Posted: May 09, 2023
By Pat Clines
Bradenton, Fla - The RV SCF baseball team (35-24) will now focus on their next journey in the FCSAANJCAA South Atlantic District Championship Final Four at The Publix Field at Joker Merchant Stadium in Lakeland. The Manatees will open their part of the final four against #11 Miami Dade (33-14-1) Friday afternoon, May 12 at 1 pm.
RV Northwest Florida (32-17-1) and #2 College of Central Florida (48-6) will also be joining the Manatees and Sharks in the final four.
Saturday, May 13 -
Last Time Out:
The Manatees, who are the Suncoast Conference Champions, are coming off of winning the Bradenton Regional in the state tournament by defeating #9 Santa Fe 2-1 in the best of three series. They would win game one 4-3 and lose game two 5-4 before shutting out Santa Fe 10-0 in six innings. This is the first time since 2019 that the Manatees will head to the state tournament. In playoff games, the Manatees are 18-16 overall.
Breakdown of Tournament and What's at Stake:
FCSAANJCAA South Atlantic District Championship Final Four consists of the four teams that won their respected regional. The four teams will play in double elimination style tournament. Once a team loses two games, they are eliminated from the tournament. The winner will secure a spot in the NJCAA College Baseball World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado and represent the South Atlantic District.
The King Reigns:
Sophomore Kevin Karstetter has been one of the glues of the Manatees hitting for the entire season. Karstetter, who will be transferring to Arizona State University, is batting .424 with 101 hits, 68 runs, 30 doubles, 12 home runs, 76 RBI and 15 stolen bases. During conference, he was named the Suncoast Conference Player of the Year and a member of the All-Suncoast First Team.
In the finale against #9 Santa Fe, he went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. In the full regional, he finished 5-for-12 (.417), one home run, three RBI and five runs. Additionally, Karstetter is one of the nations top hitters in the following categories: At-bats (236, #1), hits (100, #1), runs (68, tied for #26), doubles (30, #1) and RBI (76, #9).
Outside of the nation, Karstetter has set several records for the Manatees in batting as listed: carrer at-bats (648 and counting), career hits (233 and counting), career doubles (58 and counting), career RBI (167 and counting), and the longest hitting streak (31 straight games). He is four doubles away from setting the single season doubles record held by Paul Stryhas (1997) and 11 hits away from breaking Al Corbeil's single season hit record (111, 1999).
Dirty Tall Rocket Fire:
Freshman Michael Forret has been the ace of the Manatees starting pitchers this season. Forret was named the Suncoast Conference Pitcher of the Year and a member of the All-Suncoast First Team. In fact, he was recently named a member of the NJCAA DI JUCO All-Digs Team as one of 10 pitchers in the nation with the best defense.
Currently, Forret is 11-2 overall with a 3.33 ERA, 17 walks and 104 strikeouts in 78.1 innings. In the first game against #9 Santa Fe, he threw a nine inning complete game with nine strikeouts. His 11 wins are tied for #4 in the nation, while his strikeouts ranked #9 in the nation and his innings pitched is at #11 in the nation.
Joining Forret is classmate Ed Wagner, who was also named a member of the All-Suncoast First Team. While he did fall in the second game against #9 Santa Fe, Wagner still has a good record as he is 8-2 (#40 in the nation in wins) with a 3.67 ERA, 32 walks and 68 strikeouts in 73.2 innings (#34 in the nation).
Powering Up:
Aside from Karstetter's power, sophomores Lucas Ismaili and Mario Lopez, Jr. have been showcasing some power for a while.
Ismaili is batting .397 with 83 hits (#17 in the nation), 56 runs, eight home runs and 66 RBI (#22 in the nation. The upcoming transfer for the University of South Alabama was named a member of the All-Suncoast First Team.
Lopez is batting .320 with 56 hits, 43 runs, six home runs and 56 RBI. He went 1-for-3 with two RBI in the finale against #9 Santa Fe while being named a member of the All-Suncoast First Team.
Freshman Jayce Blalock has also shown some power in his swing too. Blalock, despite not playing many games this season, is batting .262 with 22 hits, 15 runs, five home runs and 21 RBI.
