in Trivella. After freshman Clayton Evans hit a single to load the bases, classmate Dominic Donatucci would bring in freshman Bernard Barnes, who came in to pinch run for Vanecek, with a groundout to make it 7-3 SCF.

The Titans would add one more run to the board as sophomore Jose Rangel would send a solo home run to right for his third of the season, but it would not be enough as the Manatees took the game and the overall series.

Both Radloff and Rubiera would each earn a no-decision in their starts. Radloff gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts in five innings, while Rubiera gave up one run on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts in five innings.

Redshirt freshman Cole Dement would get the win and improve to 3-2 after giving up one run on two hits with three strikeouts in two innings of relief. Sophomore Daniel Hartley gave up one run on three hits in two innings of relief.

Sophomore Garrett Moran would get the loss and fall to 1-2 after giving up two runs on three hits with one walk in one inning of relief.

Vanecek would be the only Manatee with a multi-hit game and lead the offense as he went 2-for-3 with three RBI.

"I felt good out there today," said Vanecek. "It felt good to get back in the groove of things timing wise."

Trivella would follow on offense as he went 1-for-2 with two RBI, one run and three walks. Boykin (1-for-4, two runs), Kaitz (1-for-1, three runs and one walk), O'Sullivan (1-for-1, one RBI), Evans (1-for-4), sophomores CJ Richard (1-for-4) and Allan Gil Fernandez (1-for-5) and freshmen Myles Davis (1-for-4, two walks) and Ben Ryan (1-for-2) had the remaining hits.

For the Titans, Rangel (3-for-3) and freshman Joseph DiCesare each had three hits, while Pynes lead the way offensively going 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Game Two:

Looking to take the sweep, Hill II sent Hernandez (7-4, 5.27 ERA) to the mound, while Espada countered with freshman Chris Conde (0-3, 9.90 ERA).

The Manatees would open on the board first at the top of the first as freshman Holden Brauner would hit a lead off solo home run to right for his fifth of the season. After Davis reached first on a fielding error, Gil Fernadez would send a triple to right-center to bring in Davis. Two batters later, freshman Mattie Counts would send a single to right to bring in Gil Fernandez to make it 3-0 SCF.

The Manatees would then extend their lead at the top of the second as O'Sullivan would show off his first bit of power as he sent a solo homer to right for his first collegiate home run of his career.

"It was a great feeling being greeted at the dugout by all of my teammates," said O'Sullivan on his first home run. "It always feels special to contribute in a big way to a big win for the team."

After freshman Will Rawls hit a single and moved to second on a groundout, Davis would show his power as well as he sent a solo home run to left-center for his fifth of the season and make it 6-0 SCF. The Titans would put in their only runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning as freshman Amarri Daniel would send a two-run homer to center for his fifth of the season and make it 6-2 still in SCF's favor. At the top of the third, Trivella would lead the inning off with power as he hit a solo home run to right for his sixth of the season. 

The lead would increase further at the top of the fourth. After Rawls and Davis each hit a single, Rawls would get caught stealing before Gil Fernandez and Ryan drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Trivella would then draw a walk of his own to bring in Davis and reload the bases before Counts lined a single to center to bring in Gil Fernandez and Ryan. Kaitz would then draw a walk to reload the bases before O'Sullivan sent a single of his own to center and bring in Trivella and Counts and Rawls lined a single to left to bring in Kaitz to make it 13-2 before sealing the victory and the series sweep.

Hernandez would improve to 8-4 after throwing a five inning complete game, giving up two runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

"I felt good, but it's very easy to pitch when your team gives you such a big cushion," said Hernandez on his game. "I love pitching for these guys and hopefully I have a few more wins left in the chamber.

Conde would fall to 0-4 on the year after giving up six runs (four earned) on six hits with one strikeout in one and a third innings. Sophomore Emilio Rodriguez would give up six runs on four hits with three walks in two and a third innings of relief, while classmate Christian Del Campo gave up one run on three hits with one walk and one strikeout in one and a third innings.

Four Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Davis and Rawls that lead the way in hitting with three hits each. Davis (3-for-4) had a home run, two RBI and three runs, while Rawls (3-for-3) had one run and one RBI.

Counts (2-for-3) and O'Sullivan (2-for-3) lead the way offensively with two hits, one run and three RBI each.

Brauner (1-for-4, one home run), Gil Fernandez (1-for-2, one RBI, two runs and one walk) and Trivella (1-for-3, one home run, two runs, two RBI and one walk) had the remaining hits.

For the Titans, freshman Lenin Nunez lead the way in hitting as he went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Daniel had the lone multi-RBI game as he went 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBI.

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

#7 Indian River State (34-14, 24-9 Citrus) swept #21 Central Florida (34-16, 19-14 Citrus) 10-0 and 8-6.

#11 Florida Southwestern (39-13, 24-9 Citrus) swept Polk State (27-28, 14-19 Citrus) 6-5 (8) and 12-0 (5).

Seminole State College of Florida (29-22, 17-16 Citrus) split with Daytona State (14-30, 12-21 Citrus) losing game one 9-3 before winning game two 12-2 in five innings.

Santa Fe (24-26, 15-18 Citrus) split with Hillsborough (20-30, 12-21 Citrus) winning game one 2-1 before losing game two 4-3.

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. #11 Florida Southwestern (39-13, 24-9)*^

2. #7 Indian River State (34-14, 24-9)*^

3. SCF (35-19, 20-13)*

4. #21 Central Florida (34-16, 19-14)*

5. Eastern Florida State (29-19, 17-14)

6. Miami Dade (28-21, 16-15)

7. Seminole State College of Florida (29-22, 17-16)

8. Santa Fe (24-26, 15-18) e

9. Polk State (27-28, 14-19) e

10. Hillsborough (20-30, 12-21) e

11. Daytona State (14-30, 12-21) e

12. St. Pete (9-39, 6-27) e

* - Clinched spot in the tournament

^ - Citrus Conference Regular Season Champions

e - eliminated from playoff contention

Up Next:

The Manatees will look to see who they face in the regionals of the NJCAA Region 8 State Baseball Tournament.

SCF Baseball Takes Win Over SPC; Secures Playoff Spot

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF baseball team (33-19, 18-13 Citrus) pulled off a second walk-off win as they defeated St. Pete (9-37, 6-25 Citrus) 12-2 in six innings via the mercy rule. As a result of their win, the Manatees clinched an automatic spot in the NJCAA Region 8 State Baseball Tournament.

