"I thought both teams were very good opponents," said head coach Tim Hill II. "We were coming right off the gate with three pretty tough teams overall. I thought all three clubs have very talented players and were outstanding, so to the start off with that is good, especially getting two good wins on our field."
"I thought we really played for each other," said freshman Michael Forret. "That's usually the biggest thing we could do is play for ourselves and each other. We came out here to do our thing with the practice we've been doing together in both games with the second one coming down to the wire. In the end, we prevailed and that's what we practice and try to do for each other."
"I thought we played really well as a team defensively and came off the gates really hot offensively for two amazing wins," said sophomore Richie Morales. "Miami Dade is a hard team and we fought hard against them the entire game as a team and we found a way to win.
SCF vs NWFS:
For the first game, Hill II sent Forret to the mound, while Northwest Florida head coach Doug Martin went with freshman Malachi Witherspoon.
While Forret struck out the first two batters at the top of the first, the Manatees would the run column first as sophomore Kevin Karstetter grounded out to send classmate Richie Morales home for the first run. One inning later, sophomore Brayden Woodburn would score the second run off of a groundout by freshman Erick Almonte to make it 2-0 SCF.
In the bottom of the third, the Manatees would continue to add to their lead beginning with Morales reaching on a fielding error before stealing second base with two outs. This would give Karstetter a big opportunity as the Pennsylvanian would send Morales home with an RBI double before scoring after two wild pitches. After a double by sophomore Austin Dearing, Woodburn would send a single to left to bring in Dearing to make it 5-0 SCF.
While the Manatees were scoring on the offensive end, Forret continued his dominance on the mound and with the defense backing him up, he continued to push zeros on the board.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Manatees were not finished with their offensive as Almonte would lead off with a walk before stealing second. After freshman LT Cockrill was hit by a pitch, Morales would put his bat on blast as the transfer from Florida State sent a single to left to bring in Morales. After Morales and Cockrill advanced to scoring position off of a fielding error, sophomore Lucas Ismali would pop a double to right to bring in Morales and Cockrill to make it 8-0 SCF.
After a Dearing walk and Woodburn getting hit by a pitch, sophomore Victor Sanchez would send a single to right to bring in Ismali and Dearing to make it 10-0 SCF. This would signal the end for Urban as Martin would pull him and send freshman Kyson Witherspoon would go to the mound and get out of the fifth for the Raiders after picking off Sanchez.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Manatees would add their final two runs on the board after sophomore Evan Mastromauro would send Dearing home while reaching on a fielding error before Cockrill sent a single to left to bring in Woodburn to make it 12-0 SCF.
At the top of the seventh, all eyes turned to Forret for his shining moment for the final three outs. After the first two batters flew out, the native of Indian Trails, North Carolina would get the final out to him and seal the deal for the win.
Forrett would get the win after throwing a no-hitter in seven inning with one walk and three strikeouts.
"In the first four innings of the game, we were cruising along," said Forrett on pitching the no-hitter. "Come fifth inning, when we had plays from Erick Almonte, the guys picked it up while I was putting in the pitches and they really covered me in the end. I felt something after AD (Austin Dearing) made that diving catch in the fifth and the final groundout came to me, it was amazing for my first college outing."
"I'm really happy for Michael," said Hill on Forrett. "He's a very talented kid that works hard and for his first college start he was amazing."
Malachi Witherspoon would get the loss after giving up five runs (two earned) on three hits with four strikeouts in three innings.
Sophomore Luke Carrrell would give up five runs on three hits with two walks and two-thirds of an innings, while Kyson Witherspoon would give up two runs on four hits with one walk and one strikeout in one and two-third innings of relief and freshman Noah Simon threw two-thirds of a scoreless inning striking out one batter and giving up one hit.
Morales would lead the offense as he went 4-for-5 with one RBI, three runs and a stolen base. Dearing and Woodburn would follow going 2-for-3 each. Dearing added three runs scored and a walk, while Woddburn added one RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base.
Ismali, Karstetter and Sanchez each were 1-for-4 with two RBI. Ismali added a run and a walk, while Karstetter added a run.
Cockrill (1-for-3, one RBI and one run), Almonte (one RBI, one run, one walk and one stolen base) and freshman Evan Mastromauro (1-for-4) also contributed in the game.
After the SCF/NWFS game, Eastern Florida State (1-1) defeated Gulf Coast State (1-1) 5-0.
SCF vs Miami Dade:
For the second game, Hill sent freshman Bryan Gomez to the mound, while MDC head coach Adrian Morales went with sophomore Herick Hernandez to counter.
After the first inning went scoreless, the Sharks would draw the first run at the top of the second after sophomore Alex Ulloa scored on a wild pitch.
