Baseball Defeats Two Top-25 Teams in Tournament
February 3, 2023

Baseball Defeats Two Top-25 Teams in Tournament

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By: Pat Clines

 

Panama City Beach, Fla - The SCF baseball team (6-3) split three days of the Panama City Beach  College Baseball Classic and finished 2-2. The Manatees fell to Wallace CC-Dothan (3-0) 9-0 on the first day, split the second day after losing 7-3 to #17 Northwest Florida State (3-3-1) before upsetting #10 Chipola College (4-4) before upsetting #6 San Jacinto College-North (3-4) 11-3 to win the bronze bracket.

 
SCF vs Wallace CC-Dothan:
Head coach Tim Hill II went with freshman Michael Forret to the mound, while Wallace CC-Dothan head coach Ryan Ihle went with sophomore Kade Snell.
 
It was all in favor of the Governors on the offense as they limited the Manatees bats and would not allow them a chance to score.
 
Snell would get the win after throwing five and third innings of scoreless ball, giving up four hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Freshman Jackson Chancey would throw one and two-thirds innings of relief with one walk and one strikeout.
 
Forret would fall to 1-1 after giving up four runs on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts in three innings. Sophomore Connor Hults gave up two runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts in one and two-thirds inning of relief, while freshman Liam Best gave up three runs on one hit with three walks and one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning. Classmate Trey Clucas threw one and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief with one strikeout.
 
Sophomore Austin Dearing was the only Manatee with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-3. Classmates Lucas Ismaili and Brayden Woodburn and freshman Erick Almonte had the remaining three hits.
 
Freshman Ellis Yohn lead the offense for the Governors as he went 2-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI.
 
After the loss, the Manatees were sent down to the gold bracket in the tournament to face #17 Northwest Florida State.
 
 
SCF vs Northwest Florida State:
For the second game, Hill sent sophomore Ryan Stefiuk to the mound, while Northwest Florida State head coach Doug Martin went with sophomore Kyle Beaty.
 
The Manatees would get on the board first at the top of the first as sophomore Kevin Karstetter would hit a two-run homer for his second of the season and a 2-0 SCF lead. The Raiders, however, would take the lead in the bottom of the second after two three-run homers by Paul Windland and Blake Cavill.
 
The Manatees would add their final run of the game as sophomore Richie Morales would hit a bases-loaded single at the top of the sixth, but the Raiders would respond with their final run of the game as Scott Mulder would hit a sacrifice fly to make it 7-3 NWFS before the game ended.
 
Stefiuk would fall to 0-1 after giving up seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits with four strikeouts in five and a third. Freshman Jalen Hairston would throw two-thirds of a scoreless inning of relief.
 
Beaty would earn the win after giving up two runs on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
 
Karstetter would lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Freshman Erick Almonte followed in the multi-hit game as he went 2-for-3 with a run and a walk.
 
Morales was 1-for-2 with an RBI, while freshmen Preston Wetherell and Jayce Blalock each were 1-for-3 each.
 
Cavill and Windland lead the way in offense after their two-run home runs.
 
After the loss, the Manatees were sent to the bronze bracket.
 
SCF vs #10 Chipola:
In the semifinals of the bronze bracket, Hill II sent freshman Bryan Gomez to the mound to start the third game, while Chipola head coach and athletic director Jeff Johnson went with sophomore Drew Howard.
 
The Indians would draw the first run on the board at the top of the first as sophomore Brady Browning would hit an RBI double to right. The Manatees would respond back in the bottom half of the inning as redshirt sophomore Brayden Woodburn would send an infield single to short to bring in Ismaili.
 
After the next two innings went scoreless, the Manatees would take the lead in the bottom of the fourth as sophomore Austin Dearing hit a sacrifice to left to bring in Woodburn to make it 2-1.
 
At the top of the fifth, Hill would pull Gomez and send freshman Cameron Clines to the mound. Despite giving up a hit, the Georgia Tech transfer would strikeout two and get out of the inning with ease.
 
At the top of the seventh, the Indians would buckle Clines as freshman Elgin Bennett would bring in Edian Espinal on a fielder's choice, but Clines would redeem himself as he got Bennett out after he was caught stealing.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees would not back down to get the win. After sophomore Victor Sanchez hit a single and classmate Ben Gilbert drew a walk, sophomore Evan Mastromauro would lay a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to scoring position for Almonte. On a 1-2 count, the native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic would send a single to right to bring in Sanchez and walk-off with the win.
 
Gomez and Howard both earned no-decision. Gomez would give up one run on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts in four innings, while Howard gave up two runs on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in five and a third.
 