"It was a nice win for sure and that win also clinched a state tournament spot for us so that was big," said head coach Tim Hill II. "After a rough start, Aidan pitched pretty well and anytime you run rule somebody, the bats must have done some good things. Just about everybody contributed. We're looking to close out the season on a positive note on Saturday to get some momentum headed to the playoffs next week."

"Overall, I felt the team did great," said freshman Mattie Counts. "We attacked early and didn't let off the gas from start to finish. Aidan (Ray) gave us a great effort on the mound limiting their offense, working out of jams and gave us a chance to run up the score. Our goal when we face St. Pete on Saturday is to relentlessly attack, quickly jump on their pitching and trust our pitchers to throw strikes while controlling the game and playing clean defense to help our pitchers stay efficient."

"I thought the team did great," said freshman Clayton Evans. "We played hard and stayed focused the entire game. For Saturday, we just need to stay locked in, play our game and finish strong."

Hill II sent freshman Aidan Ray (3-2, 4.42 ERA) to the mound, while St. Pete head coach Oscar Espada went with sophomore Andres Bermudez (1-2, 9.11 ERA) to counter.

The Titans would end up on the board first at the top of the first after an RBI triple by sophomore Jose Rangel and an RBI single by freshman Drew Pynes made it 2-0 St. Pete. The Manatees would respond in the bottom half of the inning beginning with a one-out walk by freshman Myles Davis, sophomore Allan Gil Fernandez being hit by a pitch and freshman Ben Ryan drawing a walk to load the bases, sophomore Mario Trivella would get hit by a pitch and bring in Davis and reload the bases for freshman Mattie Counts. On a 3-1 count, the transfer from the University of South Florida would clear the bases with a double to make it 4-2 SCF. One inning later, the Manatees would extend the lead to 5-2 after an RBI single by sophomore Luke Boykin drove in freshman Holden Brauner.

In the bottom of the third, the Manatees would continue adding to their lead. After a two-out single by sophomore Connor O'Sullivan and a walk by freshman Clayton Evans, Brauner would send a single to center and bring in O'Sullivan before Davis brought in Evans with a single to left to make it 7-2 SCF. One inning later, Counts would bring in Boykin with an infield single to make it 8-2 SCF.

The Titans would try to score a run at the top of the fifth off of a single by freshman Lenin Nunez, but a strong throw by Brauner would tag out sophomore Mel Rubiera at home and prevent the Titans from scoring.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Manatees would bump their run total to double digits beginning with leadoff double by Evans before moving to third on a fly out. Davis would then send a single to left to bring Evans. After Gil Fernandez reached on a fielding error, Boykin would send a double to center and bring in Davis to make 10-2 SCF. One inning later with O'Sullivan hitting a pop single to center, Evans would seal the victory for the Manatees as he hit a two-run home run to left for his third of the season and walk off the game.

"It felt amazing," said Evans on the walk-off home run. "I just wanted to help the team and I'm glad I came through."

Ray would improve to 4-2 after throwing a six-inning complete game, giving up two runs on seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

Bermudez would fall to 1-3 after giving up five runs on three hits with two walks and one strikeout in two innings. Freshman Logan Zavala gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits with two walks and one strikeout in two and a third innings of relief, while sophomore Gabriel Vargas gave up two runs on two hits in one inning of relief.

Six Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Counts that would lead the way offensively as he went 2-for-4 with four RBI.

"I felt good at the plate tonight," said Counts. "I'm definitely happy to see myself getting back on track with hard contact when my team needs it, especially in the later stages of the season when we're looking to make a playoff run."

Evans (2-for-3) and Davis (2-for-3) would follow with two hits and two RBI each. Evans added three runs, one walk and one stolen base, while Davis added two runs and one walk.

Brauner (2-for-4) and O'Sullivan (2-for-4) rounded out the order with two hits each as well. Brauner added one run, one RBI and one stolen base, while O'Sullivan added two runs and one stolen base.

Nunez would be the leader in hitting for the Titans as he went 2-for-3 with a run at the plate, while Rangel (1-for-3) and Pynes (1-for-3) each drove in a run.

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

Seminole State College of Florida (28-21, 16-15 Citrus) 7, Daytona State (13-29, 11-20 Citrus) 1

Hillsborough (19-29, 11-20 Citrus) 11, Santa Fe (23-25, 14-17 Citrus) 3

#21 Central Florida (34-14, 19-12 Citrus) 9, #7 Indian River State (32-14, 22-9 Citrus) 5

#11 Florida Southwestern (37-13, 22-9 Citrus) 7, Polk State (27-26, 14-17 Citrus) 4

Miami Dade (28-21, 16-15 Citrus) 5, Eastern Florida State (29-19, 17-14 Citrus) 3

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. #11 Florida Southwestern (37-13, 22-9) *

2. #7 Indian River State (32-14, 22-9) *

3. #21 Central Florida (34-14, 19-12) *

4. SCF (33-19, 18-13) *

5. Eastern Florida State (29-19, 17-14)

6. Miami Dade (28-21, 16-15)

7. Seminole State College of Florida (28-21, 16-15)

8. Polk State (27-26, 14-17) e

9. Santa Fe (23-25, 14-17) e

10. Hillsborough (19-29, 11-20) e

11. Daytona State (13-29, 11-20) e

12. St. Pete (9-37, 6-25) e

Up Next:

The Manatees will look to go for the sweep over St. Pete as they play them in a doubleheader at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon, April 26 at 1 and 4 pm. Freshman Lochlan Radloff (7-4, 3.33 ERA) will start game one, while sophomore Oscar Hernandez (7-4, 5.27 ERA) will start game two.

SCF Baseball Takes Doubleheader Over Santa Fe

Bradenton, Fla - The RV SCF baseball team (30-16, 17-10 Citrus) were able to take home a key doubleheader with some assistance at Wynn Field as they defeated Santa Fe (20-24, 11-16 Citrus) 9-0 and 6-4. With the sweep in their doubleheader and #7 Florida Southwestern's split with #18 Central Florida, the Manatees now have sole possession of third place.

