"What a great ballgame it was for us, especially it being a playoff game," said head coach Tim Hill II. "Santa Fe is an excellent ball club and coach Wiggs has been doing it for a quite a while and knows what he's doing with great athletes. Fortunately, we came out on top and it was a really good win."

 

"I think right from the first pitch, we were a little more focused on this game where it's like 'no one is going to beat us on our field," said Forret. "We came focused, prepared and energetic. We did a good job and even if we only scored four runs, it was enough to get the win while the guys battled the balls in play with some great plays of their own, but overall we came in prepared for this game."

 

While Hill went with Forret to start the game, Santa Fe head coach Johnny Wiggs went with the Mid-Florida Conference Pitcher of the Year in sophomore Tobin Moran to counter.

 

For the first two innings, it was a pitcher's duel between Forret and Moran getting out, however Forret would have the advantage with five strikeouts after the top of the third.

 

In the bottom of the third, the Manatees would get on the board first. After sophomores Liam Moreno (reached on an error) and Richie Morales (hit by a pitch) reached base, freshman Erick Almonte would line a single to right to bring in Moreno for the first run of the game. Sophomore Lucas Ismaili would then groundout and bring in Morales to make it 2-0 SCF.

 

At the top of the fourth, the Saints would take their first lead of the game as freshman Josh Hogue would hit an RBI single before redshirt sophomore JP Herrholz would hit a two-run double to make it 3-2 Santa Fe. Even though the Saints had the lead, Forret remained calm and was able to finish the fourth.

 

After Forret shutdown the top of the fifth, the Manatees would fight back in the bottom half of the inning beginning with a leadoff double by Almonte and an infield single by sophomore Kevin Karstetter, sophomore Mario Lopez, Jr. would pop a single center to bring in Almonte to tie the game before sophomore Brayden Woodburn lined a single of his own to bring in Karstetter to make it 4-3 SCF.

 

From there, Forret would cruise through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings and prevent the Saints from scoring and reaching no more than first base. At the top of the ninth, Hill had sophomore Ben Gilbert warm up and be on standby in case Forret wanted to come out, but Forret made the decision to finish the game. With one final push and a strikeout to redshirt sophomore Jahlani Rogers, the Suncoast Pitcher of the Year would seal the deal for the win.

 

Forret would improve to 11-2 after throwing a complete game, giving up three runs on five hits with nine strikeouts.

 

"I kind of locked in after they (Santa Fe) had their inning and good teams usually have that kind of inning," said Forret. "After that, I locked in after their pitcher made me mad and when I get mad, I turn into a new kind of machine and that's what they got."

 

"I'm glad he pitched the entire game," said Hill on Forret. "While we were monitoring his pitch and he nearly reaches his limit and I'm glad he got the final three outs. He was definitely the story of the game tonight."

 

Moran would be hit his first loss after giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts in four and a third innings. He is now 8-1 on the year.

 

Sophomore Ryan Brown threw a third of a scoreless inning of relief, while freshman Chase Chappell threw three and a third scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit with five strikeouts.

 

Almonte and Gilbert lead the way in hitting as they each had two hits and one stolen base. Almonte added one RBI and one run.

 

Karstetter (1-for-4, one run), Lopez (1-for-4, one RBI), Woodburn (1-for-3, one RBI and one walk) and sophomore Victor Sanchez (1-for-2) had the remaining four hits, while Ismaili (one RBI), Morales (one run) and Moreno (one run) also contributed in the game.

 

For the Saints, Herrholz lead the way offensively as he finished 1-for-4 with two RBI.

 

Notes:

With his one hit, Karstetter now has 230 career hits.

 

With his one walk, Woodburn now has 47 this season (87th in his career). He is now 18 away from surpassing Jody Reed (59, 1982) for the single season record and 23 away from breaking Joey Collis (109, 1994-95) for the career walks record.

 

Other Regional Scores:

#3 College of Central Florida (47-6) defeated Florida Southwestern (31-21) 11-3 in eight innings.

 

#14 Miami Dade (32-13-1) defeated Pensacola State (34-17) 11-3 in seven innings.

 

Polk State (32-21) defeated Northwest Florida State (30-16-1) by a score of 5-3.

 

Up Next:

The Manatees will to complete the sweep in regionals over Santa Fe. Freshman Ed Wagner (8-1, 3.63 ERA) will be given the nod to start for the Manatees, while the Saints will likely go with sophomore Corey Braun (6-1, 3.70 ERA).

 

While game two is at Wynn Field, the Manatees will be the away team for the game.