Tars Complete Sweep of 10th-Ranked Argonauts

WINTER PARK, Fla. (February 13, 2022) - The Rollins baseball took an early lead and withstood a ninth-inning comeback to down No. 10 West Florida by a score of 5-4 on Sunday, finishing off a three-game sweep of the Argonauts. The win pushes Rollins to 4-2 on the season, while the Argonauts fall to 2-4.

Jeslyn Whitehead finished 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and Adams Torres was 2-for-4 with a run scored and RBI. Parker Smith went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run, while Nick Santucci was 1-for-4 with a triple and a run scored.

Kieran Casey (1-0) got the win, throwing five hitless innings, allowing one run on one walk with a pair of strikeouts and two hit batters. Austin Long pitched two scoreless innings of relief, giving up just one walk and no hits while striking out one. Steven Swift collected his first save, inducing a double play to end the game.

Jadon Fryman went 1-for-4 with two RBIs while Cullan O'Shea was 0-for-1 with a walk and an RBI sac fly. Dean Hotz was 1-for-3 with an RBI while Mark Townsend finished 1-for-1 with a run scored.

Tyler Dowdy (1-1) took the loss, allowing three runs on six hits, walking two and striking out one. Sam Brown pitched the final 0.2 innings for the Argonauts, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks (one intentional).

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Third Inning

• Santucci led off the bottom of the third with a triple that cleared the right fielder's head.
• Timothy Mira hit the next pitch on the ground to the shortstop, allowing Santucci to easily come home with the first run of the ballgame.

Fourth Inning

• The Argonauts quickly tied it up in the top of the fourth.
• Chris Johnson drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and took third on a wild pitch.
• O'Shea followed up with a fly ball to center that was deep enough to score Johnson from third, tying the game at 1-1.

Fifth Inning

• The Tars regained the lead in the fifth when Smith drilled his second home run of the season over the right-center field fence, putting Rollins ahead, 2-1.

Eighth Inning

• Rollins tacked on some insurance runs in the eighth, runs that would prove to be vital.
• Joey Rubin drew a one-out walk, which led to Brown relieving Dowdy.
• Chase Achuff greeted Brown with a base hit to right field on the first pitch he threw, putting runners at first and second.
• Adams Torres then singled through the right side, scoring Achuff to make it 3-1.
• After Jeslyn Whitehead was intentionally walked to load the bases, Ryan Coleman hit a grounder to third. The Argonauts recorded the out at second, but the throw to first to try to complete an inning-ending double play sailed well wide of the base as Achuff and Torres both crossed the plate to make it 5-1.

Ninth Inning

• Trent Jeffcoat led off the ninth with a bunt single, breaking up what was, at the time, a combined no-hitter for the Rollins pitching staff.
• Townsend came off the bench to deliver a pinch-hit single, pushing Jeffcoat to second.
• Two batters later, pinch hitter Brady Browning drew a walk that loaded the bases.
• Fryman then singled to left to score Jeffcoat and Townsend, trimming the lead to 5-3.
• Next up was Hotz, who singled to left to score Browning, making it a one-run game at 5-4 and putting the potential tying run at second base.
• Swift came out of the bullpen to face Preston Moore and he was able to get the ground ball he wanted, resulting in a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.

UP NEXT:
The Tars will open up Sunshine State Conference play next weekend at home when they play host to Embry-Riddle in a three-game series. The first game is set for 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18.

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