"When it comes to conference, every coach knows that they are the toughest games in the season," said head coach Tim Hill II. "It's a battle every game and to able to come out and play on our home field is ok. It was good to see the guys have a good win on our field for sure."

 

"It was a great team win," said sophomore Brandon Clarke. "We fought hard with our bats and a little helpful energy from Coach Spuds (Chris Sabo) woke us up. We look forward to taking the series over them (Daytona State) tomorrow."

 

"Overall, the team did amazing," said sophomore Luis Garrido. "We really woke up with our bats and Brandon (Clarke) did a great job on the mound for us."

 

Hill II sent Clarke (2-1, 5.75 ERA) to the mound to start the game, while Daytona State head coach Tim Touma sent sophomore Bryce Roth (2-1, 5.25 ERA) to counter.

 

The first three innings were a pitcher duel as both Clarke and Roth held each other scoreless with Clarke having the upper hand in strikeouts. At the top of the fourth, the Falcons would get on the board first as redshirt sophomore Nate Cannizzaro would bring in a run with an RBI groundout. Despite that, Clarke was able to remain calm as he got one more strikeout in.

 

At the top of the fifth, Clarke would make a crucial defensive play with two outs and on a wild pitch as the upcoming South Carolina transfer would make up for it and tag the runner out at home with help from sophomore Santiago Ordonez.

 

In the bottom of the fifth, the Manatees would then get on the board. After a leadoff double by freshman Luke Boykin and a bunt single by sophomore Preston Wetherell, sophomore Erick Almonte would get the run game on the board for the Manatees with a single to center to bring in Boykin before the Falcons changed pitchers.

 

One batter later, after the pitching change and Almonte stealing second, freshman Pip Smalley would send a single to left to bring in Wetherell and Almonte for the Manatees first lead of the game. After a single by classmate Allan Gil-Fernandez and walk drawn by freshman Hayden Gustavson to load the bases, Garrido would send a hard ground ball past the third baseman to bring in Smalley and Gil-Fernandez for a 5-1 SCF lead.

 

At the top of the sixth, the Falcons would cut the lead to 5-2 after sophomore Xavier Lopez sent a solo home run to right for his third of the season. The Manatees would respond in the bottom half of the inning beginning with a leadoff single by Wetherell before Almonte bunted and reached base on a Falcon fielding error that would send both him and Wetherell home. After sophomore Jalen Hairston drew a walk, Smalley would show his power as he lined a two-run homer to right for his second of the season and make it 9-2 SCF.

 

After Clarke finished the top of the seventh with three strikeouts despite the Falcons scoring on a wild pitch, the Manatees decided to end the game in the bottom half of the inning. Garrido and Boykin would hit back to back singles before Garrido scored on a wild pitch. After Wetherell drew a walk and Almonte hit a single to load the bases, Hairston would then send a single to left to bring in Boykin and Wetherell to seal the victory for the Manatees.

 

Clarke would improve to 3-1 after throwing a seven inning complete game, giving up three runs on five hits with one walk and a career-high 12 strikeouts.

 

"I thought I did really well," said Clarke. "I thought I was going to have a little bit of a struggle in a couple of innings, but I was able to do what I needed to do out there to get the win on the mound."

 

Roth would fall to 2-2 after giving up three runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts in four innings.

 

Five Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Smalley that lead the way offensively as he finished 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs and four RBI. Garrido would follow with a three-hit game of his own as he finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run.

 

"I thought I did well at the plate," said Garrido. "I'm glad I was able to provide the sparks to help us win this game."

 

Almonte (2-for-5), Boykin (2-for-4) and Wetherell (2-for-3) rounded out the order as they each had two hits apiece. Almonte added one RBI, two runs and a stolen base, while Boykin added two runs and Wetherell added three runs and a walk.

 

Hairston (1-for-4, two RBI, one run and one walk), Gil-Fernandez (1-for-4, one run) and Ordonez (1-for-4) had the remaining three hits, while freshman Hayden Gustavson (two walks) also contributed in the game.

 

For the Falcons, they would produce five hits which was lead by Lopez's solo home run.

 

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

RV Florida Southwestern (15-6, 6-1 Citrus) defeated Hillsborough (14-7, 5-2 Citrus) by a score of 5-1.

 

Eastern Florida State (11-9-1, 3-4 Citrus) defeated Seminole State College of Florida (13-7, 3-4 Citrus) 5-1.

 

Santa Fe (13-8, 4-3 Citrus) defeated Indian River State (12-6, 4-3 Citrus) 8-1.

 

Miami Dade (11-10, 3-3 Citrus) defeated Polk State (11-13, 2-4 Citrus) 3-2 in 11 innings.

 

Central Florida (13-7, 4-3 Citrus) defeated St. Pete College (6-12, 1-6 Citrus) 9-6.

 

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. RV Florida Southwestern (15-6, 6-1)

2. Hillsborough (14-7, 5-2)

3. Indian River State (12-6, 4-3)

4. College of Central Florida (13-7, 4-3)

5. SCF (13-7, 4-3)

6. Santa Fe (13-8, 4-3)

7. Miami Dade (11-10, 3-3)

8. Seminole State College (13-7, 3-4)

9. Eastern Florida State (11-9-1, 3-4)

10. Polk State (11-13, 2-4)

11. Daytona State (10-9, 2-5)

12. St. Pete (6-12, 1-6)

 

Up Next:

The Manatees will resume their series with Daytona State in a doubleheader Friday afternoon, March 1 at 1 and 4 pm at the Daytona State Baseball Complex in Daytona. Sophomore Ed Wagner (2-2, 3.24 ERA) will be given the nod to start game one while game two is to be determined.