By Pat Clines

Bradenton, Fla - Sophomore Kevin Karstetter's record-breaking hit set the tone as the SCF baseball team (16-18, 5-1 Suncoast) continued their on their strong path in Suncoast Conference play after defeating Hillsborough (5-25, 0-6 Suncoast) 16-6 in seven innings via the 10-run mercy rule. With the win, the Manatees are now 45-23 against the Hawks.

Originally, the game was scheduled to start at 1 pm, but due to inclement weather approaching the game was pushed to 11 am to avoid postponement.

"I thought the guys had a good week overall pulling off now five conference wins," said head coach Tim Hill II. "Conference games are intense and a dog fight because everyone is shooting for the postseason. I thought our pitching was good all week, even though we gave up more runs than we anticipated today and were sloppy on defense a bit, which was uncharacteristic of them, but Ed (Wagner) battled through all that and it was no doubt a big win on our home field today."

"I thought we did great overall," said Karstetter. "We had good energy, the bats were ready to hit and the pitching was solid. There are some things we clean up on, but you take what you can get and the win was all that matters."

"We got out the game a little shaky in the beginning," said sophomore Connor Hults. "But Ed (Wagner) kept us in the game and gave us a quality start and I was able to come in and battle the strike zone, get some outs and let the fielders make the plays."

"I thought we all trusted each other and it's all coming down on the field," said sophomore Lucas Ismaili. "We're having good quality pitching and excellent hitting. We kept executing and doing well, hitters get their timing and we played well overall."

Hill II sent freshman Ed Wagner to start game two for the Manatees, while HCC head coach Raydon Leaton went with freshman Logan Wirt to counter.

The Hawks would strike first at the top of the first after sophomore Josean Sanchez scored on a fielding error and an RBI single by sophomore Johnathan Bruno made it 2-0 HCC, but the Manatees would respond back in the bottom half of the inning. After sophomores Richie Morales (leadoff single), Brayden Woodburn (walk) and Kevin Karstetter (walk) loaded the bases, classmate Lucas Ismaili would draw a walk and bring in Morales for the Manatees' first run of the game. Sophomore Mario Lopez, Jr. would then send a double to center to bring in Woodburn and Karstetter and give the Manatees a 3-2 lead. After sophomore Ben Gilbert drew a walk to load the bases, freshman Jayce Blalock would draw a walk and bring in Ismaili before Lopez scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-2 SCF.

At the top of the second, the Hawks would cut the deficit to 5-3 after an RBI single by sophomore Jackson Hugus, but the Manatees would once again respond in the bottom half of the inning beginning with Woodburn and Karstetter getting hit by a pitch before Ismaili hit a single to load the bases for Lopez, who would hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Woodburn before Gilbert hit a sacrifice fly of his own to bring in Karstetter. After sophomore Liam Moreno drew a walk, Blalock would show off his power on a 1-2 count as the former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket would send a three-run homer to center for his fourth of the season to give the Manatees a 10-3 lead.

After a scoreless third, the Hawks would score another run off of Wagner from a wild pitch, but it would not faze him as he was able to get out of the inning. In the bottom half of the inning, the Manatees would once again respond back as Ismaili would send a leadoff solo homer to left to bring for his sixth of the season. After Lopez was hit by a pitch and Gilbert hit a single, Moreno would ground into a double play to move Lopez to third before he scored on a wild pitch. After Blalock drew a walk, freshman LT Cockrill would send a double to right-center to bring in Blalock to make it 13-4 SCF.

The Hawks would add two more runs at the top of the fifth after a Manatee throwing error and an RBI single by Sanchez to make it 13-6 SCF, but the Manatees would get Wagner out of the fifth. In the bottom half of the inning, Woodburn would show a little power of his own as he lined a solo homer to left for his third of the season.

All eyes turned towards Karstetter as he popped a high double to left to secure the record and surpass Al Corbeil (184, 1998-99). After Ismaili hit a single to center, Karstetter would score on a wild pitch to make it 15-6 SCF.

