Clearwater, Fla - The SCF softball team (2-0) opened their season strong on day one of the JUCO Kickoff Classic at Eddie C. Moore Field as they defeated Georgia Military College (0-2) 7-2 in the first game before defeating USC Union (0-1) 14-1 in five innings via the eight-run mercy rule.

"I thought when we made mistakes we did a great job of bouncing back," said head coach Mandy Schuerman. "We did a fantastic job of hunting pitches in our zone and capitalizing on defensive miscues with our base running. In both games, we did make a couple of defensive mistakes, but when we have up runs we came back to score more. In both games, we continued to score in multiple inning, which made me proud. I look forward to tomorrow as we take it one pitch at a time."

"The team did very well overall," said sophomore Brielle Bostow. "Our communication and focus through both game is what stood out. Both offense and defense did well and got the job done. It felt really good opening up with two wins. It definitely set a tone that we will strive for every game."

SCF vs Georgia Military:

Schuerman sent Bostow to start game one for the Manatees, while GMC head coach Ashley Bunn went with reigning GCAA Pitcher of the Year in sophomore Addie Moss.

At the top of the first, the Bulldogs would get on the board first as sophomore Paris Kirby would bring in a run on an RBI groundout. In the bottom half of the inning, the Manatees would string together an offensive onslaught. Sophomore Stephanie Oaks would lead off the inning with a single to left and a stolen base before freshman Hailey Margetis would secure her first collegiate hit with a double to right to bring in Oaks and tie the game at 1-1 before moving to third on a passed ball. 

Two batters later, classmate Ryleigh Bennett would send a single to right for her first collegiate hit to bring in Margetis as the Manatees would take the lead. The lead would increase further as sophomore Taylor Halback would send a double to center to bring in Bennett before advancing to third on a wild pitch and scoring off of a single by freshman Lydia Denton for her first collegiate hit of the season. After sophomore Haley Rosenbaum was hit by a pitch, classmate Maddisan Noriega would send a single to right to bring in Denton to make it 5-1 SCF.

In the bottom of the second, Margetis and freshman Olivia Rogers would open the inning with back to back singles before Margetis was called out at third. After Rogers stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch and sophomore Alissa Kessler drew a walk, Bennett would send a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Rogers for a 6-1 SCF lead.

Meanwhile, Bostow continued playing her part on the mound as the Tampa native was able to breeze through the next two innings of works.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Manatee would add their final run of the game as Kessler would send a double to center to bring in Margetis for a 7-1 lead for the Manatees.

At the top of the sixth, after giving up a lead off single, Schuerman would pull Bostow and send sophomore Karsyn Rutherford to the mound. The Bulldogs would get a second run on the board off of a Manatee fielding error, but it was all they could produce as Rutherford was able to hold her own and seal the the final two innings for the first win of the 2024 season.

Bostow would go to 1-0 after giving up two runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts in five innings. Rutherford would throw two scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit with one walk and two strikeouts.

"I felt really good," said Bostow on her game. "I was excited to start competing and being out there with my team. We as a pitching staff have been focused on attacking the strike zone and throwing quality pitches."

Moss would fall to 0-1 after giving up seven runs on 12 hits with four walks and two strikeouts in six innings.

All nine Manatees in the starting lineup would have at least one hit. Margetis would lead the way in hitting as she went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, one RBI and one walk. Kessler would follow after finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.

Bennett would be the offensive leader as she went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a run.

Halback (1-for-3, one RBI and one run), Rosenbaum (1-for-1, one RBI and one stolen base), Noriega (1-for-3, one RBI), Oaks (1-for-3, one run and one stolen base, Lydia Denton (1-for-3, one RBI and one run) and Rogers (1-for-4, one run and one stolen base) had the remaining six hits. Sophomore Jaylin Padro (one walk) also contributed in the game.

For the Bulldogs, Kirby, sophomores Kaitlyn Hallman, Hudson Smith and Reign Williams and freshman Shayla Stephenson each had one of the teams five hits.

