Tars Battle It Out With Lions

WINTER PARK, FLA. (April 1, 2021)- The No. 6 Tars took their first loss of the season against the No. 23 Saint Leo Lions, 6-3. Rollins is now 8-1, and 6-1 in the Sunshine State Conference; and Saint Leo improves to 13-4 overall, and 10-3 in SSC play.
 
Ashley Troutman led the Tars' offense, knocking two hits and scoring a pair of runs.  Worrell tallied an RBI, her tenth of the season. Lindsay Gehring blasted her first homerun of the year.  Worrell tossed a complete game, picking up her first loss of the season, while striking out five.
 
Alyssa Perez paced Saint Leo with three RBI on a 2-4 hitting performance.  Morgan Shannon scored two runs, batting out of the lead off spot.  Kayla Betts picked up the victory, fanning eight Tars in the process.
 
After the first two batters reached base, the Lions tallied the first pair of runs of the game in the top of the third inning. The Lions capitalized on a Rollins error to extend the inning, and take a 2-0 lead.
 
Ashley Troutman lead off for the Tars in the bottom of the fourth. The Freshman successfully laid down a bunt, starting the inning off right. Troutman would circle the bases, reaching second on a wild pitch, then stealing third base, and eventually scoring the first run for the Tars after a throwing error by the catcher. The Tars had fought back and trailed 2-1 after four frames.
 
Neither team could push a runner across the plate in the fifth. But, the Lions' Madi Mott knocked a two run homerun, grabbing a three run lead, and making the score 4-1 against the Tars, in the top of the sixth.
 
During the bottom of the sixth inning the Tars bats heated back up. Troutman singled to right field, then reached second on a wild pitch. Ashley Worrell hit a shot to left field scoring Troutman who was running from second base, bringing the Tars back within two. 
 
In the last frame, Perez doubled to left field allowing Williams and Shannon to score the final runs for the Lions. The insurance runs put the game out of reach for the Tars, and made the score 6-2. 
 
Rollins would not go quietly, fighting through the bottom of the seventh. Lindsay Gehring got the ball rolling with her first solo homerun of the season. Unfortunately, the Tars rally ended there. Rollins had fought back all night, but their attempts fell short against the Lions. 
 
UP NEXT:
The Tars will be back in action tomorrow, Friday, April 2, looking to redeem themselves while traveling to Saint Leo. The first pitch will be at 6:00 P.M.