Baseball Slays Tampa JV

Tampa, Fla - The SCF baseball team (23-12, 11-7 Citrus) were able to snag another non-conference road game as they defeated the University of Tampa JV (10-10) 21-5.

"We played pretty well today and swung the bats great," said head coach Tim Hill II. "We had a lot of guys get to play, which was nice. We need to have some good pitching performances and play good defense when we have Central Florida coming up."

"I felt that we did really good," said sophomore Allan Gil Fernandez. "We were competing and playing hard every inning. I think that was the key for our success today."

"The team played great as a whole offensively and defensively," said freshman Will Rawls. "That will really help us with our focus to play as a team and produce when the big moments come along."

Hill II sent sophomore Gavyn Bowen to the mound, while Tampa JV head coach Mark Johnson went with sophomore Gabe Wheeler to counter.

The Manatees would have no problem getting on the board first at the top of the first as freshman Mattie Counts would hit a double to bring in sophomore Mario Trivella. They would then extend the lead beginning with freshman Dominic Donatucci getting hit by a pitch and stealing second before Rawl hit a single to bring in Donatucci. Sophomore CJ Richard would then hit an RBI triple to bring in Rawls before Trivella brought in Richard with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 SCF.

At the top of the third, the Manatees continued to push runs on the board as sophomore Luke Boykin would hit a solo home run in the fourth straight game for his 10th of the season. After freshman Myles Davis hit a double, he would then score on a wild pitch. Donatucci, Rawls and Gil Fernandez would draw walks to load the bases before Richard drew a walk of his own to bring in Gil Fernandez to make it 7-0 SCF.

At the top of the fourth, after Counts and freshman Ryan Kaitz drew walks, Counts would score on a wild pitch before Gil Fernandez showed off his power as the upcoming transfer for Florida International University hit a two-run home run for his fifth of the season and put the Manatees up 10-0.

"It felt good to get out of this slump that I'm in after hitting that home run," said Gil Fernandez. "It really got my confidence back and just make you play loose."

After the fifth inning went scoreless, the Manatees would add on to the lead at the top of the sixth as Kaitz would bring in Davis with a two-run home run for his second of the season for a 12-0 SCF lead. They would increase the lead further at the top of the seventh as Kaitz would hit an RBI single to bring in Boykin to make 13-0.

At the top of the eighth, the Manatees would add their final runs on the board beginning with a leadoff double by Donatucci and a single by Rawls. After Richard drew a walk to load the bases, freshman Holden Brauner would get hit by a pitch and bring in Donatucci. One batter later, freshman Ben Ryan would get hit by a pitch and bring in Rawls before Kaitz drew a walk to bring in Richard and Gil Fernandez got hit by a pitch to bring in Brauner. The Manatees would bat around as Donatucci would draw a walk to bring in Ryan before Rawls cleared the bases with a double to right-center to bring in Kaitz, Gil Fernandez and Donatucci to make it 21-0 SCF.

The Spartans would eventually get on the board with five runs in the bottom of the eighth, but it would ultimately not be enough as the Manatees sealed the victory.

Bowen would earn a no-decision after throwing four scoreless innings with three hits, three walks and four strikeouts. Sophomore Frank Villela would get the win and improve to 3-0 after throwing two scoreless innings of relief with walks and one strikeout.

Four Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Rawls that lead the way in hitting and offense as he finished 4-for-5 with four RBI, two runs and one walk.

"It was a good game," said Rawls. "I felt great and well prepared."

Kaitz would follow going 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, three runs, two walks and a stolen base, while Boykin would go 2-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored and Davis rounded out the order going 2-for-4 with two runs and a walk.

Counts (1-for-3, one run, one RBI, one walk and one stolen base), Gil Fernandez (1-for-3, one home run, three runs, three RBI and two walks), Donatucci (1-for-3, three runs, one RBI, two walks and two stolen bases), Richard (1-for-4, two runs, two RBI and two walks) and redshirt sophomore Connor O'Sullivan (1-for-2) had the remaining hits for the Manatees.

Citrus Conference Scores:

1. #7 Indian River State (24-7, 14-4)

2. #11 Central Florida (25-8, 11-7)

3. #13 Florida Soutwestern (25-9, 11-7)

4. SCF (23-12, 11-7)

5. Polk State (21-15, 11-7)

6. Eastern Florida State (20-13, 9-9)

7. Miami Dade (17-15, 9-9)

8. Daytona State (11-18, 9-9)

9. Seminole State College of Florida (19-15, 8-10)

10. Santa Fe (16-18, 8-10)

11. Hillsborough (13-18, 6-12)

12. St. Pete (3-29, 1-17)

Up Next:

The Manatees resume Citrus Conference play as they face #11 Central Florida (25-8, 11-7 Citrus) for their next series. Game one will take place at Wynn Field Thursday night, March 27 at 5 pm while games two and three will take place at Goodlett Field in Ocala Saturday afternoon, March 29 at 12 and 3 pm.