SCF vs USC Union:

For game two against USC Union, Schuerman went with Rutherford, while USC Union head coach William Royce went with freshman Abby Benfield.

The first inning opened up the floodgates for the Manatees beginning with a lead off single by Oaks before stealing second and a walk drawn by Rutherford. After Oaks stole third and Rutherford moved to second on a defensive indifference, redshirt sophomore Jordan O'Brien would bring in the first runs of the game as she sent a double to center to bring in Oaks and Rutherford before stealing third. Rogers would then send O'Brien home with a sacrifice fly to center. After back-to-back singles by freshman Lilah Denton and sophomore Janessa Benavides and a stolen base by Lilah Denton, freshman Avery Arrington would bring in Lilah Denton with an RBI groundout to make it. 4-0 SCF.

The Bantams would get on the board with their only run of the game as freshman Peyton Morris would bring in the run with a groundout to make it 4-1 still in favor of the Manatees.

At the top of the second, the Manatees would increase their lead further beginning with back-to-back one out singles by Oaks and Rutherford before O'Brien sent another double to center to bring in Oaks. One batter later, Lilah Denton would send a single to left to bring in Rutherford and O'Brien before stealing second. Benavides would then send a single to center to bring in Lilah Denton to make it 8-1 SCF. 

Oaks would make it 9-1 SCF after grounding out to bring in Noriega at the top of the third. In the bottom half of the inning, Schuerman would send Bennett to the mound for Rutherford and breeze through the inning.

At the top of the fourth, the Manatees would increase the lead to double digits beginning with a lead off by freshman Julianna Stachowicz before she moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a fly out. Following the two out, Arrington would reach first on a fielding error to bring in Stachowicz before Padro brought in Arrington with a double to center and reaching third to make it 11-1 SCF and invoke the mercy rule.

At the top of the fifth, the Manatees would add their final runs on the board beginning with a one-out single by Bennett and a double by O'Brien before Stachowicz sent a triple to right to bring them both in. An RBI single by Benavides to bring in Stachowicz would make it 14-1 SCF before Bennett shut the door in the bottom half of the inning to seal the sweep for the Manatees.

Rutherford would get the win after giving up one run on two hits with one strikeout in two innings. She also went 2-for-2 with two runs, one walk and one strikeout.

Bennett would throw three scoreless innings of relief with one walk and two strikeouts while batting 1-for-1 with a run.

Benfield would get the loss after throwing a five inning complete game, giving up 14 runs (12 earned) on 17 hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Alongside Rutherford, four Manatees have a multi-hit game. O'Brien and Benavides would lead the way with three hits each. O'Brien (3-for-4) also lead the way offensively with a career-high three RBI, three runs and a stolen base, while Benavides (3-for-4) added two RBI.

"Jojo has been hitting the ball well in practice and is having more and more confidence in the strength of her shoulder." said Schuerman on O'Brien. "I was happy to see her have such an explosive outing."

Oaks and Lilah Denton both finished with two hits and two stolen bases each. Oaks (2-for-4) added two runs and one RBI, while Lilah Denton (2-for-3) added two RBI and  two runs.

 Stachowicz rounded out the offensive order after going 1-for-1 with two RBI, two runs and one walk.

Arrington (1-for-4, one RBI and one run), Padro (1-for-4, one RBI) and Noriega (1-for-3, one run) had the remaining three hits, while Rogers (one RBI) also contributed in the game.

Sophomore Gracie Starnes and freshman Bailey Stewart had the only two hits for the Bantams.

Notes:

This was the debuts of Bennett, Margetis, Rogers, Lydia Denton, Lilah Denton, Arrington, Benavides, Padro, Stachowicz and freshman Saremi Flores. Benavides and Padro joined  the team after transferring from Miami Dade.

For Schuerman, this was wins #259 and #260 for her in her career. She needs 40 to reach 300 career wins.

Up Next:

The Manatees will wrap up their part of the JUCO Kickoff Classic on Saturday, January 27 and a clean sweep as they play #4 Parkland College at 11:30 am before playing the US Air Force Academy Club Team at 4:30 pm.