WINTER PARK, Fla. (February 22, 2020) - Ten innings of great pitching, a little bit of small ball, and a clutch pinch hit were the ingredients for a walkoff win on Saturday afternoon as Rollins defeated SSC foe Florida Tech, 3-2.
After Florida Tech trounced the Tars on Friday night, it looked like it may be another tough day for Rollins as the Panthers scored twice in the top of the first inning on a Vinny Catanza single to left field. However, after the first inning, neither team was able to do much of anything for a while.
Steven Swift drew the start for Rollins, and settled in nicely after the first. The sophomore righty didn't tally a ton of strikeouts, but kept Florida Tech from making hard contact. By the time six innings had gone through the books, Swift had only allowed two total hits to go with three strikeouts and four walks. His Florida Tech counterpart, Boris Villa, had even better success against Rollins. The Colombian native mowed through the lineup, retiring twelve of the first fourteen hitters he faced, including seven strikeouts. However, once the fifth inning started, Rollins was able to get on the board.
Nick Santucci started things off with a single, and later stole second base. With one out, Andres Antonini lifted a line drive down the right field line for a double to score Santucci. After another out, it was Devon Ortiz's turn for a dramatic at bat. The senior second baseman lined a base hit over a leaping Florida Tech infielder that brought in Antonini to tie things up. The Tars added a single and a walk to load the bases, but relief pitcher Alex Carpenter was able to strand all three Rollins' runners.
James Hoelle spotted Swift in the seventh inning, and came out firing with a pair of strike outs in his first frame. The Tars threatened in the bottom half, with Ortiz making it to second base, but a pair of strikeouts from Carpenter left him there. In the eighth inning, Tech once again threatened when Raul Quintero doubled with one out. A groundball moved him to third, but Hoelle was able to induce a lazy popup to short to keep the go-ahead run 90 feet from scoring. Rollins had another shot to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth after Luke Reidy singled to lead things off. He was pinch-run for by Cameron Montgomery, who moved to second on a sacrifice from Santucci. A groundball put Montgomery on third, but this time it was the Tars who left their winning run on base with a strikeout.
The ninth inning was tense as well. Carson Hauben relieved Hoelle with one out and a runner on first. Hauben walked the first batter he saw to put two men on, but then forced a groundout and a fly ball to center to keep the runners on and end the inning. Rollins had two men on in the bottom of the ninth, but failed to execute, sending the game to extras.
Hauben made quick work of the Panthers in the 10th, and let his offense bring the game home. Montgomery led off and hustled on a groundball to shortstop. The throw from short was wide of the bag, allowing Montgomery to reach safely. Santucci was up next, and laid down his third bunt of the day. He intended to sacrifice, but the ball was perfectly placed and allowed both runners to stay on base. Eddie Ayala then stepped in to pinch hit, and laid down a bunt as well. The throw was on target to first base, but the second baseman for Tech could not find the bag, allowing Ayala to reach safely and load the bases. Coach Jon Sjogren then called on redshirt frehman Ryan Coleman to pinch hit. Coleman took the first pitch he saw to dead center field, where it bounced at the warning track for a 385-foot walkoff RBI single as Montgomery touched home to win the game for Rollins.
Outside of the first inning, the Tars pitchers were phenomenal. Between innings 2-10, they allowed no runs on two hits, four walks and struck out six. Hauben received the win for his efforts, moving his season record to 2-1.
Santucci had a great day at the plate in the form of the ultimate teammate. He ended up 2-2 with a walk, a run, a stolen base, and two sacrifice bunts.
The rubber match between these two teams will be played on Sunday, February 23 at 12 p.m. at Alfond Stadium. Fans who cannot attend can watch the action live and stay tuned to RollinsSports.com fro the latest updates.