"It was a good day today to win both games," said head coach Tim Hill II. "Pitching was very good and Lochlan (Radloff) turned in another terrific performance. He was in control the entire way. Oscar (Hernandez) threw really well in the second game and Cole Dement threw well also which was great to see. It was very encouraging to see our guys be competitive and we played hard for 16 innings. We need to play well coming down the homestretch of our season with another tough citrus conference series coming up against a good Eastern Florida State team."

"We were playing complementary baseball with different aspects of our game picking us up when we needed it," said sophomore Hayden Gustavson. "Whether it was defense, pitching, hitting or anything in between. In the end, it felt good to still take the series after dropping the first game to Santa Fe Thursday and it kept us in the hunt among the top of the conference."

"I think we played as good as we could have," said sophomore Oscar Hernandez. "We had energy from the first inning of the first game until the last inning of the second game and I believe that is exactly what we needed to do to get the series win. Taking this series was huge. We knew we needed to win both today to keep us in the hunt for the conference and after this weekend, we are just one step closer than we were last week."

"I fell like the team really took matters into their own hands today on both sides of the ball," said freshman Holden Brauner. "The pitchers went in and competed every step of the way and the hitters never backed down. It was a huge showing of maturity and competitive nature. Taking this series was huge and just keeps the train rolling on the way to the playoffs and the best time to reach your maximum performance as a team is towards the end of the season through playoffs."

Game One:

Hill II sent freshman Lochlan Radloff (6-3, 3.43 ERA) to start game one, while Santa Fe head coach Johnny Wiggs went with Matthew Pagan (4-4, 5.44 ERA) to counter.

The Manatees would be the ones to open on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first beginning with a leadoff triple by sophomore CJ Richard before freshman Myles Davis brought him in with a single to center. One batter later, after freshman Ben Ryan hit a single and sophomore Luke Boykin grounded into a fielder's choice, sophomore Mario Trivella would hit an RBI single of his own to bring in Ryan before Boykin scored on a fielding error to make it 3-0 SCF.

After the second went scoreless for both teams, the Manatees would add to their lead in the bottom of the third as Gustavson would show his speed and send a triple to right to bring in Ryan and Boykin for a 5-0 SCF lead. While the Manatees continued to hold the lead, Radloff remained calm and collected as the reigning NJCAA Region Pitcher of the Week continued to strikeout as many batters as he could.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Manatees would add their last runs of the first game. After a leadoff double by Trivella before moving to third on a passed ball, Gustavson would send a single to right and bring in Trivella. This would signal the end for Pagan as Wiggs would bring in redshirt sophomore Chase Chappell for relief work and Hill II sent freshman Dominic Donatucci to pinch run for Gustavson. After freshman Ryan Kaitz drew a walk, freshman Clayton Evans would bring in Donatucci with a double to center. Following a sacrifice fly by Richard to bring in Kaitz, Davis would send a single to center to bring in Evans and make it 9-0 SCF before they sealed the victory.

Radloff would improve to 7-3 after throwing a five-hit shutout with two walks and 12 strikeouts. It was his sixth complete game this season as well as his fifth shutout of the season.

Pagan would fall to 4-5 after giving up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with two strikeouts in five innings. Chappell would give up two runs on two hits with two walks in one inning of relief.

Four Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Gustavson that would lead the way as he went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Davis would follow going 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Trivella went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI and Ryan went 2-for-3 with two runs and a walk.

Richard (1-for-3, one run and one RBI), Boykin (1-for-3, two runs) and Evans (1-for-3, one run and one RBI) had the remaining hits for the Manatees.

Freshman Ryan Chase and sophomore Erik Blair lead the way in hitting as they each had two hits.

Game Two:

Looking to take the rubber game, Hill II sent Hernandez (6-4, 4.79 ERA) to start the second game, while Wiggs went with redshirt sophomore Lucas Johns (6-0, 3.88 ERA) to counter.

The Manatees would once again get on the board first in the bottom of the first beginning with a leadoff double by Brauner before moving to third on a groundout. After sophomore Allan Gil Fernandez got hit by a pitch, Brauner would score on a passed ball before Ryan brought in Gil Fernandez with an infield single to make it 2-0 SCF. One inning later, Davis would hit an RBI double and bring in redshirt sophomore Connor O'Sullivan to make it 3-0 SCF.

After a scoreless third, the Saints would get their first runs on the board at the top of the fourth off of a two-run single by sophomore and former Manatee Rex Smith. One inning later, they would take their first lead of the game as sophomore Robert Nedry would send a two-run homer to right for his fourth home run of the season.

The Manatees would respond in the bottom half of the inning as Gustavson would hit a triple to right and bring in Trivellla to tie the game at 4-4. One inning later, Brauner would show his power as the transfer from the University of Tennessee would hit a leadoff solo homer to right for his fourth of the season.

"Honestly, I hit the ball and just thought about 'Okay, now we have got the lead, let's go win a ballgame'," said Brauner. That run meant just as much as the other ones the guys helped the team score today. They're all huge runs when you look at it, but it definitely felt good to be back helping the team."

"Holden had some good at-bats for us in the second game," said Hill II on Brauner. "He is a very good player and gives us some pop from the left side."

After Gil Fernandez (walk), Ryan (hit by a pitch) and Boykin (hit by a pitch) loaded the bases, Trivella would hit a sacrifice fly and bring in Gil Fernandez to make it 6-4 SCF before they sealed the victory and the series.

Hernandez would improve to 7-4 after giving up four runs on 11 hits with two walks and two strikeouts in seven innings. Redshirt freshman Cole Dement would earn his third save after throwing two scoreless innings of relief with one hit and one walk.

"I thought I did well," said Hernandez. "It was not my cleanest outing, but I knew if I stayed in there and kept competing with things were going to bounce my way. I am very happy that I was able to keep my team in a position to win and finally get back in the 'W' column."

Johns would earn a no-decision after giving up three runs on eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts in three and two-thirds innings. Freshman Dylan Lovelace would fall to 3-3 after giving up three runs on two hits with two walks and one strikeout in one and two-thirds innings of relief.

Five Manatees had a multi-hit game as Brauner (2-for-5, one home run and two runs), Gil Fernandez (2-for-3 two runs and one walk), Trivella (2-for-3, one run, one RBI and one walk), Gustavson (2-for-4, one RBI) and O'Sullivan (2-for-3, one run, one walk and one stolen base) each had two hits. Gustavson lead the series going 4-for-7 with four RBI.

