Posted: Apr 10, 2023
By Pat Clines
Clearwater, Fla - Freshman Liam Best's career-best outing on the mound helped the SCF baseball team (27-19, 13-2 Suncoast) rally for a comeback in success as they defeated St. Pete College (14-24, 5-10 Suncoast) 12-10 at Jack Russell Stadium. The Manatees lead 6-1 int the overall series against the Titans this season.
"Today's game was very rough for us when we gave up nine runs after two hours and nobody on," said head coach Tim Hill II. "Once we were down, I did not tell the guys anything because they knew what they had to do and responded right away and I'm proud that they kept playing hard until the last pitch."
"It feels great to take the series against SPC," said Best. "We knew coming in that it would be important to set the tone with a series win entering the second half of conference weeks."
Hill sent sophomore Ryan Stefiuk (2-3, 4.61 ERA) to the mound to start for the Manatees while SPC head coach Oscar Espada went with sophomore Manuel Meilan (2-2, 5.92 ERA) to counter.
The Manatees would strike first at the top of the first. After sophomore Richie Morales and freshman Erick Almonte drew back-to-back walks, before they committed a double steal to get into scoring position, sophomore Kevin Karstetter would send an infield single to short to bring in Morales for the first run of the game. Classmate Lucas Ismaili would then bring in Almonte to make it 2-0 SCF.
While Stefiuk held the Titans scoreless in the first two innings, the Manatees would extend their lead at the top of the third. After a Morales single, Karstetter would send a double to left to bring in Morales before Ismaili hit a hard single to left to bring in Karstetter for a 4-0 SCF lead.
In the bottom of the third, the Titans would eventually get Stefiuk to buckle. After getting two outs, they would going on a scoring run and take a 5-4 lead, thanks to two RBI singles and two bases loaded walks. This would signal the end for Stefiuk as Hill would send Best to the mound. Another bases loaded walk, a two-run single and a run scored on a fielding error increased the Titans lead to 9-4.
The Manatees would not lose hope and planned for a comeback at the top of the fourth beginning with a leadoff single by sophomore Brayden Woodburn. After classmate Victor Sanchez reached first on a fielder's choice and sophomore Ben Gilbert hit a single, Sanchez would score on a wild pitch before freshman Jayce Blalock reached first on a Titan fielding error before Gilbert scored on another fielding error by the catcher while Blalock moved to third. Almonte would then hit an infield single to second and bring in Blalock to cut the Titans lead to 9-7.
At the top of the fifth, the Manatees would continue to push themselves to added to their score beginning with a Ismaili leadoff single and sophomore Mario Lopez, Jr. getting hit by a pitch. After moving to scoring position from a Woodburn groundout, Gilbert would play his role offensively and send a single to right to bring in Ismaili and Lopez to tie the game at nine apiece.
Meanwhile, Best continued to play his part on the mound and continued pounding the zone while preventing the Titans from scoring. At the top of the sixth, the Manatees would regain the lead as Karstetter scored on a wild pitch to make it 10-9 SCF before Best struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning.
At the top of the seventh, the Manatees added their final runs of the game for insurance. After a one-out double by Gilbert, Blalock would hit a towering double to right to bring in Gilbert before Morales would brought in Blalock with a single to make it 12-9 SCF.
Best would continue pounding the zone until the bottom of the eighth when the Titans scored a run on a fielder's choice to make it 12-10 still in favor of SCF. Hill would then pull Best and send Gilbert to the mound, while sending sophomore Austin Dearing to center. From there, Gilbert would finish the eighth and ninth inning with ease as the Manatees sealed the deal for the win.
"I feel like we battled together really well as a team," said Best. "We didn't get too down when we fell behind and kept chipping away at their lead (St. Pete) until we went ahead.
Stefiuk and Meilan would both earn no-decisions. Stefiuk gave up eight runs on seven hits with four walks and one strikeout in two and two-thirds innings, while Meilan gave up nine runs (seven earned) on eight hits with three walks and one strikeout.
Best would improve to 2-0 after giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits with two walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts in four and two-thirds innings of relief.
"I felt great on the mound," said Best on his outing. "I felt very in control and had a good two-pitch mix that allowed me to have success tonight."
"Liam through very well and recovered nicely after a rough start," said Hill on Best. "Once he settled in, he kept us in the ball game."
Gilbert would earn his third save of the season after throwing one and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts. He also lead the way in hitting as he went 4-for-5 with three doubles, two RBI and two runs scored.
"Ben did a nice job on the mound to close the game as well as swing the bat smoothly," said Hill on Gilbert.
Freshman Esaid Pena would fall to 0-4 after giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts in two and a third innings of relief. Sophomore Chad Baker threw three and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit with one walk and four strikeouts.
Apart from Gilbert, three other Manatees had a multi-hit game. Karstetter finished behind Gilbert as he went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, two runs and a walk.
Morales and Ismaili rounded out the order as they both had two hits apiece. Morales (2-for-5) added one RBI, two runs, one walk and a stolen base, while Ismaili (2-for-4) added two RBI, one run and one walk.
Almonte (1-for-4, one RBI, one run, one walk and one stolen base), Woodburn (1-for-4) and Blalock (1-for-5, one RBI and two runs) had the remaining three hits, while Lopez (one run and one walk) and Sanchez (one run and one walk) also contributed.
For the Titans, freshman Kelsen Johnson lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-6 with an RBI, while classmates Brett Wagner and Andrey Martinez lead the way in RBI as they went 2-for-4 (Wagner) and 2-for-5 (Martinez) respectively with two RBI each.
Notes:
Karstetter's three hits put him at 212 career hits, while his two RBI put him at 150 career RBI. Additionally from his hits, his two doubles put him at 52 for his career.
Almonte's one walk puts him at 32 this season and needs 28 to surpass Jody Reed (59, 1981-82) for the single season record, while being on pace with Woodburn (39 walks) as he is 30 away from breaking the single season record.
Other Suncoast Scores:
Polk State (28-16, 10-5 Suncoast) defeated Hillsborough (8-34, 2-13 Suncoast) 5-3 in Winter Haven to take the series.
Suncoast Conference Standings:
1. SCF (27-19, 13-2)
2. Polk State (28-16, 10-5)
3. St. Pete (14-24, 5-10)
4. Hillsborough (8-34, 2-13)
Up Next:
The Manatees return to action Wednesday night, April12 at 6 pm. Freshman Jeremy Weaver (2-2, 3.86 ERA) will be given the nod to start.