By Pat Clines

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF baseball team (18-18, 7-1 Suncoast) pulled off their first sweep in Suncoast Conference play as they defeated Hillsborough (5-27, 0-8 Suncoast) 8-7 at Robert C. Wynn Field. With the win, the Manatees are now 47-23 against the Hawks.

"That was a great win for us and a tough loss for them (Hillsborough)," said head coach Tim Hill II. "The guys didn't quit and never gave up. We swung the bats pretty good and we're getting good pitching.  I thought the one inning with Kevin (Karstetter) getting the big hit to give us the lead was good and the fact that in the seventh and eighth innings, the ball never left the infield. They got a few lucks breaks on us and it was a tough way for us to come back, but the guys kept it together."

"I thought the pitching did a really good job for us and the offense came and made up for it bringing in runs," said sophomore Brayden Woodburn. "While Hillsborough came back with runs of their own, we didn't quit in the game and played the whole nine innings."

"We came in knowing that we had a job to do," said sophomore Mario Lopez, Jr. "We knew it had to be a team game for us as we came off a big win Monday and it took the whole team and we came in today and struggled a bit, but we knew we had the team to do it and our pitching kept us in the game and we were able to get the job done."

"I thought tonight's game was a really good game for us," said sophomore Ben Gilbert. "It was a battle and they (HCC) were going to come out hot after we beat them three times and were trying to make up for it and they gave us a run for our money for the first couple of innings when they were up before we started attacking and at the ninth inning, when we had base runners on, they played their part and Woody (Brayden Woodburn) walked it off for us and Mario (Lopez, Jr.) having that big hit to tie the game, Kevin (Karstetter) with his big hit and all the baserunners did their part. "

Hill sent freshman Jeremy Weaver to the mound, while HCC head coach Raydon Leaton went with sophomore Nick Pineda to counter.

After the first inning went scoreless, the Manatees would strike first in the bottom of the second as Gilbert would send an infield single to short to bring in Woodburn for the first run of the game.

The Hawks would tie the game to 1-1 thanks to an RBI single by sophomore Jacob Griffith at the top of the third, but the Manatees would respond back in the bottom half of the inning as freshman Erick Almonte would score on fielding error at second while sophomore Kevin Karstetter reached first to make it 2-1 SCF.

The Hawks would tie the game at 2-2 after sophomore Jackson Hugus brought in a run on a sacrifice fly before they took the lead at the top of the fifth after sophomore Josean Sanchez scored on a wild pitch.

For the next two innings, the Hawks contained the Manatees from bringing in a run, but in the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees changed that around. After a one-out single by sophomore Richie Morales and a walk drawn by Almonte, Karstetter would send a triple to center to bring in Morales and Almonte and give the Manatees a 4-3 lead. He would then score after sophomore Lucas Ismaili reached on another fielding error to make it 5-3 SCF.

Hill would make a change and send sophomore Connor Hults to the mound. After getting one out, Hults would load the bases full of Hawks before freshman Cayden Box scored on a wild pitch. After walking another batter to reload the bases, Hill would pull Hults and send Gilbert to come in to pitch.

After the pitching change, the Hawks would tie the game at five apiece after a bunt single by freshman Clark Springs before sophomore Johnathan Bruno gave the Hawks the lead with a fielder's choice to bring in a run before Gilbert struck out the next two batters to end the eighth.

At the top of the ninth, the Hawks would add a potential insurance run as freshman Luke Stout would send an RBI single to right to give the Hawks a 7-5 lead before Gilbert struck out the final batter.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Manatees rallied together for one last push to go for the win beginning with a Morales leadoff single. After Almonte flew out, Karstetter would get hit by a pitch before Ismaili hit a single to load the bases for Lopez. On an 0-1 count, the Tampa native would send a high fly ball to left that would go off the wall for a double to bring Morales and Karstetter to tie the game at 7-7, but Ismaili would be called out trying to reach third.

