Daytona Beach, Fla -  The SCF softball team (8-4, 2-2 Citrus) pulled off another split in Citrus Conference play for their doubleheader against Daytona State (8-8, 1-3 Citrus) on the road losing game one 3-1 before winning game two 4-3.

 

"Today, we did not play well," said head coach Mandy Schuerman. "We are capable of putting together a much better performance. We will continue to work on our offensive approach to get more quality at-bats for when we prepare for Seminole State."

 

Game One:

Schuerman sent sophomore Karsyn Rutherford (1-1, 0.95 ERA) to start game one while Daytona State head coach Ben Greer went with sophomore Allizaya Talamantes (3-2, 2.08 ERA) to counter.

 

The Manatees would get on the board first at the top of the first as sophomore Alissa Kessler would send a double to left to bring in classmate Stephanie Oaks. In the bottom half of the inning, the Falcons would take the lead as sophomore Kiera Mainolfi would send a two-run homer to left for her third of the season before classmate Cristina Penney hit an RBI double to make it 3-1 Daytona State. From there, the Lady Falcons would hold the Manatees scoreless for the rest of the game to win the first game.

 

Rutherford would fall to 1-2 after giving up three runs on four hits with one walk in two-thirds of an inning. Freshman Ryleigh Bennett would throw five and a third scoreless innings of relief with three hits and four strikeouts.

 

Talmantes would improve to 4-2 after throwing a complete game, giving up one unearned run on one hit with four strikeouts.

 

Kessler would have the only hit and RBI for the Manatees as she finished 1-for-3 at the plate.

 

Mainolfi lead the Falcons offensively as she went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBI.

 

Game Two:

Looking to go for the split, Schuerman sent freshman Julianna Stachowicz (3-0, 0.79 ERA) to start game two, while Greer went with sophomore Madison Mitzel (3-3, 2.49 ERA).

 

The Manatees would get on the board first once again at the top of the first as freshman Hailey Margetis would bring in sophomore Haley Rosenbaum for the first run of the game. One inning later, at the top of the second, the Manatees would increase their lead further beginning with a Stachowicz leadoff double before sophomore Taylor Halback hit a bunt single to bring in Stachowicz before advancing to second on a Falcon error. After classmate Jaylin Padro hit a single, sophomore Maddisan Noriega would send a fly ball to left to bring in Stachowicz with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0 SCF.

 

At the top of the third, the Manatees would make it 4-0 as Padro would draw a bases loaded walk and bring in Margetis. The Lady Falcons would try to respond in the bottom half of the third after an RBI triple by freshman Morgan Davis and a Manatee fielding error.

 

Tbe Lady Falcons would cut the lead to 4-3 after an RBI single by sophomore Sky Ranos, but it would be all they could produce as Stachowicz remained calm and sealed the victory for the Manatees in the second game.

 

Stachowicz would improve to 4-0 after throwing a complete game, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits with five walks and eight strikeouts. She was also 1-for-2 with a run and a walk at the plate.

 

Mitzel would fall to 3-4 after giving up four runs on seven hits with two walks and one strikeout in two and a third innings. Sophomore Emma Ream threw four and two-third scoreless innings of relief with two walks and six strikeouts.

 

Margetis would be the leader in hitting for the Manatees as she went 2-for-3 with an RBI, one run, one walk and one stolen base. Rosenbaum would also have a multi-hit game as she finished 2-for-4 with a run and two stolen bases.

 

Halback (1-for-2, one RBI and one run) and Padro (1-for-2, one RBI) had the remaining two hits for the Manatees, while Noriega (one RBI) and redshirt sophomore Jordan O'Brien (one walk) also contributed in the game.

 

For the Lady Falcons, Ranos lead the way in hitting as she finished 2-for-3 with an RBI at the plate.

 

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

#3 Florida Southwestern (17-1, 4-0 Citrus) swept their doubleheader over #10 Seminole State (10-6, 0-4 Citrus) by scores of 7-2 and 3-2.

 

St. Pete (11-11, 0-2 Citrus) swept Miami Dade (4-8, 2-0 Citrus) by scores of 4-1 and 12-4.

 

#16 Eastern Florida State (16-4, 1-3 Citrus) split with Santa Fe (12-7, 3-1 Citrus) winning game one 7-5 before losing game two 6-2.

 

#9 Central Florida (13-5, 4-0 Citrus) swept Polk State (6-8, 0-4 Citrus) 19-2 (5) and 8-0 (5).

 

#5 Indian River State (16-1, 4-0 Citrus) swept Hillsborough (6-9, 1-3 Citrus) 8-3 and 7-0.

 

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. #3 FSW (17-1, 4-0)

2. #5 Indian River State (16-1, 4-0)

3. #9 Central Florida (13-5, 4-0)

4. Miami Dade (4-8, 2-0)

5. Santa Fe (12-7, 3-1)

6. SCF (8-4, 2-2)

7. #16 Eastern Florida State (16-4, 1-3)

8. Daytona State (8-8, 1-3)

9. Hillsborough (6-9, 1-3)

10. #10 Seminole State College (10-6, 0-4)

11. Polk State (6-8, 0-4)

12. St. Pete (11-11, 0-2)

 

Up Next:

The Manatees return home for the next four games at the SCF Softball Complex as they welcome #10 Seminole State College of Florida Saturday afternoon, March 2 at 12 and 2 pm before welcoming Miami Dade Tuesday afternoon, March 5 at 2 and 4 pm.