Walking the Sands of Time:
When it comes to reaching base, sophomore Brayden Woodburn and freshman Erick Almonte lead the way. Woodburn is batting .341 with 71 hits, 68 runs (#26 in the nation), seven home runs, 42 RBI, 24 stolen bases and 50 walks (#6 in the nation), while Almonte is batting .325 with 63 hits, 59 runs, two home runs, 38 RBI, 13 stolen bases and 41 walks (#35 in the nation). Both were named members of the All-Suncoast First Team. Additionally, Woodburn has 90 career walks with the Manatees and is 10 shy of surpassing Jody Reed (59, 1982) for the single season record and 20 from breaking Joey Collis (109, 1994-95) for the career walks record.
Defensive Prowl:
Sophomore Liam Moreno has been a factor of defense in the outfield. Moreno is batting .292 with 31 hits, 38 runs, one home run and 14 RBI while maintaining a 1.000 fielding percentage with nine assists. In the final game against Santa Fe, Moreno made several catches, including a diving catch in the fifth inning, while finishing 1-for-2 with a run.
Hybrid Game:
Sophomores Ben Gilbert and Richie Morales play key roles as the hybrid players on the team.
Gilbert, who was named a member of the All-Suncoast Second Team, is batting .290 with 40 hits, 30 runs, three home runs and 28 RBI while on the mound he is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA, three saves, 13 walks and 32 strikeouts. He went 1-for-2 with an RBI against Santa Fe. He will be transferring to Florida Atlantic University after SCF.
Morales, who was also named a member of the All-Suncoast Second Team before transferring to the University of Arizona, is batting .299 with 41 hits, 36 runs, one home run, 22 RBI and 15 stolen bases, while on the mound he is 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA, two saves, three walks and nine strikeouts.
Coming to Aid:
Sophomore Connor Hults and freshman Liam Best are the primary relief pitchers that helped set the tone on the mound. Both were named on the All-Suncoast Second Team.
In his lone season, Hults is currently 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA, 18 walks and 39 strikeouts in 22.2 innings. He will be transferring to Florida State University.
Best is 3-0 with a 3.56 ERA, 26 walks and 49 strikeouts in 30.1 innings.
Riding Wild:
Sophomores Ryan Stefiuk, Victor Sanchez and Austin Dearing and freshmen Evan Mastromauro and LT Cockrill remain as key wildcards for the Manatees.
Stefiuk is coming off of his best outings on the mound as he threw a six-hit shutout with five strikeouts in the finale against Santa Fe. He is currently 3-3 with a 4.54 ERA, 36 walks and 62 strikeouts in 73.1 innings.
Sanchez was one of the key parts in the finale against Santa Fe as he went 1-for-3 with two RBI. The two RBI he had played big part of the Manatees winning the game by mercy rule. Sanchez is currently batting .290 with 40 hits, 23 runs, three home runs and 26 RBI.
Dearing is batting .291 with 41 hits, 33 runs and 15 RBI.
Mastromauro is batting .298 with 17 hits and 10 RBI.
Cockrill is batting .261 with 18 hits, 16 runs, one home run and 16 RBI
Scouting #2 CCF:
The Patriots, who are ranked #2 in the nation and are the Mid-Florida Conference Champions, are coming off of sweeping the Ocala Regional over Florida Southwestern (Southern Conference runner-up) by scores of 11-3 and 12-6. Out of the four regionals, they were the only team with a clean sweep. The Patriots are lead by head coach Marty Smith. Smith, who enters his 29th season as head coach, was named the Mid-Florida Head Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career and remains one of two active coaches in the state to reach 800 wins.
At the plate, freshman Edwin Toribio leads the way offensively. Toribio, who was named the Mid-Florida Player of the Year, is batting .409 with 88 hits (#5 in the nation), 20 home runs and 72 RBI. In fact, his 20 home runs ranked tied for #9 in the nation.
Following Toribio at the plate is sophomores Juan Correa, John Morant and Bradke Lohry and freshmen Kareh Valentin and Kainen Jorge. Correa is batting .366 with 67 hits, 19 home runs (#12 in the nation) and 60 RBI, while Morant is batting .460 (#11 in the nation) with 74 hits, 12 home runs and 55 RBI and Lohry is batting .349 with 45 hits, 11 home runs and 36 RBI. Correa and Morant were named members of the All-Mid-Florida Conference First Team, while Lohry was named on the All-Mid-Florida Conference First Team.
Valentin is batting .398 with 84 hits (#14 in the nation), two home runs and 65 RBI. For his defense, he had 122 assists and a .970 fielding percentage. As a result, he was named the Mid-Florida Conference Defensive Player of the Year along with being named a member of the All-Mid-Florida Conference First Team.
