WINTER PARK, Fla. (February 19, 2014) - The
Rollins softball team collected two convincing victories over
Kentucky State Wednesday night at MLK Park. Opening night in Winter
Park saw two masterful Tars pitching performances turned in by Niki
Fogle and Stephanie
Sullivan.
The Tars improve to 8-5 during the current campaign while KSU
drops to 0-7.
Sophomore Niki
Fogle (6-3, 1 SV) showcased dominating control and pitch
selection as she held the Thorobrettes hitless while tying her
career high of 12 strikeouts. This was Fogle's third career
no-hitter after accomplishing the feat twice last season. She was
one away from facing the minimum 15 batter requirement in a five
inning game. The lone KSU base runner was a result of a walk with
one out in the fourth. The Tennessean struck out nine of the first
10 Thorobrettes she faced, including the first six.
On the offensive side, it only took the Tars two batters into
the game to get on the scoreboard. First baseman Hailee
Keisling led off the contest with a walk and Courtney
Durbin smashed the next pitch into the right field gap for an
RBI triple. She later scored on a sacrifice fly by senior
co-captain Veronica
Alred, giving the Tars a 2-0 lead.
Rollins added three more in the second frame. The scoring came
via an RBI triple by Keisling and a two-run single by Senior Kristie
Hoeffer.
The Tars put the game out of reach in the fourth adding six more
to set the final score at 11-0. With the bases loaded and one out,
Durbin walked to force home Kelsey
Oonk. Third baseman Hilary
Brown was right behind her with a steal of home, noticing that
the fourth ball had bounced away from the KSU catcher. Every Tar
ended up advancing two bases on the walk. Kristie Hoffer advanced
the rest of the base runners by drilling a three-run home run over
the center field fence. Two batters later, Fogle turned on an
inside pitch to cap the night with a solo blast of her own.
Sullivan (2-2) scattered two hits, two walks, and nine
strikeouts across five innings as the Tars doubled up on the day
with an 8-0 triumph in Game Two.
The one and two spots in the Tars' batting order remained hot in
in the second leg as Keisling led off the contest with a double and
Durbin drove her home with a single. Hoeffer singled and Alred
walked following the initial run, setting the stage for Jule
Kranz to single them both home to increase the Tars lead to 3-0
after one frame.
The Tars added to their lead in the third when redshirt freshman
Alexis
Satterwhite deposited an opposite field double into the
left-center field gap, plating Kranz and Brown.
The scoring onslaught continued in the fourth when four straight
Tars reached base to lead off the frame. After a Keisling walk and
a Durbin single, Hoeffer padded the lead with an RBI double to push
the score to 6-0. Alred followed up Hoeffer's effort with a single
of her own, driving home a pair of Tars and locking in the final
score at 8-0 Rollins.
Senior right fielder Kristie
Hoeffer had a combined four hits, three runs scored, and six
RBIs on the day. Keisling and Durbin each checked in with five runs
scored in the contests.
The Tars look to repeat the results of tonight's action when the
home stand continues Thursday, Feb. 20, against the Thorobrettes.
The doubleheader kicks off at 6 p.m. Fans can get the latest news
across all 22 Rollins varsity sports at RollinsSports.com or by
checking the RollinsSports app on Apple and Android devices.
