BYRON, Ga. (April 7,
2006) ' The Rollins softball team picked up three convincing
victories on Friday in a very successful day one of the Fort Valley
State Tournament in Byron, Georgia. The Tars opened the day with a
9-1 win over host Fort Valley, spend the afternoon beating Paine
18-0 and finished up with a 11-5 win over Claflin. With the
victories, Rollins improves to 34-12 on the season.
Nicole Anderson scored
two wins in the circle for the Tars, going the distance against
Fort Valley and coming in out of the bullpen versus Claflin. Ingrid
Schumacher scored the victory over Paine, throwing a complete game
shutout.
Senior shortstop and
Rollins all-time hits leader Kelly Cruz was once again a tough out,
batting 7-10 with six RBI and six runs scored on the day. Jamie
Rausch hit 6-8, batted in four runs and scored five while Jen Olsen
hit 6-9 with three RBI and six runs scored. Ashley East and Stacy
Sanders also had big days as each hit 5-10.
In the opener against
host Fort Valley State, Rollins knocked out 11 hits while the
defense held the Wildcats to just three hits in the Tars 9-1, five
inning victory. Junior Devon Kontos rocked her first career
homerun, going 1-2 with a run scored and two RBI. The Tars power
hitters shined in the game as Kelly Cruz, Jamie Rausch and Stacy
Sanders each tallied two hits and batted in two runs.
Freshman Nicole
Anderson had a solid outing, surrendering just one run on three
hits while striking out nine.
The bats were hotter in
Friday's middle game as Rollins made quick work of Paine College,
winning by a lopsided score of 18-0 in five innings. Ashley East
had a big day at the plate, going 3-4 with four RBI and four runs
scored. Kallie Jo Jones hit 2-2 with three RBI and two runs scored,
highlighted by a third inning homer. Jen Olsen, Kelly Cruz, Jamie
Rausch and Ingrid Schumacher also each knocked out two hits in the
contest.
Schumacher picked up
the shutout, her fourth of the year, scattering just two hits and
striking out six to improve her record to 12-4.
Rollins stumbled coming
out of the gate in the night cap with Claflin, going down 5-4 after
four innings. The Tars then got rolling in the final two frames,
scoring two in the fifth and five in the sixth while keeping
Claflin off of the board for the 11-5 win. Rachel Almengaul and
Kelly Cruz each went 3-3 to lead the Rollins offense. Almengaul
also tallied two RBI and three runs while Cruz batted in three and
crossed the plate twice.
Freshman Rachel
Brenneman started the game, allowing five runs, three earned, with
three strikeouts in three innings of work. Anderson threw the final
three, surrendering just one hit and fanning six.
Rollins returns to
action on Saturday, April 8 in the final day of the Fort Valley
State Tournament. Rollins will match up with Clark Atlanta at Noon
and Florida Gulf Coast at 4 p.m. before heading to Albany, Georgia
for a two game set with Albany State at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April
9.
'