Jorge is batting .296 with 59 hits, 13 home runs and 51 RBI.
On the mound, sophomores Brian Holiday and Cam Schuelke and freshman Isaac Sewell lead the way.
Holiday is 8-0 with a 3.01 ERA, 28 walks and 106 strikeouts. He was not only named a member of the All-Mid-Florida Conference First Team, but joined Forret on the NJCAA DI JUCO All-Digs Team.
Schuelke, the closer for the Patriots, is 7-1 with a 0.96 ERA, eight saves, 10 walks and 66 strikeouts. Alongside being named a member of the All-Mid-Florida Conference First Team, he was named the Mid-Florida Conference Fireman of the Year.
Sewell leads the Patriots in wins as he is 9-2 with 3.73 ERA, two saves, 20 walks and 56 strikeouts.
Scouting NWFS:
The Raiders, who are the Panhandle Conference Champions and are receiving votes in the NJCAA Top 20 polls, are coming off winning the Niceville Regional 2-1 against Polk State. They would the first game 5-3 and win the second game 14-8 before winning the deciding game 14-11. They are lead by head coach Doug Martin. Martin, who enters his 14th season as head coach, was named the Panhandle Conference Coach of the Year this year.
Leading the way at the plate for the Raiders offense is sophomore Blake Cavill and freshman Kendry Maduro.
Cavill, who was named a member of the All-Panhandle Conference First Team, is batting .362 with 58 hits, 14 home runs and 46 RBI. The Australian helped the Raiders advance to the final four as he hit a walk-off three run home run to win the game over Polk State.
Maduro is batting .274 with 46 hits, 14 home runs and 43 RBI. He was named a member of the All-Panhandle Conference Second Team.
On the mound, sophomore Ramsey David and freshman Kyson Witherspoon lead the way. David is 5-1 with a 3.03 ERA, 32 walks and 82 strikeouts, while Witherspoon is 6-2 with a 3.11 ERA, 29 walks and 67 strikeouts.
Scouting #11 Miami Dade:
The Sharks, who were the Southern Conference Champions and are #11 in the nation, are coming off of winning the Miami Regional 2-1 over Pensacola State. They would win the first game 11-3 in seven innings and lose game two 5-2 before winning the decider by a score of 6-0. The Sharks are lead by head coach Adrian Morales. Morales, who enters his fourth season with the Sharks, was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year for the third straight year.
At the plate, sophomore Wooyeoul Shin lead the way on offense. Shin, who has committed to the University of Miami, is batting .417 (#48 in the nation) with 65 hits, 15 home runs (#33 in the nation) and 45 RBI. Classmate Jose Hernandez follows Shin batting .295 with 54 hits, 11 home runs and 43 RBI. Both Shin and Hernandez were named on the All-Southern Conference First Team.
Leading the Sharks on the mound is sophomore Herick Hernandez. Hernadez is 8-3 with a 2.70 ERA, 32 walks and 45 strikeouts. Alongside being named a member of the All-Southern Conference First Team, he was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year.
Classmate Kader Rabagh follows as he is 5-3 with a 2.68 ERA, two saves, 18 walks and 40 strikeouts. He joined Hernandez on the All-Southern Conference First Team.
Final Four Schedule:
Friday, May 12 -
#11 Miami vs RV SCF @ 1 pm (game one)
RV Northwest Florida vs #2 College of Central Florida @ 5 pm
#11 Miami vs RV SCF @ 1 pm (game one)
RV Northwest Florida vs #2 College of Central Florida @ 5 pm
Saturday, May 13 -
Game one loser vs game two loser @ 1 pm
Game one winner vs Game two winner @ 5 pm
Game one winner vs Game two winner @ 5 pm
Sunday, May 14 -
Game four loser vs Game three winner @ 1 pm
Game four winner vs Game five loser @ 5 pm
Monday, May 15 (if necessary) -
Game six winner vs Game six loser (if team loses) @ 11 am.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be provided via GameChanger with all six to seven games airing livestream on the FCSAA Digital Network. Fans can also keep up with the Manatees on Twitter.
GameChanger Link: https://gc.com/t/spring-2023/state-college-of-florida-baseball-63d48f85286d367aef01de22
FCSAA Livestream: https://team1sports.com/fcsaa/
Twitter: SCF Manatees (@SCFManatees) or SCF Baseball (@SCFBaseball)