Hill would pull Wagner and sent Hults to the mound to pitch the sixth and seventh innings with ease.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees would attempt to seal the deal for a walk-off win. After Karstetter hit a lead-off single to center, he would move to second on a balk before Ismaili sent him to third on a fly. Needing only one run, Lopez would send a fly ball to right and with all the speed he could put together, Karstetter would score on a sacrifice fly to get the walk-off win.

Wagner would get the win after giving up six runs (three earned) on nine hits with three walks and four strikeouts. He is now 4-1 on the year.

Hults threw two scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit with one walk and two strikeouts. Hults has not pitched since February 15 (vs Central Florida).

"I got a lot of mound work during my time off from injury," said Hults. "I was able to come back with a lot of work from the mound and threw a lot in the bullpen, even though I haven't been able to get in a lot of games because the starters were on fire from the get-go, so it felt good getting back out there and pound the zone and get some plays."

Wirt would get the loss after giving up five runs on two hits with five walks and one strikeout in one-third of an inning.

All nine batters for the Manatees had a hit in the game with two having two or more. It was Ismaili that would lead the charge on hits as he went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, three runs and one walk.

"I felt great at the plate," said Ismaili on his game. "I kept sticking to my approach and was hunting the fastball. After all the practice in the batting cage, it showed out in the game and on the field."

Karstetter was the other player with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-3 with four runs and a walk.

"I felt good," said Karstetter on his game. "I thought my approach was really good. I was just swinging at the pitches I was looking for and that's the key to getting on base and if you have a good approach, then good things usually happen with the results you're looking for."

On the overall offense, Lopez (1-for-1) and Blalock (1-for-2) lead the way with four RBI apiece. Lopez added two runs and a walk, while Blalock, who had a home run, added two runs and two walks.

Morales (1-for-5, one run) Woodburn (1-for-3, one RBI, three runs and one walk), Gilbert (1-for-2, one RBI and one walk) and Moreno (1-for-3, one run and one walk) had the remaining four hits.

For the Hawks, Sanchez and freshmen Clark Springs and Camden Sprague each had two hits.

Notes:

With his two hits, Karstetter has set the program record for most career hits as he surpassed Al Corbeil (184, 1998-99) for it. Now Karstetter has 186 career hits with the Manatees.

"It felt good," said Karstetter on setting the record. "It's thanks to the coaches and awesome teammates. If you're enjoying the process, then good results happen."

"It's really good for the program and it was really good for Kevin," said Hults on Karstetter's record hit. "He's one of those guys that, day in and day out, gives it all he's got. His hard work definitely wears off on the rest of us and I think seeing him get that accomplishment done is awesome for all of us."

"Kevin works very hard and it shows," said Ismaili of Karstetter breaking the record. "For him setting that record is an amazing moment for him."

"Al Corbeil was an impressive player back then and held that record for a while, but I'm very happy for Kevin and he's been a really good player for us," said Hill on Karstetter breaking the record.

Woodburn's one walk puts him at 38 this season and 77 in his career. He needs 22 to to surpass Jody Reed (59; 1981-82) for the most walks in a single season and 32 to surpass Joey Collis (109; 1994-95) for most career walks.

Other Suncoast Scores:

St. Pete (8-18, 2-4 Suncoast) handed Polk State (20-12, 5-1 Suncoast) their first loss in conference as the Titans won 13-7 in Clearwater.

Suncoast Conference Standings:

1. Polk State (20-12, 5-1)

2. SCF (16-18, 5-1)

3. St. Pete (8-18, 2-4)

4. Hillsborough (5-25, 0-5)

Up Next:

Game three will return to Steinbrenner Field on Monday, March 20 at 3 pm. Sophomore Ryan Stefiuk (1-3, 5.20 ERA) will get the nod for the Manatees.