Clines would go to 2-0 after giving up one unearned run with five strikeouts in three hitless innings of relief.
 
Freshman Wesley Moore would get the loss after giving up one run on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts in one and a third innings of relief.
 
Sanchez would lead the way in hitting as he went 3-for-3 with a run. Woodburn would follow batting 2-for-3 with an run and an RBI.
 
Almonte (1-for-4, one RBI), Dearing (one RBI and one walk) and Ismaili (one run and one walk) also contributed in the game.
 
The Indians had four hits total.
 
SCF vs San Jacinto:
Hill sent freshman Ed Wagner to the mound to close the weekend, while San Jacinto head coach Tom Arrington went with freshman Joan Roman to counter.
 
After a scoreless first inning, the Manatees would get on the scoreboard first at the top of the second beginning with a one-out double by Dearing. After Hairston hit an infield single to third, sophomore Mario Lopez Jr. would send a double to left to bring in Dearing before sophomore Liam Moreno to load the bases for Almonte. On a 2-0 count, Almonte would clear the bases with a double with right and bring in Hairston, Lopez Jr. and Moreno to make it 4-0 SCF. Arrington would pull Roman and send sophomore Aiden Adams to the mound.
 
 
After a scoreless third, the Manatees would put their lead to double digits at the top of the fourth beginning with a lead-off walk by Moreno. Almonte would then hit a single to bring in Moreno before  Ismaili would reach on a fielder's choice before Arrington sent freshman Alexander Rosario to the mound. After the pitching change, Karstetter would once again show his power as he sent a three-run blast for his third of the season and second of the weekend. After a Woodburn walk and a single by Sanchez, Woodburn would score off of a double play caused by Dearing to make it 10-0 SCF.
 
The Gators would finally get on the board after an RBI single and a run on a wild pitch. 
 
At the top of the fifth, the Gators would make another pitching change and send freshman Patrick Callopy to the mound before the Manatees added another run thanks to an infield single by Sanchez to bring in Ismali for an 11-2 SCF lead
 
The Gators would add one more run in the bottom of the sixth after an RBI single by freshman Jake Bennett, but it was all they could produce as the Manatees won the bronze bracket in the tournament.
 
Wagner would get the win after giving up two runs on three hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. He is now 2-0 on the year.
 
Roman would get the loss after giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts in one and a third.
 
Seven Manatees had at least one hit with five getting at least two. Karstetter would lead the overall offense as he went a career 5-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. He finished 8-for-16 with two home runs and six RBI. Almonte would follow in RBI as he went 2-for-3 with four RBI.
 
Sanchez (2-for-4, one RBI), Ismaili (2-for-3, two runs and a stolen base) and Dearing (2-for-4, one run) had two hits each.
 
Hairston (1-for-3, one run) and Lopez Jr. (1-for-3, one RBI and one run) had the remaining two hits, while Woodburn (one run and two walks), Moreno (two runs and two walks), Gilbert (one and two-thirds innings or relief with one walk and one strikeout), freshman Brendan Albrittain (one scoreless inning of relief) and sophomore Nick Romagnola (one-third of an inning of relief).
 
Five players for the Gators had a hit.
 
 
Other Wins in Tournament:
Wallace CC-Dothan would win the entire tournament after defeating host Gulf Coast State 7-4 in the championship bracket.
 
In the gold bracket, Delgado CC (3-1) defeated #10 Chipola College 8-6 to win the gold bracket championship and send Chipola to the bronze bracket.
 
McLennan CC (5-2) defeated Meridian CC (2-2) 4-3 in the silver bracket championship finals.
 
Other Suncoast Scores:
Hillsborough (3-4) defeated Lake Sumter State (2-3) 12-2 on Saturday. The Hawks will take on Santa Fe College (8-0) Monday afternoon, February 6 at 2:30 pm.
 
St. Pete (0-5) fell in a doubleheader to Pasco-Hernando State (4-2) by scores of 9-2 and 3-1 on Saturday. The Titans will face Pasco-Hernando State Wednesday night, February 8 at 6 pm.
 
Polk State (1-5) secured their first win of the season on Saturday as they defeated Daytona State College (1-3) 10-8. The Eagles will take on Seminole State College of Florida (3-3) Monday night, February 6 at 6 pm.
 
Suncoast Standings:
1. SCF (6-3)
2. HCC (3-4)
3. Polk State (1-5)
4. St. Pete (0-5)
 
Up Next:
The Manatees will be back at home for the next three games (February 7-9) as they welcome Pasco-Hernando State (4-2) at 5 pm, Warner University DT (1-4) at 6 pm and Indian River State (4-2) at 5 pm.