"It was nice to walk it off in the second game and take the series against Indian River," said head coach Tim Hill II. "I thought the whole series was great and it came down to the last out in all three games. It was disappointing to lose the first game, but I thought Palmer (O'Beirne) pitched really well and we had our chance to win the game, but couldn't get the big hit. It was the same in the second game"

 

"I thought we played well as a team overall," said sophomore Jalen Hairston. "We had our defense pick us up several times in the field and our bats came alive late in the game. Batters never gave up and we always stuck together and never gave up."

 

"I felt like our defense and pitching was getting better each game," said sophomore Bryan Gomez. "We had big zeros when we needed them and we got the big hit to win the series"

 

"We played great defense today and turned a lot of double plays," said freshman Pip Smalley. "It was a good overall team win."

 

Game One:

For game one, Hill II sent redshirt freshman Palmer O'Beirne (5-1, 6.21 ERA) to start game one, while Indian River State head coach Frank Torre Jr. went with sophomore Chris Hanson (5-0, 3.88 ERA) to counter.

 

For five innings, it was a pitcher's duel between O'Beirne and Hanson as both pitchers exchanged a combined eight strikeouts with O'Beirne having seven of them. During the top of the third inning, the Pioneers had a chance to score on a sacrifice fly, but a strong throw by sophomore Jayce Blalock to classmate LT Cockrill prevented the run from scoring.

 

At the top of the sixth, the Pioneers would get on the board first thanks to a two-run single by freshman Jacob Weatherspoon for a 2-0 lead for the Pioneers. In the bottom half of the inning, the Manatees would fight back beginning with Smalley getting hit by a pitch before advancing to second on a wild pitch. After sophomore Allan Gil-Fernandez hit single to center, sophomore Luis Garrido would line a single to left to bring in Smalley. After sophomore Santiago Ordonez drew a walk, Gil-Fernandez scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2-2.

 

At the top of the seventh, the Pioneers would eventually take the lead after freshman Brett Patten lined a solo home run to right for his sixth of the season before they sealed the victory.

 

Both O'Beirne and Hanson earned a no-decision. O'Beir would give up two runs on six hits with five walks and four strikeouts in six innings, while Hanson gave up two runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts in five and two-thirds innings.

 

Freshman Dylan DeLeo would fall to 1-1 after giving up one run on one hit with one walk and one strikeout in one-third of an inning of relief. Classmate Ryan Slattery would threw two-thirds of a scoreless inning of relief.

 

Freshman Christopher Knier would improve to 6-1 after throwing one and a third scoreless innings of relief.

 

Garrido would lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Gil-Fernadez went 2-for-3 with one run. Smalley would have the remaining hit as he went 1-for-2 with a run, while Ordonez (walk) also contributed in the game.

 

Patten lead the way in hitting as he went 2-for-3 with a home run, while Weatherspoon lead the offense as he went 1-for-2 with two RBI.

 

Game Two:

Looking to take the rubber match, Hill II sent sophomore Preston Wetherell (1-1, 4.61 ERA) while Torre went with redshirt sophomore Cade Drohan (2-1, 3.00 ERA).

 

The Pioneers would open on the board first at the top of the first after RBI singles by sophomores Daniel Baez and Matthew Rubin and a sacrifice fly by classmate Raul Feliz made it 3-0 Indian River. The Manatees would respond in the bottom half of the inning after a leadoff double by sophomore Erick Almonte before Smalley sent a two-run homer to right for his fourth home run of the season and cut the Pioneers lead to 3-2. After the second inning went scoreless, the Manatees would tie the game at 3-3 after Gil-Fernandez would send a double to left to bring in Hairston.

 

While the fourth and fifth inning went scoreless, the Manatees would fight to take their first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth. After freshmen Luke Boykin (single), Mario Trivella (walk) and Hairston (walk) loaded the bases, Smalley would send a double to left to bring in Boykin and Trivella for a 5-3 SCF lead before being pulled out due to an injury.

 

At the top of the seventh, the Pioneers would cut the lead to 5-4 after an RBI double by freshman Maikol Lucena. They would try to tie the game on a sacrifice fly, but Blalock would not allow that to happen as he was able to throw out the runner at home for another double play. At the top of the eighth, the Pioneers would eventually tie the game after a fielder's choice and fielding error, but Gomez would get out of the inning and prevent further damage.

