SAINT LEO, Fla. (April 1, 2021) - The Saint Leo Lions jumped out to an early lead on Thursday, and did not look back, defeating the Rollins Tars 8-4 at Southard Stadium.
The Lions jumped on the board in the bottom of the first when Jake Vander Wal pulled a three-run home run over the right field fence, scoring himself along with Danny Torres and Sam Crail. The Tars were able to get one back in the second when OF
Parker Smith launched his first home run of the year to right, making it 3-1. Rollins threatened again in the third, putting runners on second and third with one out, and then loading the bases with two outs, but Saint Leo starter Jimmy Burnette stranded all the runners when he forced Smith to lineout to first.
An RBI single from
Nick Santucci scored
Sam LaFontaine in the fourth to make it a one-run game. However, the Lions roared back in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs on three hits. They were aided by a wild pitch that scored a run, as well as a balk that scored a run. The Lions added two more in the seventh when Torres tripled and scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat.
The Tars wrapped up their offensive effort in the eighth when Smith smoked a ball over the center field wall for his second home run of the game, scoring
Jack Gonzalez to make it 8-4.
Rollins falls to 6-4 on the year while Saint Leo improves to 5-7. The rubber match of the series will take place in Winter Park on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. Fans can watch the action live at RollinsSports.com.
