Daytona Beach, Fla - The SCF baseball team (14-8, 5-4 Citrus) completed their third series of Citrus Conference play as they split with Daytona State (10-11, 3-6 Citrus) losing game one 11-10 in eight innings before winning game two 11-5 in seven innings.
"While game one was an extremely disappointing, the guys did bounce back in the second game and I'm proud of them for that," said head coach Tim Hill II. "We just need to clean up on the mistakes that we made for when we face St. Pete."
Game One:
Hill sent Wagner (2-2, 3.25 ERA) to start game one while Daytona State head coach Tim Touma went with freshman Tyler Borton (0-2, 6.50 ERA) to counter.
At the top of the first, the Manatees would open on the board as sophomore Allan Gil-Fernandez would send a double to left to bring in freshman Pip Smalley for 1-0 SCF lead. The Manatees would increase their lead further beginning with a leadoff solo home run by freshman Luke Boykin for his second of the season. After sophomores Luis Garrido (single), LT Cockrill (single) and Erick Almonte (hit by a pitch) loaded the bases, classmate Jalen Hairston would hit into a fielder's choice to bring in Garrido for a 3-0 SCF lead.
At the top of the third, the Manatees would increase the lead further. After a one-out single by freshman Hayden Gustavson and a walk drawn by Boykin, Garrido would send a single to left to bring in Gustavson before Cockrill showed his power by sending a three-run homer to center for his first home run of the season and make it 7-0 SCF.
The Falcons would get on the board in the bottom half of the inning thanks to an RBI single by sophomore Xavier Lopez, an RBI double by redshirt sophomore Nate Cannizzaro and an RBI groundout by sophomore Sebastain Grafmyre to make it 7-3 SCF.
Two innings later, after a one-out double and stolen base by sophomore Preston Wetherell, Wetherell would score on a throwing error by the catcher to make it 8-3. At the top of the sixth, Gil-Fernandez would bring in freshman Pip Smalley with a two-run homer to center for his third of the season and give the Manatees a 10-3 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Falcons edged closer to cutting the Manatees lead thanks to RBI singles by redshirt sophomore Charlie Pellicer and sophomores Adam Parzych and Scott Edwards made it 10-7 SCF. This would signal the end for Wagner and Wetherell, who came in for Wagner earlier, and send freshman Daniel Hartley to the mound.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Falcons would eventually tie the game at 10-10 after an RBI double by redshirt freshman Connnor O'Sullivan and an RBI single by Parzych. After Hartley loaded the bases, he was able to get the runner out at home with a fielder's choice and send the game to extra innings.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Falcons would take advantage of a Manatee fielding error as sophomore Jaxon Junnila would score to seal the win.
Wagner and Borton would both earn no-decisions. Wagner would give up seven runs on nine hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in five and a third innings, while Borton gave up seven runs on 10 hits with one walk and two strikeouts in four innings.
Hartley would fall to 0-1 after giving up four runs (two earned) on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
Redshirt freshman Jake Gibson would get the win after throwing one and a third scoreless innings of relief with one walk and one strikeouts.
Five Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Garrido that lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. Gil-Fernandez (2-for-5) and Cockrill (2-for-3) both lead the Manatees in offense as they both had two hits and three RBI.
Smalley and Gustavson (both 2-for-5) rounded out the order with two hits each. Samlley added two runs and threw a third of an inning of relief, while Gustavson added one run.
Almonte (1-for-4, one stolen base), Boykin (1-for-4, one RBI, two runs and one walk) and Wetherell (1-for-3, one run and one stolen base) had the remaining three hits, while Hairston (one RBI) also contributed in the game.
For the Falcons, Lopez lead the way in hitting as he went 4-for-5 with an RBI, while Parzych lead the way offensively after going 3-for-5 with four RBI.
Game Two:
Looking to take the rubber match, Hill II sent sophomore Bryan Gomez (1-0, 4.11 ERA) to start the second game, while Touma sent freshman Brady Ham (1-0, 14.10 ERA) to counter.
The Manatees would once again score first at the top of the first as they loaded the bases thanks to Almonte (single), Hairston (single) and Gil-Fernandez (walk) before sophomore Santiago Ordonez lined a double to right to bring in Almonte and Hairston for a 2-0 SCF lead.
After the second inning went scoreless, the Manatees would extend the lead to 3-0 after Ordonez hit another RBI double to bring in Hairston. In the bottom half of the inning, the Falcons would tie the game at 3-3 after an RBI single by Edwards and a two-run homer by Lopez (his fourth of the season).
At the top of the fourth, the Manatees would regain the lead. After a Garrido single, freshman Walker Vanecek would send a triple to deep left-center to bring in Garrido before Almonte sent a single to right and brought in Vanecek. After a single by Hairston, Gil-Fernandez would line a double to left to bring in Almonte to make it 6-3 SCF before Hairston was tagged out at home.
The Falcons would cut the lead to 6-5 in the bottom of the fourth after an RBI single by sophomore Preston Heben and freshman Brett Corbitt scoring on a double play. The Manatees would respond back at the top of the fifth beginning with an Ordonez leadoff walk. Two batter later, Garrido would draw a walk before Vanecek hit a hard ground ball to left for a double to bring in Ordonez and Garrido before Almonte brought in Vanecek with a single to left. After Hairston hit a single, Smalley would send a single of his own to right to bring in Almonte for a 10-5 SCF lead.
The Manatees would add one last run at the top of the seventh as Almonte hit a single to bring in Garrido and make it 11-5 SCF before they sealed the series with a win.
Gomez would improve to 2-0 after giving up five runs (three earned) on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts in four innings. Freshman Trevor Zeigler would secure his second save of the season after throwing three scoreless innings of relief with four hits, two walks and three strikeouts.
Ham would fall to 1-1 after giving up three runs on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts in two and two-thirds innings.
Four Manatees in the second game had a multi-hit game. It was Almonte and Hairston that lead the way in hitting as they each had four hits. Almonte (4-for-5) also lead the way in offense as he added three RBI and two runs, while Hairston (4-for-5) added two runs.
Ordonez and Vanecek would round out the order with two hits and three RBI each. Ordonez (2-for-3) added one run and one walk, while Vanecek (2-for-3) added two runs and a walk.
Smalley (1-for-5, one RBI), Gil-Fernandez (1-for-4, one RBI and one walk) and Garrido (1-for-2, three runs, one walk and one stolen base) had the remaining three hits.
For the Falcons, Cannizzaro lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-4, while Lopez lead the way in offense after going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Other Citrus Conference Scores:
St. Pete (7-13, 2-7 Citrus) split with Central Florida (14-8, 5-4 Citrus) winning game one 2-1 in 10 innings before losing game two 11-1 in five innings.
Eastern Florida State (13-9-1, 5-4 Citrus) swept Seminole State College (13-9, 3-6 Citrus) 4-1 and 13-2 (5).
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. Santa Fe (13-8, 4-3)
5. Miami Dade (11-10, 4-3)
6. Central Florida (14-8, 5-4)
7. SCF (14-8, 5-4)
8. Eastern Florida State (13-9-1, 5-4)
9. Seminole State (13-9, 3-6)
10. Daytona State (10-11, 3-6)
11. Polk State (11-13, 2-5)
12. St. Pete (7-13, 2-7)
Up Next:
The Manatees will open the next week with a non-conference midweek game against St. Pete at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater Monday night, March 4 at 6 pm before playing a three-game series against Florida Southwestern. Game one will take place at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers Thursday afternoon, March 7 at 2 pm before heading to Robert C. Wynn Field in Bradenton for a doubleheader Saturday afternoon, March 9 at 1 and 4 pm.