"My swing was in a good place today," said Gustavson. "When it wasn't, I had good hitters behind me pick me up. The RBI speak to our team's ability to get on base and produce runs.

Davis (1-for-5, one RBI), Ryan (1-for-4, one RBI) and Boykin (1-for-3) had the remaining hits for game two.

For the Saints, Nedry lead the way offensively as he finished 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

#7 Florida Southwestern (34-10, 19-8 Citrus) split with #18 Central Florida (31-13, 16-11 Citrus) in their doubleheader winning game one 10-0 (5) before losing game two 14-3 (5).

#8 Indian River State (30-11, 20-7 Citrus) split their doubleheader with Miami Dade (25-19, 14-13 Citrus) winning game one 8-5 (10) before losing game two 8-7.

Polk State (25-23, 13-14 Citrus) split with St. Pete (9-33, 6-21 Citrus) winning game one 5-4 before losing game two 9-6.

Seminole State College of Florida (25-20, 13-14 Citrus) swept Hillsborough (17-26, 9-18 Citrus) 4-0 and 9-6

Eastern Florida State (26-18, 14-13 Citrus) swept Daytona State (12-26, 10-17 Citrus) 4-0 and 9-1 in their doubleheader

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. #8 Indian River State (30-11, 20-7)

2. #7 Florida Southwestern (34-10, 19-8)

3. RV SCF (30-16, 17-10)

4. #18 Central Florida (31-13, 16-11)

5. Eastern Florida State (26-18, 14-13)

6. Miami Dade (25-19, 14-13) 

7. Seminole State College of Florida (25-20, 13-14)

8. Polk State (25-23, 13-14)

9. Santa Fe (20-24, 11-16)

10. Daytona State (12-26, 10-17)

11. Hillsborough (17-26, 9-18)

12. St. Pete (9-33, 6-21)

Up Next:

The Manatees will play Hillsborough for another non-conference matchup against a conference opponent Tuesday afternoon, April 15 at 3 pm before turning their focus on Eastern Florida State in conference play.

SCF Baseball Slays Tampa JV

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF baseball team (28-15, 15-9 Citrus) finalized their final game against the University of Tampa JV (12-11) as they won by a final score of 15-4.

"A good win tonight," said head coach Tim Hill II. "Anytime you only give up one hit, the pitchers did something good but we had a few too many walks. Allan (Gil Fernandez) and Luke (Boykin) provided some pop tonight with a couple of home runs. We count on those guys to hit in the middle of our lineup and they are both good hitters. A big three game series coming up with Santa Fe and I'm looking for our guys to finish strong over these next three weekends."

Hill II sent sophomore Gavyn Bowen (1-0, 8.69 ERA) to the mound, while Tampa JV head coach Mark Johnson went with freshman Jack Calcagno to counter.

The Manatees would rally on the board first in the bottom of the first beginning with leadoff walk by sophomore CJ Richard. After Richard stole second, freshman Myles Davis would send a double to right to bring in Richard. Following a one-out walk drawn by sophomore Allan Gil Fernandez, classmate Luke Boykin would continue his power swing as he sent a three-run homer to left for his 12th of the season before the Spartans made a pitching change. After sophomore Mario Trivella drew a walk and freshman Ryan Kaitz hit a single, freshman Dominic Donatucci would hit a two-out infield single to bring in Trivella before Kaitz scored on a wild pitch. The Manatees would bat around as Richard would send a double to right to bring in Donatucci to make it 7-0 SCF.

In the bottom of the second, the Manatees would extend their lead. After Gil Fernandez and Boykin hit back-to-back singles, Gil Fernandez would score on a balk before Trivella drew a walk. Kaitz would then single to right to bring in Boykin before Trivella was called out at third. Freshman Will Rawls would then draw an intentional walk before Kaitz scored on a botched fielder's choice to make it 10-0 SCF.

The Manatees continued to add to their offense in the bottom of the third. After Davis drew a walk and freshman Ben Ryan reached base on a fielding error, Gil Fernandez would tower a three-run homer to center for his seventh of the season and giving the Manatees a 13-0 lead.

The Spartans would then get on the board at the top of the fifth as sophomore Brian O'Connell III would hit a grand slam for his third of the season. The Manatees would respond in the bottom half of the inning with their final runs of the game. After back-to-back singles by freshmen Bernard Barnes and Clayton Evans, Kaitz would send a single to right to bring in Barnes before Evans scored on a passed ball to make it 15-4 SCF before the Manatees sealed the victory.

Five pitchers combined for a one-hitter. Bowen would earn a no-decision after throwing three scoreless innings with four walks and six strikeouts in three innings. Freshman James Kleiven would get the win and improve to 2-0 after throwing one scoreless inning of relief. Freshmen Duke McCarron (one inning of relief with three walks and two strikeouts) and Holden Brauner (one inning of relief with one walk and one strikeout) and sophomore Landon O'Donnell (one inning of relief with three strikeouts).

Calcagno would get the loss after giving up four runs on two hits with two walks in one-third of an inning.

Four Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Kaitz that lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Gil Fernandez (2-for-2) and Boykin (2-for-3) lead the way in offense with a home run and three RBI each. Gil Fernandez added a walk, three runs and a stolen base and Boykin added two runs. Richard would round out the order going 2-for-4 with a run, one RBI, one walk and one stolen base.

Davis (1-for-3, two runs, one RBI and two walks), Donatucci (1-for-3, one run, one RBI and one walk), Barnes (1-for-1, one run) and Evans (1-for-2, one run) had the remaining hits for the Manatees.

O'Connell would lead have the only hit for the Spartans as he went 1-for-2 with a grand slam.

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

Miami Dade (24-12, 13-11 Citrus) defeated Millenia Atlantic University 12-8.

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. #8 Indian River State (28-10, 18-6)

2. #7 Florida Southwestern (31-9, 17-7)

3. #18 Central Florida (30-11, 15-9)

4. RV SCF (28-15. 15-9)

5. Miami Dade (24-12, 13-11)

6. Eastern Florida State (23-17, 12-12)

7. Polk State (23-21, 12-12)

8. Seminole State College of Florida (23-18, 11-13)

9. Santa Fe (19-22, 10-14)

10. Daytona State (11-24, 9-15)

11. Hillsborough (16-23, 8-16)

12. St. Pete (6-32, 4-20)

Up Next:

The Manatees will return their focus to Citrus Conference play as they face Santa Fe College (19-22, 10-14 Citrus) for their next series.

