MELBOURNE, Fla. –
Junior pitcher Tim Griffin earned a complete game victory as the
Rollins baseball team denied the Florida Tech Panthers a series
sweep with a 5-3 victory in the second game of Saturday's
doubleheader at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field.
In the doubleheader opener, the Tars racked up 11 hits but couldn't
out-score the Panthers as they fell 8-4.
In game two, Stephen Hiscock, converted first baseman in the
contest, was 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead the Tars offensively.
Shortstop Justin Yount and designated hitter Eugene
Martinez went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Griffin (3-0), a native of Jacksonville, Fla., went the distance of
seven innings giving up four hits and three runs. In the fourth,
Griffin allowed a three-run shot by the Panther's right fielder
Jose Vazquez that tied the game. Griffin remained in the game and
did not allow a hit the rest of the way as he finished with nine
strikeouts.
The Panther's Jake Koch (1-3) also went seven innings as he
surrendered five runs, four earned, off 10 hits.
With the game tied at three in the final inning, leadoff hitter
Yount singled a chopper through the right side. Center fielder Taylor
Ferguson followed with another single, a liner to left, but the
FIT's Tony Moos mishandled the ball and allowed for the runners to
advance to second and third.
With no outs and runners in scoring position, right fielder Bryan
Bennett grounded out and couldn't score Yount from third. A Ryan
Luker one-out single scored the game-winning run on the ensuing
at bat. Junior Ben Hewett followed with a sacrifice bunt to
score Ferguson and secure the victory.
In the first game, Mike Piazza (2-1) outdueled Rollins' Danny
Clark (1-2) as he went seven innings giving up one run off five
hits and 12 strike outs. Clark went five innings and surrendered
five runs, while striking out two.
FIT's first baseman Michael Demma blasted solo homers in his first
two at bats to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead after three innings.
The Tars' responded in the fourth with back-to-back doubles from
Ferguson and Bennett. With Ferguson on second, Bennett doubled
down the right field line to cut the Tech lead in half at 2-1.
The Panthers secured the win in the sixth with five runs before the
Tars scored three runs of its own in the eighth, but would be
unable to get any closer than three.
Luker went 3-for-5 in the first game, while Bennett, Ferguson and
catcher Ryan Harvey finished with multi-hit performances
with two apiece.
The Tars return to the diamond, Thursday, March 5 at 6 p.m. versus
St. Anselm at Alfond Stadium.
