"The guys played really well," said head coach Tim Hill II. "They dominated from the beginning to the end. I thought Liam (Best) got into a little bit of trouble in the first inning, but then he minimized it to one run and that was the story of the game and they had no chance of scoring on him."

 

"I thought we played great," said freshman Liam Best. "Our hitters did a good job and we won with a good run support."

 

"I thought it was a great game overall," said freshman Erick Almonte. "Great pitching and great hitting helped us get the win."

 

"I thought we played a really good defensive game," said sophomore Victor Sanchez. "The hitters did a good job, so I think that if we do that every time, no one will beat us."

 

Hill sent Best to the mound, while Polk State head coach Al Corbeil went with sophomore Jayden Bishop.

 

The Eagles would strike first at the top of the first after the Manatees turned a double play, but Best would get out of the situation. In the bottom half of the inning, the Manatees would gain the lead as Sanchez would send a triple to right center to bring in sophomores Kevin Karstetter and Brayden Woodburn to make it 2-1 SCF.

 

After a scoreless second, the Manatees would extend their lead further beginning with a leadoff single by Woodburn. After a failed pickoff attempt send Woodburn to third, Sanchez would send an infield single to short to bring in Woodburn. After sophomores Liam Moreno (single) and Austin Dearing (walk) loaded the bases, freshman Evan Mastromauro would line a single to right and bring in Sanchez and Moreno to make it 5-1 SCF.

 

While Best continued to put strikeouts on the board, the Manatees continued to added runs in the bottom of the sixth. After sophomore Lucas Ismaili hit a single and advanced to second on the throw, Woodburn would send a ground rule double to right and bring in Ismaili. After Moreno and sophomore Ben Gilbert drew back-to-back walks to load the bases, Dearing would send a single to center and bring in Woodburn and Gilbert. After a flyout for the second out, Alomonte would showcase some power and send a three-run homer to right for his second of the season to make it 11-1 SCF and invoke the mercy rule.

 

"I was having a rough time the first two at-bats," said Almonte. "After that, I stayed locked in and got a pitch I can do damage with and hit a home run."

 

After the fifth inning went scoreless, the Manatees would add their final runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth. After Moreno (walk), Dearing (walk) and Mastromauro (hit by a pitch) loaded the bases, Almonte would bring in Moreno in on a groundout and moved Dearing and Mastromauro to scoring position before they both scored on two wild pitches to make it 14-1 SCF. From there, freshman Brandon Clarke would finish the seventh and seal the deal for the Manatees.

 

Best would improve to 3-0 after giving up one run on two hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts. It was his third game with 10 strikeouts this season. Clarke threw one scoreless inning of relief with one walk and one strikeout.

 

"I felt really good," said Best on his performance. "I have been building up the last three outings and felt comfortable, even after the shaky first inning, but afterwards I felt in total control."

 

Bishop would fall to 1-1 after giving up five runs (three earned) on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts in two and a third.

 

Four Manatees lead the way in hitting with two hits apiece: Sanchez (2-for-4), Ismaili (2-for-5), Woodburn (2-for-4) and Mastromauro (2-for-3). Sanchez added three RBI, one run and one walk, while Ismaili added one run, Woodburn added one RBI, three runs, one walk and one stolen base and Mastromauro added two RBI and one run/

 

"I felt good," said Sanchez on his performance. "I didn't prepare for the first pitch in the first at-bat because the pitcher threw me five curveballs in a row, but after the last curveball I was ready for it. I was so tired after the 

 

Almonte would lead the Manatees in offense as he finished 1-for-4 with four RBI, one run and one walk.

 

Dearing (1-for-1, two RBI, two runs and three walks) and Moreno (1-for-2, three runs and two walks) had the remaining two hits, while Karstetter (one run, one walk and one stolen base) and Gilbert (one run and one walk) also contributed in the game.

 

Sophomore J'Quann Smith and freshman Aris Rivera and Roberto Odor had the lone hits for the Eagles.

 

Notes:

With their one walk apiece, Woodburn and Almonte now have 46 and 41 walks respectively this season with Woodburn now having 86 walks in his career. They are both 14 and 19 walks away from surpassing Jody Reed (59, 1982) for the single season record with Woodburn 24 away from breaking Joey Collis' career walks record (109, 1994-95).

 

Other Suncoast Conference Scores:

Hillsborough (13-38, 7-17 Suncoast) defeated St. Pete College (18-29, 9-15 Suncoast) 6-5 to close both their seasons.

 

Suncoast Conference Standings:

1. RV SCF (32-23, 18-6) #^

2. Polk State (32-20, 13-9) #

3. St. Pete (18-29, 9-15) *

4. Hillsborough (13-38, 7-17) *

 

^: Suncoast Conference Champions

#: Clinched playoff spot

*: Eliminated from playoff contention

 

Up Next:

While they closed their home portion of the season, the regular season is not yet complete for the Manatees. They will wrap up the season with a game against the IMG Academy postgraduate team.