SCF Baseball Shuts Down Indian River State

Bradenton, Fla - The RV SCF baseball team (26-13, 14-8 Citrus) continued their work in Citrus Conference play as they shutout #6 Indian River State (27-9, 17-5 Citrus) 4-0 at Wynn Field.

“I thought the guys did a good job, especially Aidan (Ray) and Cole (Dement),” said head coach Tim Hill II. “Anytime you throw a shutout, something good had to have happened. I didn’t think we swung the bats very well and we left a ton of runners on base, but Indian River also left a ton of runners on base. We're looking to improve our hitting this Saturday and to get another strong pitching performance from both Lochlan (Radloff) and Oscar (Hernandez). This is a big series for both teams and Indian River has a very good ball club and are well coached. We need to play at our best on Saturday. ”

“I felt the team did really good overall,” said freshman Aidan Ray. “We started off hot and we were solid the rest of the game, which is what a championship team does when we are headed in the right direction.”

“I thought the team did really good overall,” said redshirt freshman Cole Dement. “We did start leaving a couple of runners on base, but at the end of the day we got the hits we needed and got some runs up. Our pitch was stellar and I have to give credit to Aidan (Ray) for six shutout innings, which is all we can ask for in a pitcher.”

"I felt like the team did very well," said freshman Myles Davis. "Pitching was the story of the game thanks to Aidan and Cole and hitters did well today against some good arms, which was enough to get the job done."

Hill II sent Ray (2-0, 4.01 ERA) to the mound, while Indian River Statr head coach Frank Torre Jr. went with sophomore Lucas Glendinning (5-0, 2.55 ERA) to counter.

The Manatees would get on the board first in the bottom of the first as sophomore Allan Gil Fernandez would send an infield single to the shortstop to bring in freshman Mattie Counts. The Manatees would then extend their lead in the bottom of the second. After Counts (hit by a pitch), sophomore CJ Richard (single) and redshirt sophomore Connor O'Sullivan (walk) loaded the bases, Davis would then draw a walk and bring in Richard before classmate Holden Brauner brought in O'Sullivan after being hit by a pitch to make it 3-0 SCF.

After a scoreless third, Davis would increase the Manatees' lead further in the bottom of the fourth on a 2-1 count as the Iowan would send a solo homer to center off the centerfielder's glove for his second home run of the season.

"It felt good just trying to get on base," said Davis on his home run. "I just happened to hit it well enough on and it snuck out."

Meanwhile, Ray would get himself into a small jam with the bases loaded, but strong defense and hustle would get sophomore Maikol Lucena to popout to freshman Ben Ryan to end the inning.

After Ray finished the sixth with two strikeouts, Hill would send redshirt freshman Cole Dement to the mound for relief. After loading the bases full of Pioneers, the defense would not back down as sophomore Jake Weatherspoon would ground to sophomore Mario Trivella into a fielder's choice to end the seventh.

Dement would get into another bases loaded jam, but would not be fazed as the local product from Lakewood Ranch High School would strikeout the final two batters to seal the shutout victory.

Ray would improve to 3-0 after throwing six shutout innings with three hit, three walks and five strikeouts. Dement threw three shutout innings of relief with three hits, one walk and six strikeouts.

“I felt really good on the mound,” said Ray. “The slider was here and there, but with the fastball I felt I could really place it.”

“I thought I didn't feel as good as I could because I put some balls in place where they shouldn't be,” said Dement. "Thanks to Hayden (Gustavson) behind the plate, I was still able to get six strikeouts, which was great with the curveball and splitter really helped me.”

Glendinning would fall to 5-1 after giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Freshman Javi Miranda threw four scoreless innings of relief with three hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.

Gil Fernandez would leading in the way with the Manatees’ lone multi-hit game as he went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Davis would be the offensive leader as he went 1-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a walk.

Ryan (1-for-4), Richard (1-for-3, one run), O’Sullivan (1-for-3, one run and one walk) and sophomore Hayden Guatavson (1-for-3, one walk) had the remaining hits for the Manatees.

For the Pioneers, sophomore Brett Patten lead the way in hitting as he went 2-for-5 at the plate.

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

#19 Central Florida 11, Hillsborough 7

#10 Florida Southwestern 9, Santa Fe 0 (7)

Miami Dade 17, Daytona State 7 (8)

Eastern Florida State 7, Polk State 4

St. Pete 9, Seminole State College of Florida 7

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. #6 Indian River State (27-9, 17-5)

2. #10 Florida Southwestern (29-9, 15-7)

3. RV SCF (26-13, 14-8)

4. #19 Central Florida (28-11, 13-9)

5. Eastern Florida State (22-16, 11-11)

6. Miami Dade (21-17, 11-11)

7. Polk State (22-20, 11-11)

8. Santa Fe (19-20, 10-12)

9. Seminole State College of Florida (21-18, 9-13)

10. Daytona State (11-22, 9-13)

11. Hillsborough (16-21, 8-14)

12. St. Pete (6-30, 4-18)

Up Next:

The Manatees look to take the series over Indian River State as they will travel to Fort Pierce to take them on at Mike Eason Field Saturday afternoon, April 5 at 1 and 4 pm. Freshman Lochlan Radloff (5-3, 3.88 ERA) will start game, while sophomore Oscar Hernandez (6-3, 4.06 ERA) will start game two.

SCF Baseball Takes Series Over CF with Split

Ocala, Fla - The SCF baseball team (25-13, 13-8 Citrus) were able to take the series and upset #11 Central Florida (27-10, 12-9 Citrus) with a split winning game one 13-0 in five innings before falling 9-7 in game two.

"Today was a tough split after a good performance the first game," said head coach Tim Hill II. "While we didn't finish the job by winning both games, we still won the series. Sweeping conference opponents is not an easy thing to do. Central Florida has a very good team, but so do we. Lochlan (Radloff) was in control the whole way and really competed while the bats really put up some good runs. We're looking to keep improving against a good South Florida State team on Tuesday before facing Indian River State next weekend."

