MELBOURNE, Fla. (April 5, 2014) - Rollins
captured both legs of the doubleheader against Florida Tech at
Nancy Bottge Field Saturday afternoon by scores of 7-0 and 4-3. Courtney
Durbin had a big day at the plate, going 7-8 with an RBI and a
run scored. The sophomore's batting average jumped from .355 to
.390 after the day's performance.
Niki
Fogle (2 W's, 18-5) picked up a pair of wins by tossing 9.1
scoreless innings, including a three-hit complete game shutout in
Game One. The sophomore scattered five hits and struck out nine
Panthers on the day. Stephanie
Sullivan started Game Two but didn't factor in the decision.
The senior pitched 4.2 innings, allowed three runs - two earned -
and struck out a pair.
Hilary
Brown led off the third inning of Game One with a double and
came around to score on a Hailee
Keisling's single back through the middle to put the Tars on
the scoreboard first.. Veronica
Alred clubbed her fifth home run of the campaign over the right
center field fence in the fourth inning to give the Tars a 2-0
lead.
The top of the Rollins lineup started a two out rally in the
fifth with back-to-back singles by Keisling and Durbin. Kristie
Hoeffer drove both of them home with a double to left center.
Alred tallied her second extra-base hit of the game with a double
to left center, scoring Hoeffer and extending the Tars lead to
5-0.
The third baseman Brown added two more runs in in the sixth with
a her third home run of the season, pushing the final score of Game
One to 7-0 Tars.
Chelsea
Reed led off the third inning of Game Two with a double to left
field and advanced to third by drawing and beating the throw on
Keisling's grounder to the pitcher, allowing the freshman to reach
first base safely. Both would come around to score on RBI singles
by Durbin and Alred. Florida Tech struck twice in the bottom of the
inning to tie the game 2-2.
Rollins recaptured the lead 3-2 in the fourth after Jule
Kranz reached on a bunt single and Reed drove her home. The
Panthers again tied the score 3-3 in the fifth by forcing home a
run with a bases-loaded walk.
Panthers pitcher Taylor Smith's only walk of the contest proved
to be a costly one as the free pass to Jule
Kranz in the seventh forced home Hoeffer, the eventual winning
run. The Panthers threatened in the bottom of the seventh with two
base runners but the Tars emerged victorious 4-3.
Rollins tallied 12 hits in each game.
The Tars will look for a series sweep in the final game against
Florida Tech tomorrow, April 6. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Fans can follow along with all the action live on the Tars Sports
Network on RollinsSports.com
