MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -
Senior centerfielder Taylor Ferguson led the
Rollins baseball team with five RBIs, but an eight run eighth
inning carried the Barry Buccaneers to a 13-6 victory, Friday
evening in Sunshine State Conference action at Feinbloom Field.
The Tars (29-17, 11-8 SSC) led for the entire contest leading into
the eighth inning. Rollins clung onto a one-run lead for the
majority of the game, before Barry's (29-14, 11-8) offensive
explosion in the eighth.
Ferguson's two hits in the contest were home runs to increase his
season total nine and increased his RBI mark to 44.
First baseman Kevin
Mager led the team with three hits, while shortstop Justin
Yount added two more hits with the Tars' other RBI.
Prior to the eighth Rollins controlled the game. The Tars doubled
up the Buccaneers in hits, 16-8 before Barry collected six in the
eighth alone, but Rollins still managed to out-hit the Buccaneers,
17-14.
For a second-straight game, both teams struggled to get on the
board early as both teams were held scoreless after two. Ferguson
broke the scoreless tie in the third with a two-run blast to left
field. A Josh Band single up the
middle led off the third inning to allow for the two-run shot.
Barry answered with a Nick Shaw RBI double in the bottom of the
third to cut the Tar lead in half. Shaw finished with three
doubles for the Buccaneers.
In the fourth, both teams put four runs up as Ferguson and Barry's
Joaquin Valdes highlighted the innings for their respective teams
with three-run homers in the frame.
Leading 6-5, the Tars shutdown Barry for the next three innings
before the Bucs took the lead in the eighth.
Starter Stephen Hiscock left the
game in the seventh as he finished with eight allowed hits and five
earned runs. Leading 6-5 in the seventh, Hiscock left the game
with two outs and a runner on second. Matt White made a brief
appearance after walking Barry's right fielder Yas Gutierrez. Marc
Hewett (2-5) got the Tars out of a jam in the seventh with a
key strikeout, but later fell victim to the eighth inning. Hewett
surrendered six hits and gave up six earned runs, eight total.
For the Buccaneers Corey Witkowski was chased away in the fourth
after allowing all six runs. Brad McAllister (6-4) pitched the
remaining 5.2 innings of shutout baseball to collect the win.
Rollins and Barry will wrap-up their three-game conference series
with a doubleheader, Saturday, April 24 at noon.
