"We played really good defense and had great pitching overall," said head coach Mandy Schuerman. "We do however need to fix our offensive approach by attacking the count early. We will focus on that and attacking strikes early in the count."

 

Game One:

For game one, Schuerman sent freshman Brielle Boston to the mound, while Santa Fe head coach Savanah Webster went with sophomore Kensley Durrance.

 

For the the majority of the game, it was a pitcher's duel between Boston and Durrance as both exchanged zeros on the run column. By the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Saints would take the lead off of a solo home run by sophomore Abrianna Hickox for her second of the season.

 

The Manatees tried to tied the game after a lead off triple by sophomore Chantel Schurr, but it would not go in the Manatees favor as the Saints took the first game.

 

Durrance would earn her second win of the season after throwing a five-hit shutout with nine strikeouts and a walk. She is now 2-2 on the year.

 

Bostow would fall to 1-1 after giving up one run on four hits with two walks in six innings.

 

Schurr, sophomores Liv Siebert and Tori Copeland and freshmen Alissa Kessler and Vanessa Neptune each had one of the Manatees five hits. Redshirt freshman Jordan O'Brien contributed with a stolen base.

 

Game Two:

Hoping to make up for the loss, Schuerman would have freshman Karsyn Rutherford step to the mound, while Webster went with sophomore Sophie Abrams.

 

Just like game one, it was once again a pitcher's duel between Rutherford and Abrams for five straight innings.

 

At the top of the fifth, the Manatees would get on the scoreboard. After Kessler drew a walk and Copeland and sophomore Renee Dixon hit back-to-back singles to load the bases, Neptune would groundout to short before Kessler scored. After Schuerman sent freshman Stephanie Oaks to pinch run for Dixon, sophomore Gabi Nicholson would extend the Manatees lead with a two-RBI single to right and bring in Copeland and Oaks to make it 3-0 SCF.

 

From there, Rutherford would wrap up the final inning for the win, despite putting two runners on base.

 

Rutherford would move to 2-1 after throwing a three-hit shutout with three walks.

 

Abrams would drop to 2-2 after giving up three runs on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts in five and a third. Sophomore Darian Ingram would throw one and a third scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts.

 

Copeland would be the only Manatee with a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-3 with a run, while Nicholson was the only Manatee with a multi RBI game after going 1-for-2 with two RBI.

 

Freshman Haley Rosenbaum had the remaining hit while adding a stolen base.

 

Sophomores Story Giebeig and Lily Garnett-Brown and freshmen Sydney Fowler each had one of the Lady Saints three hits in game two

 

Notes:

With the win, Schuerman has secured win #242 and needs eight more to reach #250 in her career.

 

Other Suncoast Scores:

Polk State (0-2) fell in their season opener to Lake Sumter State (2-2) by scores of 6-1 and 9-5. The Eagles will face Daytona State (2-2) Thursday, February 9 at 4 and 6 pm.

 

Hillsborough (2-3) split their doubleheader with South Florida State College (4-2) winning game one 6-0 and losing game two 5-2. The Hawks will take on Lake Sumter on Saturday, February 4 at 1 and 3 pm.

 

Suncoast Conference Standings:

1. St. Pete College (3-3)

2. SCF (3-3)

3. Hillsborough (2-3)

4. Polk State (0-2)

 

Up Next:

The Manatees remain on the road as they travel to Fort Myers for the FSW Paradise Cove Tournament at the CenturyLink Sports Complex on Saturday, February 4. They will face Chipola (2-3) at 10 am and St. John's River State (2-4) at 12:45 pm.