Baseball Takes Doubleheader Over Santa Fe

Bradenton, Fla - The RV SCF baseball team (30-16, 17-10 Citrus) were able to take home a key doubleheader with some assistance at Wynn Field as they defeated Santa Fe (20-24, 11-16 Citrus) 9-0 and 6-4. With the sweep in their doubleheader and #7 Florida Southwestern's split with #18 Central Florida, the Manatees now have sole possession of third place.

"It was a good day today to win both games," said head coach Tim Hill II. "Pitching was very good and Lochlan (Radloff) turned in another terrific performance. He was in control the entire way. Oscar (Hernandez) threw really well in the second game and Cole Dement threw well also which was great to see. It was very encouraging to see our guys be competitive and we played hard for 16 innings. We need to play well coming down the homestretch of our season with another tough citrus conference series coming up against a good Eastern Florida State team."

"We were playing complementary baseball with different aspects of our game picking us up when we needed it," said sophomore Hayden Gustavson. "Whether it was defense, pitching, hitting or anything in between. In the end, it felt good to still take the series after dropping the first game to Santa Fe Thursday and it kept us in the hunt among the top of the conference."

"I think we played as good as we could have," said sophomore Oscar Hernandez. "We had energy from the first inning of the first game until the last inning of the second game and I believe that is exactly what we needed to do to get the series win. Taking this series was huge. We knew we needed to win both today to keep us in the hunt for the conference and after this weekend, we are just one step closer than we were last week."

"I fell like the team really took matters into their own hands today on both sides of the ball," said freshman Holden Brauner. "The pitchers went in and competed every step of the way and the hitters never backed down. It was a huge showing of maturity and competitive nature. Taking this series was huge and just keeps the train rolling on the way to the playoffs and the best time to reach your maximum performance as a team is towards the end of the season through playoffs."

Game One:

Hill II sent freshman Lochlan Radloff (6-3, 3.43 ERA) to start game one, while Santa Fe head coach Johnny Wiggs went with Matthew Pagan (4-4, 5.44 ERA) to counter.

The Manatees would be the ones to open on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first beginning wiht a leadoff triple by sophomore CJ Richard before freshman Myles Davis brought him in with a single to center. One batter later, after freshman Ben Ryan hit a single and sophomore Luke Boykin grounded into a fielder's choice, sophomore Mario Trivella would hit an RBI single of his own to bring in Ryan before Boykin scored on a fielding error to make it 3-0 SCF.

After the second went scoreless for both teams, the Manatees would add to their lead in the bottom of the third as Gustavson would show his speed and send a triple to right to bring in Ryan and Boykin for a 5-0 SCF lead.

While the Manatees continued to hold the lead, Radloff remained calm and collected as the reigning NJCAA Region Pitcher of the Week continued to strikeout as many batters as he could.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Manatees would add their last runs of the first game. After a leadoff double by Trivella before moving to third on a passed ball, Gustavson would send a single to right and bring in Trivella. This would signal the end for Pagan as Wiggs would bring in redshirt sophomore Chase Chappell for relief work and Hill II sent freshman Dominic Donatucci to pinch run for Gustavson. After freshman Ryan Kaitz drew a walk, freshman Clayton Evans would bring in Donatucci with a double to center. Following a sacrifice fly by Richard to bring in Kaitz, Davis would send a single to center to bring in Evans and make it 9-0 SCF before they sealed the victory.

Radloff would improve to 7-3 after throwing a five-hit shutout with two walks and 12 strikeouts. It was his sixth complete game this season as well as his fifth shutout of the season and third 

Pagan would fall to 4-5 after giving up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with two strikeouts in five innings. Chappell would give up two runs on two hits with two walks in one inning of relief.

Four Manatees had a multi-hit game. It was Gustavson that would lead the way as he went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Davis would follow going 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Trivella went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI and Ryan went 2-for-3 with two runs and a walk.

Richard (1-for-3, one run and one RBI), Boykin (1-for-3, two runs) and Evans (1-for-3, one run and one RBI) had the remaining hits for the Manatees.

Freshman Ryan Chase and sophomore Erik Blair lead the way in hitting as they each had two hits.

Game Two:

Looking to take the rubber game, Hill II sent Hernandez (6-4, 4.79 ERA) to start the second game, while Wiggs went with redshirt sophomore Lucas Johns (6-0, 3.88 ERA) to counter.

