CLEARWATER, Fla. (February 7, 2014) - Rollins
hoped to get off to a better start at the Eckerd Invitational,
dropping games to Flagler and No. 5 Valdosta State Friday at the
Eddie C. Moore Complex in in Clearwater.
Rollins falls to 3-3 (0-0 SSC) after the pair of defeats.
Flagler improved to 2-6 and Valdosta State now sits at 5-1.
Flagler jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. With the
help of two hits and a pair of errors, the Tars closed the gap in
the third, scoring two runs on an overthrow by the Saints
shortstop.
Rollins captured the lead the next inning. First baseman Hailee
Keisling drove in pinch runner Jule
Kranz with a sacrifice fly following Hilary
Brown's RBI walk. Later in the inning, Courtney
Durbin drove home Brittany
Johnson to give the Tars the 5-4 lead with a single up the
middle. The Saints managed two runs in the bottom of the inning to
recollect the lead at 6-5.
Rollins tied the score in the top of the fifth only to have the
the Saints take a one run advantage in the bottom of the
frame.
Once again, the lead switched hands multiple times in the sixth.
In the top of the inning, Rollins scored on an Alred sacrifice fly
and a Niki
Fogle RBI single to take an 8-7 advantage. Flagler answered
back in the bottom with two runs of their own to push the final
score to 9-8.
Fogle recorded a complete game for the Tars, giving up nine runs
and fanning seven.
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The Tars held the lead early against No. 5 Valdosta State.
Keisling started off the game with a single to right and Hoeffer
followed with a walk. Alred drove home both runners with a double
off the left field fence, putting the Tars up 2-0.
The Blazers struck back in the bottom of the third, scoring
three runs on three hits. The score remained at 3-2 until the top
of the sixth when Valdosta State tacked on four more runs with six
consecutive singles. The game ended with a final score of 7-2
Valdosta.
Fogle (3-2) took the loss, allowing seven earned runs and
striking out five in her second complete game of the day.
Rollins continues the Eckerd Invitational tomorrow when they
will face Lee at 1:00 PM and Armstrong Atlantic at 3:30 PM. Fans
will be able to catch all the action live on the Tars Sports
Network at RollinsSports.com.
