By Pat Clines

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF softball team (8-8) split their series with Santa Fe (13-7) at the SCF Softball Complex, winning game one 3-2 before losing game two 4-3 in eight innings. With the split, the Manatees are 25-11 against the Lady Saints.

"I thought we competed in both games today," said head coach Mandy Schuerman. "First game went our way, second game didn't. Our pitchers were solid and did really well. Anytime we keep teams three runs or less, I think we put ourselves in a good position to win."

"Overall, I thought we played really well as a team," said freshman Karsyn Rutherford. "Our energy was up for 14 innings."

"The team played very well together," said sophomore Chantel Schurr. "We were very gelled today, put pieces together and strung hits together, which really helped us a lot and honestly we had that and I thought it was a great job all-around regardless of the win or loss."

Game One:

For game one, Schuerman sent freshman Karsyn Rutherford to the mound, while Santa Fe head coach Savannah Webster went with sophomore Kensley Durrance.

The Manatees would attack first in the bottom of the first as sophomore Tori Copeland would bring in freshman Stephanie Oaks on a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the third, the Manatees would extend the lead to 2-0 after sophomore Olivia Seibert hit into a fielder's choice to bring in freshman Haley Rosenbaum.

Rutherford continued to push hard until the top of the sixth as Santa Fe would tie the game to 2-2 after an RBI double by freshman Sydney Fowler before she scored off of a double steal.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Manatees did not want to go down without a fight as freshman Alissa Kessler would send a double to left center to bring in Oaks for a 3-2 SCF lead. From the top of the seventh, Rutherford would remain calm, cool and collected with the defense backing her up as the Manatees took the first win.

Rutherford would get her fourth win of the season after throwing a complete game, giving up two runs on six hits with five strikeouts. She is now 4-2 on the year.

"I felt good out there," said Rutherford on her complete game. "I felt confident with my defense behind, which builds my confidence when I pitch."

Durrance would fall to 7-3 after giving up three runs on three hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in six innings.

Kessler (1-for-3, one RBI), Oaks (1-for-2, two runs and one stolen base) and Rosenbaum (1-for-2, one run) each had one of the Manatees' three hits. Copeland (one RBI), Seibert (one RBI) and Schurr (one walk and one stolen base) also contributed in the game.

Fowler and sophomore Abrianna Hickox each had two hits with Fowler having the lone RBI.

Game Two:

For game two, Schuerman went with freshman Brielle Bostow while Webster went with sophomore Sophie Abrams.

In the bottom of the first, Abrams would be pulled after taking a hit to the leg off the bat of Copeland. This would signal for Webster to send in Fowler to come in for relief. She would get out of the inning.

With the first two innings went scoreless, the Manatees would get on the board first as Siebert would reach on a fielding error while Rosenbaum scored for the first run of game.

The Lady Saints would then take the lead after an RBI groundout by freshman Madi Hewett and two-run homer by sophomore Jaelyn Carter to make it 3-1 Santa Fe for her first of the season. In the bottom of the fourth, the Manatees would the deficit to one run as Schurr would send a solo home run to left center for her first of the season to make 3-2 still in favor of Santa Fe.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees did not want to go down without fight as Copeland would send a single to center to bring in Rosenbaum and tie the game at 3-3 before going to extra innings.

At the top of the eighth, the Lady Saints would take the lead after an RBI groundout by Carter. The Manatees would try to mount a comeback in the bottom half of the inning, but to no avail as the Lady Saints took game two.

Bostow would fall to 2-3 after throwing an eight inning complete game, giving up four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.

Durrance would bump up to 8-3 after throwing three innings of relief, giving up one run on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts. Abrams earned a no-decision after throwing two-thirds of an inning with one hit and one walk before leaving due to injury. Fowler would throw four and a third innings of relief, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits with two strikeouts. She was also 2-for-4 with a run.

Schurr would be the leader in the second game as she went 3-for-4 with a home run and a stolen base.

"In the second game, I was a little tense," said Schurr. "But because that in order to win, I needed to get myself together and get base hits for the team and string hits. The home run felt great, but it felt even better just did my job for the team as a whole."

Rosenbaum finished the second game 2-for-2 with two runs, a walk and two stolen bases. Copeland (1-for-3, one RBI), Oaks (1-for-5) and freshman Maddisan Noriega (1-for-3, one stolen base) had the remaining three hits, while Seibert (one walk and three stolen bases) also contributed in the game.

For the Lady Saints, aside from Fowler, Hickox had a multi-hit game as she was 2-for-3 with a run while Smith had the only multi-RBI game as she finished 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.

Notes:

With the win, Schuerman now has 247 wins as head coach and is three away from reaching 250.

Up Next:

The Manatees remain at home for their next doubleheader as they welcome Western University Thursday, February 23 at 4 and 6 pm.