The Manatees would once again get on the board first in the bottom of the first beginning with a leadoff double by Brauner before moving to third on a groundout. After sophomore Allan Gil Fernandez got hit by a pitch, Brauner would score on a passed ball before Ryan brought in Gil Fernandez with an infield single to make it 2-0 SCF. One inning later, Davis would hit an RBI double and bring in redshirt sophomore Connor O'Sullivan to make it 3-0 SCF.

After a scoreless third, the Saints would get their first runs on the board at the top of the fourth off of a two-run single by sophomore and former SCF Manatee Rex Smith. One inning later, they would take their first lead of the game as sophomore Robert Nedry would send a two-run homer to right for his fourth home run of the season.

The Manatees would respond in the bottom half of the inning as Gustavson would hit a triple to right and bring in Trivellla to tie the game at 4-4. One inning later, Brauner would show his power as the transfer from the University of Tennessee would hit a leadoff solo homer to right for his fourth of the season.

"Honestly, I hit the ball and just thought about 'Okay, now we have got the lead, let's go win a ballgame'," said Brauner. That run meant just as much as the other ones the guys helped the team score today. They're all huge runs when you look at it, but it definitely felt good to be back helping the team."

"Holden had some good at-bats for us in the second game," said Hill II on Brauner. "He is a very good player and gives us some pop from the left side."

After Gil Fernandez (walk), Ryan (hit by a pitch) and Boykin (hit by a pitch) loaded the bases, Trivella would hit a sacrifice fly and bring in Gil Fernandez to make it 6-4 SCF before they sealed the victory and the series.

Hernandez would improve to 7-4 after giving up four runs on 11 hits with two walks and two strikeouts in seven innings. Redshirt freshman Cole Dement would earn his third save after throwing two scoreless innings of relief with one hit and one walk.

"I thought I did well," said Hernandez. "It was not my cleanest outing, but I knew if I stayed in there and kept competing with things were going to bounce my way. I am very happy that I was able to keep my team in a position to win and finally get back in the 'W' column."

Johns would earn a no-decision after giving up three runs on eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts in three and two-thirds innings. Freshman Dylan Lovelace would fall to 3-3 after giving up three runs on two hits with two walks and one strikeout in one and two-thirds innings of relief.

Five Manatees had a multi-hit game as Brauner (2-for-5, one home run and two runs), Gil Fernandez (2-for-3 two runs and one walk), Trivella (2-for-3, one run, one RBI and one walk), Gustavson (2-for-4, one RBI) and O'Sullivan (2-for-3, one run, one walk and one stolen base) each had two hits. Gustavson lead the series going 4-for-7 with four RBI.

"My swing was in a good place today," said Gustavson. "When it wasn't, I had good hitters behind me pick me up. The RBI speak to our team's ability to get on base and produce runs.

Davis (1-for-5, one RBI), Ryan (1-for-4, one RBI) and Boykin (1-for-3) had the remaining hits for game two.

For the Saints, Nedry lead the way offensively as he finished 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.

Other Citrus Conference Scores:

#7 Florida Southwestern (34-10, 19-8 Citrus) split with #18 Central Florida (31-13, 16-11 Citrus) in their doubleheader winning game one 10-0 (5) before losing game two 14-3 (5).

#8 Indian River State (30-11, 20-7 Citrus) split their doubleheader with Miami Dade (25-19, 14-13 Citrus) winning game one 8-5 (10) before losing game two 8-7.

Polk State (25-23, 13-14 Citrus) split with St. Pete (9-33, 6-21 Citrus) winning game one 5-4 before losing game two 9-6.

Seminole State College of Florida (25-20, 13-14 Citrus) swept Hillsborough (17-26, 9-18 Citrus) 4-0 and 9-6

Eastern Florida State (26-18, 14-13 Citrus) swept Daytona State (12-26, 10-17 Citrus) 4-0 and 9-1 in their doubleheader

Citrus Conference Standings:

1. #8 Indian River State (30-11, 20-7)

2. #7 Florida Southwestern (34-10, 19-8)

3. RV SCF (30-16, 17-10)

4. #18 Central Florida (31-13, 16-11)

5. Eastern Florida State (26-18, 14-13)

6. Miami Dade (25-19, 14-13) 

7. Seminole State College of Florida (25-20, 13-14)

8. Polk State (25-23, 13-14)

9. Santa Fe (20-24, 11-16)

10. Daytona State (12-26, 10-17)

11. Hillsborough (17-26, 9-18)

12. St. Pete (9-33, 6-21)

Up Next:

The Manatees will play Hillsborough for another non-conference matchup against a conference opponent Tuesday afternoon, April 15 at 3 pm before turning their focus on Eastern Florida State in conference play.