GULF SHORES, Ala. (February 4, 2017) - Taking
on a pair of tough South Region teams to open their 2017 campaign,
the Tars split their first two contests of the year. Rollins fell
to West Florida to start the season before upsetting No. 23
Alabama-Huntsville to end opening day.
The Tars finished their first day of the Gulf Coast Invitational
with a record of 1-1. The Argonauts and the Chargers both moved to
2-1 on the year.
Rollins scored first in both contests. Against West Florida the
Tars could not hold on, and saw an inspired, bottom of the seventh,
comeback fall just short, dropping the contest 11-10. Playing
Alabama-Huntsville, Rollins fought back the Chargers attempts at a
rally, and used some timely hitting, to secure the 8-2 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Game One
· Rollins jumped out to a lead with five runs
in the bottom of the fourth. Sarah
Harrison and Brianne
Lint led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Grace
Street walked, then with two outs Kacie
Booth singled home Harrison and Lint. Hali
Marshall was next up and she sent Booth and Street across the
plate. Hailee
Keisling doubled home Marshall for the fifth run of the
frame.
· The Argonauts responded in the top of the fifth,
scoring eight runs on six hits in the inning. Rhiannon Sassman led
off the frame with a homerun. The sophomore also singled in a pair
of runs, as West Florida batted around the lineup.
· Sassman played a role in the Argonauts three run
sixth as well, singling with the bases loaded to score the first
run. Junior Meghan Toney drove in a pair with single to left
field, making the score 11-5
· The Tars mounted a furious comeback in their final
two at bats. Harrison sent Marshall across the plate with a
sacrifice fly to make the score 11-6, in the sixth inning. In the
seventh, Booth registered her third RBI of the game, singling in Abigail
Sexton. Booth then came around to score on a wild pitch. Rachel
Minier homered, scoring Keisling to cut the Tars deficit to
one, but that was as close as the Tars could come.
Game Two
· Making her first start of the season in the
circle, sophomore, Grace
Street, remained calm, getting out of a bases loaded jam in the
top of the first inning.
· The Tars jumped out to an early lead, scoring twice
in the bottom of the first. Chelsea
Reed singled through the left side scoring Sarah
Harrison and Hailee
Keisling.
· The Chargers tied the score at 2-2 with Kaitlyn
Bannister's two run homerun.
· Street singled home Harrison to give the Tars the
lead back in the bottom of the third. Abigail
Sexton then tripled to right field to extend the Tars lead to
4-2 heading into the fourth.
· Rollins blew the game open in the bottom of the
fourth. The Tars loaded the bases with no outs, before Brianne
Lint cleared the base paths with a double. Reed then stepped
into the batter's box, recording a RBI groundout, pushing the score
to 8-2.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS:
Game One
· Kacie
Booth (SS) - 2-4, 3 RBI, 2 Runs
· Rhiannon Sassman (SS) - 3-5, HR, 4 RBI, 2 Runs
· Grace
Street - 3 runs, 3 earned, 4 strikeouts, 0 walk, 3.1 IP
· Becca Taylor - W, 5 runs, 5 earned, 7 strikeouts, 1
walk, 4.1 IP
Game two
· Brianne
Lint (2B) - 1-3, 2B, 3 RBI, 1 Run
· Kaitlyn Bannister (3B) - 1-2, HR, 2 RBI, 1 Run
· Grace
Street - W, CG, 2 Runs, 1 Earned Run, 1 SO
· Tyler Harrison - L, 6 Runs, 4 Earned Runs, 3 SO, 3.0
IP
NOTES:
· The Tars fall to 5-5 all time against West
Florida.
· With her RBI double, in the fourth inning, against
West Florida, Hailee
Keisling moved into a tie for seventh place on the all-time
Rollins doubles list with 34.
· Rollins had not lost a season opener since 2002
against West Alabama.
· The Tars improve to 6-12 all time against
Alabama-Huntsville.
NEXT:
The Gulf Coast Invitational continues tomorrow, Sunday,
February 5. Rollins takes on defending the National Champions,
No.1 North Alabama at 10:00 a.m. before concluding the event
against Delta State 12:30 p.m.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the
Rollins softball team, fans can visit RollinsSports.com. Fans can
also stay up-to-date on the latest #TARnation news by following
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and Instagram.