Game One:

Hill II sent Radloff (4-3, 4.28 ERA) to start game one of the doubleheader, while Central Florida head coach Marty Smith went with freshman Peyton Fall (3-1, 6.14 ERA) to counter.

The top of the first inning became one of the Manatees big innings in the game beginning with back-to-back singles by sophomore CJ Richard and freshman Myles Davis before freshman Ben Ryan sent a single to center to bring in Richard. After sophomore Luke Boykin was hit by a pitch load the bases, classmate Allan Gil Fernandez, who came off of hitting the walk off grand slam in Thursday's game at home, would draw a walk to bring in Davis and reload the bases. Sophomore Mario Trivella would then send a double to left to bring in Ryan and Boykin before freshman Ryan Kaitz drew a walk to reload the bases for sophomore Hayden Gustavson, who would also draw a walk and bring in Gil Fernandez. 

This would signal the end for Fall as Smith would send freshman Cooper Ryan to the mound. After the pitching change, Trivella would score off of a double play to make it 6-0 SCF as they batted. The Manatees would add to their lead at the top of the second as Gil Fernandez would hit a double and bring in Boykin to make it 7-0 SCF.

At the top of the third, the Manatees would add their final runs on the board. After Gustavson (single), Richard (hit by a pitch) and freshman Clayton Evans (single) loaded the bases and Davis struck out, Ryan would send a single to left and bring in Gustavson and Evans. Boykin would then reload the bases with a single before Gil Fernandez brought in Richard with a single to left and Trivella brought in Ryan with a sacrifice fly to left. Kaitz would then single to reload the bases to have the Manatees bat around before Gustavson sent a single to right to bring in Boykin and Gil Fernandez to make it 13-0 SCF before sealing the victory with the mercy rule in effect and take the series.

Radloff would improve to 5-3 after three-hit five inning shutout with five strikeouts.

Fall would drop to 3-2 after giving up six runs on four hits with three walks in no innings.

All nine Manatees in the starting lineup had at least one hit with four having a multi-hit game. It was Ryan (2-for-4), Gil Fernandez (2-for-3) and Gustavson (2-for-2) that lead the way offensively as they each had two hits and three RBI. Ryan and Gil Fernandez also added two runs each. Boykin rounded out the order going 2-for-3 with three runs scored.

Trivella also lead the offense with Ryan, Gil Fernandez and Gustavson as he went 1-for-2 with three RBI and one run. Richard (1-for-3, two runs), Davis (1-for-4, one run), Kaitz (1-for-2) and Evans (1-for-3, one run) also had a hit in the game.

Sophomores Marcus Bradshaw, Miles Curley and Armando Guirola each had one of the Patriots' three hits.

Game Two:

Looking to take the sweep, Hill II sent sophomore Oscar Hernandez (6-2, 2.96 ERA) to start game two, while Smith went with freshman Jay Jung (3-1, 3.03 ERA) to counter.

The Patriots would get on the board first in the bottom of the first as Curley would hit an RBI double. Hernandez would then get out of the inning thanks to a double play. The Manatees would then respond back at the top of the second beginning with a one out double by Trivella. After a single by Gustavson, redshirt sophomore Connor O'Sullivan would ground a single to right and bring in Trivella before freshman Mattie Counts hit a single of his own to bring in Gustavson. One batter later, Ryan would tower a three-run homer to left for his sixth of the season to give the Manatees a 5-1 lead.

The Patriots would slowly start to catch up after an RBI single by sophomore Logan Chapman before they took 6-5 lead in the bottom of the fourth after an RBI double by sophomore Dawson Harman, an RBI groundout by Curley and a two-run home run by freshman Victor Martinez for his eighth home run of the season. After the fifth went scoreless, Martinez would make it 8-5 with another two-run home run to right for his ninth of the season and second of the game.

At the top of the seventh, the Manatees would cut the lead to 8-6 as Boykin would hit an RBI double to bring in Gil Fernandez before the Patriots responded with an RBI single by freshman Tanner Swank in the bottom half of the inning.

The Manatees would add one final run at the top of the eighth as Davis scored on a fielding error, but it would be all they could produce as the Patriots took the second game.

Hernandez would fall to 6-3 after giving up eight runs on 11 hits with four walks and three strikeouts in five and a third innings. Freshman Austin Monahan gave up one unearned run on one hit with one strikeout in one and third innings of relief, while sophomore Landon O'Donnell threw one and a third scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts.

Jung would earn a no-decision after giving up five runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts in three and a third innings. Freshman Jose Paniagua would improve to 2-0 after giving up one run on one hit with four walks and five strikeouts in three and a third innings of relief while sophomore Arturo Ormaza picked up his third save after giving up one run on one hit with one walk and two strikeouts in two and a third innings.

Four Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Davis that lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-5 with a run. Counts (2-for-5), Trivella (2-for-3) and O'Sullivan (2-for-4) rounded out the order with two hits and one run each. Counts and O'Sullivan also added one RBI apiece.

Ryan would lead the way in offense as he went 1-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Boykin (1-for-5, one RBI) and Gustavson (1-for-3, one run) had the remaining hits.

For the Patriots, Martinez would lead the offense as he went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI, while Harmon lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-5 with three runs.

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

Hillsborough (16-19, 8-13 Citrus) swept their doubleheader over Miami Dade (19-17, 10-11 Citrus) 14-4 (5) and 9-4.

#7 Indian River State (27-8, 17-4 Citrus) swept Polk State (21-19, 11-10 Citrus) 3-1 and 9-6.

Santa Fe (19-19, 10-11 Citrus) swept Seminole State College (21-17, 9-12 Citrus) 12-3 and 15-4.

Eastern Florida State (21-16, 10-11 Citrus) split with St. Pete (5-30, 3-18 Citrus) losing game one 5-4 before winning game two 12-2 in five innings.

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. #7 Indian River State (27-8, 17-4)

2. #13 Florida Southwestern (28-9, 14-7)

3. SCF (25-13, 13-8)

4. #11 Central Florida (27-10, 12-9)

5. Polk State (21-19, 11-10)

6. Miami Dade (19-17, 10-11)

7. Eastern Florida State (21-16, 10-11)

8. Santa Fe (19-19, 10-11)

9. Seminole State College of Florida (21-17, 9-12)

10. Daytona State (11-21, 9-12)

11. Hillsborough (16-19, 8-13)

12. St. Pete (5-30, 3-18)

Up Next:

The Manatees return home for non-conference action as they welcome South Florida State College (25-12, 10-7 Sun Lakes) Tuesday night, April 1 at 6 pm before facing #7 Indian River State for their next conference series.