"I knew going up to the plate today that I was struggling," said Lopez on tying the game. "I felt ok, but I knew I was going to get a chance after Lucas (Ismaili) was up and got on base, which I trust him when he's ahead of me for giving me the opportunity and it was me going after the right pitch and was able to keep my hands up on the slider and just drive it."

All eyes turned toward Woodburn to try and bring in the run for the win. On a full count, Woodburn would send a single to left past third base to bring in Lopez and sealed the sweep for the Manatees.

"This was my second time seeing him (Padron) on the mound," said Woodburn on hitting the game-winner. "He threw me everything in the first at-bat, so I knew the sequences he was going to use, so I just needed to stay for that moment, being that it's my third year here, and I know what it was like in these moments and we've been through a lot of them. When I got the hit, it was a sigh of relief and I knew it was over and we got the sweep of the season."

"Brayden is a good hitter," said Hill on Woodburn. "When the game is on the line, he and several others want him up there. I felt confident with him up to the plate and he was able to get the job done for us. I'm very happy for him."

Weaver and Pineda would both earn a no-decision on the mound. Weaver would give up three runs (two earned) on five hits with five walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings, while Pineda gave up five runs (four earned) on nine hits with two walks and six strikeouts in six and a third innings.

Gilbert would get his first win of the season after giving up one run on three hits with five strikeouts in one and two-thirds innings of relief and was also 2-for-4 with an RBI. Hults gave up three unearned runs on one hit with one walk in one-third of an inning of relief.

"I felt good on the hitting side of things," said Gilbert. "They were throwing me a lot of off-speed pitches, so today I made an adjustment and took the pitch where it was thrown. On pitching, I felt good. I was a little shaky after the bunt single, but I executed well in the end."

"I thought our pitching was good," said Hill on the pitching. "I thought Jeremy (Weaver) did a good job, even when he a little hiccup in one inning where he messed himself up by walking one of the lower end players of the lineup, but other than that, I thought he threw good. While Connor Hults did not have a lot to show for, I thought he threw really well as well as Ben (Gilbert) when he had a lot of punch-outs."

Sophomore Albert Padron would be hit with the loss after giving up three runs on five hits with one strikeout in two and a third innings of relief.

Aside from Gilbert, three other Manatees had a multi-hit game. Woodburn and Morales each had three hits. Woodburn (3-for-5) added an RBI, a run and a stolen base while Morales (3-for-5) added two runs and a stolen base.

Karstetter was overall offensive leader as he went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs, while Lopez was 1-for-5 with two RBI and a run.

Almonte (1-for-4, two runs and a walk), Ismaili (1-for-5, one RBI) and sophomore Victor Sanchez (1-for-2, one walk) had the remaining three hits for the Manatees.

For the Hawks, Stout lead the way in hitting as he finished 3-for-6 with an RBI, while Springs (2-for-5, one RBI) and Griffith (2-for-4, one RBI) each had two hits.

Notes:

With his two hits, Karstetter now has 190 career hits and has had a hit in his 26th straight game. He has tied Tom McKay (26, 1967) for the longest hitting streak in program history.

Weaver was named the FCSAA Pitcher of the Week

Other Suncoast Scores:

St. Pete College (9-19, 3-5 Suncoast) pulled off a big win in conference play as they defeated Polk State (21-13, 6-2 Suncoast) 16-13 to split the series. The Titans will take on Hillsborough for their next series of conference games.

Suncoast Conference Standings:

1. SCF (18-18, 7-1)

2. Polk State (21-13, 6-2)

3. St. Pete (9-19, 3-5)

4. Hillsborough (5-27, 0-8)

Up Next:

The Manatees will face one of their toughest challenges in Suncoast Conference as they face Polk State. Freshman Michael Forret (5-2, 3.89 ERA) will start game one on Friday night, March 24 at 5 pm. Classmate Ed Wagner (4-1, 4.25 ERA) will start game two in Winter Haven on Saturday afternoon, March 25 at 1 pm.