VALDOSTA, Ga. (May 19, 2021) - The Rollins softball team lives to fight another day following a 5-2 win against Mississippi College in the first elimination game of the 2021 NCAA South Regional on Wednesday night.
The Tars, who fell to West Florida in the first game of the day, faced the #6 seed Choctaws, who had been dispatched by Alabama Huntsville in game two. Rollins only managed one run on two hits in their first game;
Chelsea Peace matched the run total in the top of the first in this one, launching a two-strike pitch over the right field wall for a solo home run, her team-leading ninth of the year.
With the confidence of an early lead on her side,
Ali Shenefield went to work in the circle. Despite tossing 6.2 innings in the first game of the day, the freshman had plenty of gas left in the tank for game two. She was dominant on the rubber, and was able to strand runners when they happened to reach base. She received a boost in the top of the fourth inning from her offense. A pair of walks to
Ashley Worrell and
Cynthia Whitty put two runners on with one out.
Raiven Bryant came through in a big way, sending a frozen rope off the center field fence for a double that scored
Brycyn Smith, who had enetered the game as a pinch-runner for Worrell.
Taylor Waters continued the rally in the next at-bat, with a sizzling ground ball down the first base line that plated both Whitty and Bryant to give Rollins a 4-0 advantage.
It looked like the Choctaws might be able to rally themselves in the bottom half after the first two batters reached on singles. However, Shenefield was able to induce three straight weak popups to escape the jam. They would not make the same mistake in the fifth. A pair of RBI doubles from McCall Lee and Jordan Lafosse cut the lead in half at 4-2. The Tars got one back in the sixth when they drew four consecutive walks with two outs against Avery Sanders to make the final of 5-2.
Shenefield went the distance in this one, with a final line of seven innings, seven hits, two runs and two strikeouts. It was her tenth win of the year, and her ninth complete game. Combined with her effort in the West Florida game, she threw 195 pitches across 13.2 innings. Peace reached base three time to lead the offense.
Raiven Bryant had two of the Tars' six hits.
Rollins will receive a day off Thursday before returning to action on Friday afternoon. Their next game is scheduled for 3:30 pm with a TBA opponent. The Tars will have to win their next four games in a row to earn a birth in the National Championship tournament next week. For the latest schedule updates, please visit the
host Valdosta State website.
