WINTER PARK, Fla. (April 2, 2021) - The Rollins Tars received a top-to-bottom effort from their lineup, along with some clutch pitching performances to defeat the Saint Leo Lions 7-3 on Friday afternoon at Alfond Stadium.
Jaylyn Whitehead took the bump for Rollins, and was effective in his five plus innings of work. After working a quick 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first, he received instant support in the bottom of the inning when
Nick Santucci launched the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for his seventh home run of the season, tying him for the lead atop the Sunshine State Conference. Later in the inning with two outs,
Jack Gonzalez stroked a pitch into left center that scored
Adams Torres from second ot make it 2-0.
Whitehead found himself in a pattern over the next three innings. In each frame, Saint Leo was able to put a runner into scoring position, and in each inning Whitehead struckout a batter looking to strand the runners and maintain the Tars lead.
The Tars would strike again in the fourth inning when
Sam LaFontaine doubled to left field, and was brought in on a
Drew Howard line drive to center. They extended the lead in the fifth inning when the red-hot
Parker Smith blasted an absolute moonshot over the left field fence that scored himself and
Ryan Coleman to make it 5-0. It was the third dinger of the series for Smith.
The Lions broke the shutout and chased Whitehead from the game when PJ Barry singled home a pair of runners to make it 5-2.
Kyle Kramer was called upon to get the Tars out of the jam, and he did just that with a groundball to short to quell the threat.
The Lions threatened once more in the seventh, but some nice defense from the Tars prevented them from scoring. Kramer took a line drive off the shin, but was able to recover nicely and throw out a runner at third. He was forced to leave the game, which set the stage for
Tate Stone-Frisina. The junior righty was able to strand a pair of base runners when he struck out Jake Wyman looking to end the seventh.
Rollins added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth on RBIs from a beautiful
Kyle Bullock bunt and a
Luke Reidy single to center. The Lions would get one back in the ninth, but it would not be enough as they fell by a final score of 7-3.
Whitehead earned the win, improving his record to 2-0 on the year. His final line read 5.2 innings, three hits, two runs and seven strikeouts.
Steven Swift earned his second save of the season by recording the final two outs of the game.
Rollins saw a huge effort from their lineup in this one. All nine starters recorded at least one hit. LaFontaine led the way, reaching base safely four times and scoring twice.
It will be a week before the Tars see the field again. They will travel to Fort Lauderdale to take on the Nova Southeastern Sharks on Friday, April 9th, followed by a doubleheader to wrap-up the series on Saturday, April 10th in Winter Park. Fans can stay up to date on all the latest Rollins baseball news and schedule updates at RollinsSports.com.