SCF Baseball Upsets CF on Walk-Off

Bradenton, Fla - Sophomore Allan Gil Fernandez's walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth propelled the SCF baseball team (24-12, 12-7 Citrus) to an 10-6 upset win over #11 Central Florida (26-9, 11-8 Citrus) at Wynn Field.

"I thought we were in control of the game the whole way through until that eighth inning hit us," said head coach Tim Hill II. "The guys knew how to respond in the ninth, which was really nice to see. Central Florida has a very good team, but we're a nationally ranked caliber team as well. It was a big conference win for us and we need to play well Saturday when we hit the road."

"I felt the team did great," said Gil Fernandez. "We were locked in on every play and we have the next pitch mentality. I thought that was the reason why we won because we were supporting each other all the time."

Hill II sent freshman Aidan Ray (2-0, 3.89 ERA) to the mound, while Central Florida head coach Marty Smith went with freshman Brayden Toro (2-2, 5.50 ERA) to counter.

After the first inning went scoreless, the Manatees would get their first runs on the board in the bottom of the second that started with back-to-back singles by sophomore Luke Boykin and freshman Holden Brauner. After sophomore Allan Gil Fernandez hit a single to left, Boykin would be called out at home trying to score before sophomore Mario Trivella loaded the bases after reaching on an error. One batter later, redshirt sophomore Connor O'Sullivan would send a single to left to bring in Brauner and Gil Fernandez before freshman Mattie Counts followed with an RBI double of his own to right to bring in Trivella for a 3-0 lead.

The Patriots would then get their first run on the board at the top of the fifth as freshman Tanner Swank would score on a wild pitch to make it 3-1 still in SCF's favor. The Manatees would respond back in the bottom half of the inning beginning with freshman Myles Davis getting hit by a pitch. After classmate Ben Ryan popped a double to left, Brauner would reach second on an error while Davis and Ryan extended SCF's lead to 5-1 before Smith sent freshman Cory Geinzer to the mound to finish the fifth.

Central Florida would then cut the Manatees to 5-4 after an RBI single by Swank and two-run triple by sophomore Marcus Bradshaw. Meanwhile, Hill II already sent redshirt freshman Cole Dement to finish the sixth.

After the seventh went scoreless, the Patriots would take their first lead of the game as sophomore Miles Curley would hit a two-run homer to left for his third of the season and gave them a 6-5 lead. Dement would finish through the inning.

Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Manatees would pull together the offense they needed. After Davis lead off with a single, sophomore CJ Richard would come in as a pinch runner and steal second before Ryan drew a walk. Freshman Ryan Kaitz would then come in to pinch run for Ryan before Smith pulled Geinzer and sent freshman Colson Altman to the mound.

After the change, Boykin would send a bunt single to third base and load the bases for Brauner, who would get hit by a pitch and bring in Richard to tie the game at 6-6. All eyes turned towards Gil Fernandez on an 0-1 count as the upcoming transfer for Florida International University towered a grand slam to left for his sixth home run of the season and second career grand slam for the walk off victory.

"When I went to the at-bat, I wanted to do the job," said Gil Fernandez. "I was looking to hit the ball far and hard to score a run and win the game. The result was a lot better than I expected when I knew it was out. My reaction was pretty exciting because I was looking for that moment and me doing it was something that has no emotion to describe but electric. When I was rounding the bases, I felt that I was on the sky and all the struggles and hard work I put in paid off in the end."

"Allan is a good hitter," said Hill II. "It was great to see him come through when the team needed it. I thought when he first hit it, the game was over because it would be at least a sacrifice fly, but obviously he got it much better that that for a walk off grand slam."

Both Ray and Toro would earn no-decision. Ray would give up four runs (three earned) on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts in five and two-thirds innings, while Toro gave up five runs (two earned) on 10 hits with two strikeouts in four and a third innings.

Dement would improve to 2-1 after giving up two runs on two hits with one walk in three and a third innings of relief.

Altman would fall to 1-1 and get a blown save after giving up three runs on two hits in no innings of relief.

Five Manatees had a multi-hit game with two having three hits. It was Gil Fernandez that lead the offense as he went 2-for-5 with a grand slam and two runs. Brauner would lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-4 with one RBI and two runs, while Boykin went 3-for-5 with a run.

Ryan would go 2-for-3 with a run and two walks, while Davis rounded out the order going 2-for-4 with a run. Counts (1-for-5, one RBI), O'Sullivan (1-for-4, two RBI) and sophomore Hayden Gustavson (1-for-4) had the remaining hits for the Manatees.

For the Patriots, Bradshaw (2-for-5, two RBI), Swank (2-for-3, one RBI and two runs) and sophomore Armando Guirola (2-for-4, one run) each had two hits in the game.

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

#13 Florida Southwestern (26-9, 12-7 Citrus) 10, Daytona State (11-19, 9-10 Citrus) 2

Miami Dade (19-15, 10-9 Citrus) 9, Hillsborough (14-19, 6-13 Citrus) 8

Seminole State College of Florida (21-15, 9-10 Citrus) 5, Santa Fe (17-19, 8-11 Citrus) 3

St. Pete (4-29, 2-17 Citrus) 7, Eastern Florida State (20-15, 9-10 Citrus) 4

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. #7 Indian River State (24-8, 14-4)

2. #13 Florida Southwestern (26-9, 12-7)

3. SCF (24-12, 12-7)

4. Polk State (21-16, 11-7)

5.  #11 Central Florida (26-9, 11-8)

6. Miami Dade (19-15, 10-9

7. Seminole State College of Florida (21-15, 9-10)

8. Eastern Florida State (20-15, 9-10)

9. Daytona State (11-19, 9-10)

10. Santa Fe (17-19, 8-11)

11. Hillsborough (14-19, 6-13)

12. St. Pete (4-29, 2-17)

Up Next:

The Manatees look to go for the series as they head to Ocala to face Central Florida at Goodlett Field Saturday afternoon, March 30 at 12 and 3 pm. Freshman Lochlan Radloff (4-3, 4.28 ERA) will be given the nod to start game one, while sophomore Oscar Hernandez (6-2, 2.96 ERA) will start game two.

