MIAMI SHORES, Fla. (March 28, 2013) -
In a battle of teams locked in a tie atop the SSC standings, No.
7 Rollins split a doubleheader with Barry University to open a
three-game series on Thursday, taking game one, 5-1, before falling
in game two, 4-0.
The Tars marched out their ace in game one, throwing freshman Niki
Fogle. The White House, Tenn. native entered the day leading
the nation in wins (18) and sat second in the SSC with 0.74 ERA and
144 strikeouts.
Fogle lived up to expectations, giving up just one run and
scattered five hits, most of which came after the game was well in
hand.
Rollins took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second thanks to a
leadoff homerun by freshman Brittany
Johnson. The homerun was Johnson's second of the season.
The game would stay at 1-0 in the Tars' favor until the fifth.
It was then that Rollins blew the game wide open, scoring four runs
on five hits. Hilary
Brown led off the inning with her fifth homerun in her last six
games before a Veronica
Alred two RBI double and a Tara
Turner sac fly put the Tars up 5-0.
The Buccaneers would score their lone run off of Fogle in the
seventh but the outcome had already all but been decided as Natalia
Ojeda grounded out weakly to second with a runner on to end the
game.
Fogle improved to 19-1 while Alred (2-3) and Hannah
Lovestrand (2-4) each had multi-hit games in game one.
In game two, it was the Bucs' turn to throw their ace, starting
Alexis Yohe.
Yohe shut down the Tars, allowing just four hits in seven
innings pitched.
Rollins' best chance came in the first, putting runners on first
and third with two outs but Yohe got Johnson to foul out to third
base to end the inning.
After a scoreless first, Barry scored a run in all but the
fourth, taking a 4-0 lead to the seventh.
Courtney
Durbin earned a one-out walk but was eventually stranded at
second to end the game.
The Tars will now come back on Friday, Mar. 29 for the rubber
match of the three-game series with Barry. First pitch is set for
12 p.m. Fans can follow along live on RollinsSports.com