 

After both team were unsuccessful to finish the game in the eighth and ninth inning, the game would go to extra innings. Gomez would get the first two outs with ease before a two-out single was hit by Rubin, but a strong throw by Ordonez would get the runner out for trying to steal second and give the Manatees a chance.

 

In the bottom of the 10th, the Manatees took the moment to get the win beginning with a leadoff single by Boykin that hit third base. After Trivella moved Boykin to second on a sacrifice bunt, Almonte would draw a walk. All eyes turned towards Hairston on an 0-2 count and with one swing of the bat, the upcoming transfer for the University of Kentucky would send a fly ball to right-center that almost went out for a home run, but would drop in for a double while Boykin took the risk and scored to give the Manatees a walk-off win and seal the series.

 

"It was a great feeling," said Hairston on getting the walk-off hit. "I wasn't trying to do too much at the plate and we won the game."

 

"He hit the ball pretty good and we took a chance to get Luke (Boykin) in," said Hill II on Hairston's game-winning hit. "He came up big when we needed him."

 

Wetherell and Drohan would both earn no-decisions in their starts. Wetherell would give up four runs on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts in six and a third innings, while Drohan would give up three runs on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts in five innings.

 

Gomez would improve to 4-0 after giving up one unearned run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts in three and two-thirds innings of relief.

 

"I felt pretty good," said Gomez. "While I didn't have my best stuff, we played for each other. I know they needed me in the moment, so I had to step up and we came together to get the win."

 

Redshirt freshman Samuel Beir would fall to 2-3 after giving up one run on two hits with one walk and one strikeout in one and a third innings of relief.

 

Four Manatees had a multi-hit game in the second game. It was Boykin that lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-5 with two runs. Smalley would lead the way offensively as he went 2-for-4 with four RBI.

 

"While I did feel a little out of it at the plate, I'm glad I was able to help any way I can," said Smalley. "My body was kind of hurting and I was just trying to get good pitches to hit and keep my eye on the ball."

 

Hairston and Almonte would round out the order as they each had two hits apiece. Hairston (2-for-5) added one RBI, one run and one walk, while Almonte added one run and two walks.

 

Gil-Fernandez (1-for-5, one RBI) and Trivella (1-for-2, one run and two walks) had the remaining two hits, while Ordonez (one walk) also contributed in the game.

 

For the Pioneers, Rubin lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

 

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

 

Santa Fe (23-17, 13-11 Citrus) split with RV Florida Southwestern (28-14, 18-6 Citrus) winning game one 5-4 in eight innings before losing game two 10-0 in five innings.

 

Central Florida (25-16, 13-11 Citrus) swept their doubleheader over Hillsborough (21-22, 9-15 Citrus) by scores of 3-2 and 11-10.

 

Miami Dade (22-19, 15-9 Citrus) split with Daytona State (14-22, 6-18 Citrus) winning game one 9-2 before losing game two 15-2 in six innings.

 

Polk State (27-18, 14-10 Citrus) split their doubleheader with Eastern Florida State (20-20-1, 11-13 Citrus) winning game one 2-1 before losing game two 5-2.

 

Seminole State College of Florida (20-22, 8-16 Citrus) swept St. Pete (15-24, 8-16 Citrus) in their doubleheader by scores of 3-2 and 8-4.

 

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. RV Florida Southwestern (28-14, 18-6)

2. RV Indian River State (29-10, 17-7)

3. Miami Dade (22-19, 15-9)

4. Polk State (27-18, 14-10)

5. Central Florida (25-16, 13-11)

6. Santa Fe (23-17, 13-11)

7. SCF (24-18, 12-12)

8. Eastern Florida State (20-20-1, 11-13)

9. Hillsborough (21-22, 9-15)

10. Seminole State College of Florida (20-22, 8-16)

11. St. Pete (15-24, 8-16)

12. Daytona State (14-22, 6-18)

 

Up Next:

The Manatees will be back in action at home as they welcome Miami Dade Monday night, April 8 at 5 pm before their next series against Santa Fe College.