For the next two innings, the Sharks would hold the Manatees scoreless and even hitless until the fifth inning when the Manatees picked up steam beginning with a Woodburn leadoff walk before he advance to second on a pitching error. After two outs, Almonte would give the Manatees their first hit as he sent a single to left to bring in Woodburn and tie the game at 1-1. Morales would then pull Hernandez and send sophomore Carlos Nolasco to the mound. After Almonte stole second, sophomore Mario Lopez Jr would reach first on fielding error while Almonte scored to give the Manatees a 2-1 lead.
The Sharks would however retie the game after an RBI single by freshman Matthew Mateo at the top of the sixth and would eventually regain the lead with three more runs off of a wild pitch and a two-RBI single by freshman D'Angelo Ortiz at the top of the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees would try to cut the deficit. After a single by Almonte and a double by Lopez Jr., Morales would send a single to right and bring in Almonte and Lopez and bring Miami Dade's lead to 5-4.
In the eighth inning, the Sharks would score on a wild pitch but the Manatees would answer back with an RBI groundout by Dearing to bring in Woodburn.
At the top of the ninth, Hill II would make a change to the mound as he pulled freshman Preston Wetherell and send Morales to the mound. Additionally, Almonte would move from second to short, Lopez would move from designated hitter to catcher and Mastromauro would come in to play at second base. With a 2-2 count to sophomore Jose Hernandez, the infielder would send a fly to center in which it looked like the Sharks were going to extend the lead, but a costly base-running mistake would cause a double play courtesy of Woodburn to Mastromauro and give the Manatees a stronger chance.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Manatees saw their chance in their sights that began with a leadoff single by Almonte. After a single by Lopez Jr., sophomore Liam Moreno would put both runners into scoring position after a groundout and give Morales a chance to be the hero. Before his at-bat, Hill would make one more change as he had sophomore Ben Gilbert pinch run for Lopez Jr for speed purposes.
All eyes locked on Morales as he stepped to the plate against Nolasco. On the first pitch, the local product of Lakewood Ranch High would send a single to center over the head of Hernandez and bring in Almonte and Gilbert for the walk-off win.
"They (Miami Dade) were playing super shallow against me and gave me no respect," said Morales on the walk-off hit. "I knew that I was going to get a curveball sent to me like they did three times already, so I was just sitting on it and when the time was right, I hit it over the centerfielder and we got the win."
Gomez and Hernandez would each earn no-decisions. Gomez gave up one unearned run on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts in four innings, while Hernandez gave up two runs on one hit with three walks and three strikeouts.
Morales would get the win after throw one scoreless inning of relief and giving up one hit on the mound. At the plate, he would lead the offense going 2-for-4 with four RBI and one walk. He finished 6-for-9 with five RBI, three runs and a stolen base.
"We were struggling offensively and struck out 17 times, but today coach Javi (Miranda) toned it all in there and Kevin (Karstetter) started talking to me about this breathing technique that helped me see the ball better when I'm at the plate," said Morales on his game "I'm just glad I saw the ball very well today."
"Richie is a good player," said Hill on Morales. "He competes and is very athletic to the point where he can do so many things like he did tonight. I know he was really hungry to play since he had to battle injuries and COVID-19 and he finally got his opportunity to play at a healthier level and I'm really happy for him."
Nolasco would be dubbed with the loss after giving up five runs on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings of relief.
Almonte would go 3-for-3 with three runs, one RBI and one stolen base, while Lopez went 2-for-4 with a run.
Woodburn (1-for-3, two runs and one walk), Wetherell (a third of a scoreless inning of relief), sophomore Connor Hults (two innings of relief, two runs on two hits, one walk and four strikeouts) and freshman Cameron Clines (1.2 innings of relief, three runs on three hits, one walk and three strikeouts) also contributed in the game.
Notes:
Forret's no-hitter was the first for the Manatees since Jules VanLanduyt did so in 1991 against South Florida State, which was in fact Hill's last year playing with SCF.
Other Suncoast Scores:
Hillsborough (1-3) fell to Palm Beach State (1-2) 3-1 and Seminole State College (2-0) 5-1 in seven innings. The Hawks will host Seminole State College Wednesday afternoon, February 1 at 2:30 pm.
St. Pete (0-3) fell to Pasco-Hernando State (1-2) 11-4 and Indian River State (2-1) 16-4. The Titans will welcome Pasco-Hernando State Friday afternoon, February 3 at 1 pm.
Polk State (0-3) fell to RV Florida Southwestern State (2-2) 8-6. The Eagles will welcome Pasco-Hernando State Monday night, January 30 at 5 pm.
Suncoast Standings:
1. SCF (2-1)
2. HCC (1-3)
3. Polk State (0-3)
4. SPC (0-3)
*Note: Forret and Morales are the first players to be interviewed.
Up Next:
The Manatees will wrap up the SCF Legends Classic as they welcome Eastern Florida State (1-1) Sunday afternoon, January 29 at 2:30 pm. Freshman Ed Wagner will be the starter for the game.