SCF Baseball Takes Series with Split vs HCC

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF baseball team (22-12, 11-7 Citrus) were able to secure their fourth series in Citrus Conference play as the split with Hillsborough (13-18, 6-12 Citrus) losing game one 11-4 before winning game two 9-5 to take the series.

Game One:

Head coach Tim Hill II sent freshman Lochlan Radloff (4-2, 3.95 ERA) to start game one on the mound, while HCC head coach Raydon Leaton went with freshman Anthony Jacquez (1-4, 8.53 ERA) to counter.

Hillsborough would take the lead in the first inning after an RBI double by sophomore Angel Matos. After the second inning went scoreless, the Hawks would increase the lead to 4-0 after an two-run triple by Matos and an RBI single by sophomore Blake Opie before the Manatees got their first run on the board in the bottom of the third after an RBI triple by sophomore Mario Trivella brought in freshman Mattie Counts.

After the fourth went scoreless, the Hawks would increase their lead after a two-run single by sophomore Tyler Gundelfinger made it 6-1 before sophomore Luke Boykin showed his power with a solo home run to left for his eighth home run of the season to make it 6-2.

The Hawks would add three more runs at the top of the sixth after an RBI single by sophomore Luke Fikar, before he scored on a fielding error, and an RBI double by Opie. The Manatees would then score in the bottom half of the inning after an RBI single by Boykin brought in sophomore Hayden Gustavson and freshman Holden Brauner brought in sophomore Allan Gil Fernandez after getting hit by pitch before the Hawks scored one final run at the top of the seventh off of an RBI single by sophomore Jack Martinez before they sealed the game.

Radloff would fall to 4-3 after giving up six runs on six hits with three walks and eight strikeouts in five innings.

Jacquez would improve to 2-4 after giving up two runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts in five innings.

Boykin would lead the way offensively as he went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI, while freshman Myles Davis went 2-for-4 at the plate.

Counts (1-for-3, one run and one walk), Trivella (1-for-4, one RBI), Gustavson (1-for-3, one run and one walk) and freshman Ben Ryan (1-for-2, one walk) had the remaining four hits.

Game Two:

Looking to take the rubber game, Hill II sent sophomore Oscar Hernandez (5-2, 2.79 ERA) to the mound, while Leaton went with sophomore JD Bryan (3-2, 6.94 ERA).

The Hawks would get on the board first at the top of the first after a sacrifice fly by Matos before they increased the lead to 3-0 after a Fikar RBI double and a run scored on a fielding error.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Manatees would cut the Hawks' lead to 3-2 after redshirt sophomore Connor O'Sullivan lined a triple to right to bring in Brauner and Gustavson. The Hawks made it 4-2 after an RBI double by Gundelfinger at the top of the fifth before Boykin responded in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to left for his ninth of the season and his third in the series to cut the lead to 4-3.

After the sixth went scoreless, the Manatees would then put together the rally they were looking for in the bottom of the seventh. After Boykin drew a leadoff walk and Ryan hit a double to put runners in scoring position, the Hawks would send Nathan Aprile to come in for Bryan. This would set up a chance for Davis to bring in Boykin and Ryan as he popped a single to center to do so and give the Manatees a 5-4 lead. After Brauner reached base on a fielding error, both he and Davis would score off of three wild pitches. Gustavson would then draw a walk before Leaton sent freshman Michael Halfpenny to the mound. After O'Sullivan drew a walk and stole second, Gustavson would score on a error before freshman Dominic Donatucci would send a single to right and bring in O'Sullivan to make it 9-4 SCF.

The Hawks would add one final run at the top of the ninth after a Gundelfinger RBI double, but it would be all they could produce as the Manatees sealed the series with the victory.

Hernandez would improve to 6-2 after giving up four runs (three earned) on nine hits with two walks and four strikeouts in seven innings. Sophomore Daniel Hartley would earn his fourth save of the season after throwing one-third of a scoreless inning, while freshman Austin Monahan gave up one run on three hits with one walk and four strikeouts in one and two-thirds innings of relief.

Bryan would fall to 3-3 after giving up five runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts in five innings.

O'Sullivan would lead the way in hitting and offense as he went 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, one walk and one stolen base. Brauner would round it out going 2-for-4 with two runs and a stolen base.

Trivella (1-for-5), Boykin (1-for-3, one home run, two runs and one walk), Ryan (1-for-4, one run), Davis (1-for-5, one ru and two RBI), Gustavson (1-for-4, two runs and a stolen base), Donatucci (1-for-3, one RBI) and sophomore CJ Richard (1-for-3, one walk) had the remaining seven hits.

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

Eastern Florida State (20-13, 9-9 Citrus) upset #5 Florida Southwestern (25-9, 11-7 Citrus) in their doubleheader winning by scores of 11-8 and 5-2.

#15 Central Florida (25-8, 11-7 Citrus) split with Santa Fe (16-18, 8-10 Citrus) losing game one 9-4 before winning game two 13-12.

Miami Dade (17-15, 9-9 Citrus) swept St. Pete (3-29, 1-17 Citrus) 11-4 and 12-3 (8).

RV Polk State (21-15, 11-7 Citrus) split their doubleheader with Daytona State (11-18, 9-9 Citrus) losing game one 2-1 before winning game two 13-5 (7).

#10 Indian River State (24-7, 14-4 Citrus) swept Seminole State College of Florida (19-15, 8-10 Citrus) 4-3 (8) and 6-2 (7).

Citrus Conference Scores:

1. #10 Indian River State (24-7, 14-4)

2. #15 Central Florida (25-8, 11-7)

3. #5 Florida Soutwestern (25-9, 11-7)

4. SCF (22-12, 11-7)

5. RV Polk State (21-15, 11-7)

6. Eastern Florida State (20-13, 9-9)

7. Miami Dade (17-15, 9-9)

8. Daytona State (11-18, 9-9)

9. Seminole State College of Florida (19-15, 8-10)

10. Santa Fe (16-18, 8-10)

11. Hillsborough (13-18, 6-12)

12. St. Pete (3-29, 1-17)

Up Next:

The Manatees return to non-conference play as they head to Tampa to take on the University of Tampa JV (10-9) before resuming conference play against #15 Central Florida.