CARY, North Carolina (June 3, 2022) – On Saturday, June 4, the Rollins baseball team will kick off the 2022 NCAA II College World Series with a 1:30 p.m. matchup against eighth-ranked and third-seeded Southern Arkansas. The game between the Tars (40-15) and the Muleriders (46-11) will serve as the opening game of the tournament, and it will mark the first time Rollins has appeared at the College World Series since 2004.
POSTSEASON HISTORY:
The last time the Tars qualified for the NCAA Tournament was 2010 when they took part in the South Regional hosted by the University of Tampa. Rollins dropped the opening game of that tournament to Florida Southern, but battled through the losers' bracket with wins over Albany State and Valdosta State before exacting revenge on the Mocs by eliminating them as well. The Tars' season came to an end with a 7-1 loss to Southern Arkansas in the semifinal round of the tournament.
For Rollins, this will be its third trip to the NCAA II College World Series, previously taking fourth place in 2004 and fifth place in 1989. It will also be the Tars' sixth overall appearance in a College World Series, having also earned runner-up finishes at the 1954 NCAA I College World Series and 1957 NAIA World Series, as well as a third-place result at the 1959 NAIA World Series.
Southern Arkansas is making their first trip to the NCAA II College World Series, having earned three trips to the NAIA World Series in 1983, 1987, and 1991. Their best finish was a third-place result at the 1987 NAIA World Series, and SAU is 3-6 all-time in those three World Series appearances.
SEASON RECAP:
The Tars opened the 2022 season with a win at Florida Tech before dropping their next two contests. Rollins bounced back by sweeping then-No. 10 West Florida, which sparked a 16-game winning streak, the longest such streak since 2004. After dropping three of the next four, including a 2-1 series defeat to Lynn, Rollins swept Palm Beach Atlantic before dropping two-of-three to both Saint Leo and Florida Southern.
After dropping two straight SSC series, the Tars won four consecutive conference series, winning all four two games to one, including road series wins at Barry, Eckerd, and Nova Southeastern, along with a home series victory over Florida Tech. Sandwiched in between those series victories, Rollins collected three non-conference wins over SSC foes, defeating Florida Southern twice and Eckerd once. The Tars closed out the regular season against second-ranked Tampa, dropping two of three to the Spartans.
Following a 35-15 regular season, Rollins earned the No. 3 seed in the South Region, which meant traveling to Saint Leo, the No. 2 seed and host of the NCAA II South Region 2 Tournament. The Tars took care of business against No. 6 seed and 25th-ranked Delta State with a 7-5 win in the first game, and then trounced No. 7 seed Lee 15-1, after the Flames knocked off Saint Leo in their first game. Saint Leo eliminated Delta State, which then set up a rematch between the Lions and Flames, which saw Lee eliminate the hosts. The Tars then faced Lee in the championship, with the Flames needing two wins while Rollins needed just one to capture the tournament. The Tars wasted no time, jumping out to a second-inning lead and never looking back, downing Lee by a score of 7-3 to win the South Region 2 Tournament title.
As winners of one of the two South Region tournaments, the Tars earned a trip to Tampa to face the top seed and second-ranked Spartans in the South Super Regional, who had to battle out of the losers' bracket and defeat Nova Southeastern twice to win its own regional tournament. Rollins got an outstanding start from
Jaylyn Whitehead and a timely seventh-inning home run from
Cameron Meehan to take the first game, 2-1. The next day, the Tars would only have to win one more game, while Tampa needed two victories. Just as happened the previous weekend, Rollins made sure to avoid any win-or-go-home drama, scoring four runs in the second inning and pulling away late for a 13-6 win to eliminate the Spartans and capture the South Super Regional crown. The win marked the first-ever Super Regional title in program history, and punched a ticket to Cary, North Carolina for the NCAA II College World Series.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Southern Arkansas lost its season opener before rattling off 15 straight wins to jump out to 15-1 record, including a 9-0 start in Great American Conference play. The Muleriders first loss in GAC play wouldn't come until March 14, at which point they were 11-1 in league games. After the loss on March 16, SAU dropped a 19-14 contest against Arkansas - Monticello, which marked the first time it had lost consecutive games in 2022. Southern Arkansas then won eight of its next nine games before dropping two straight to Henderson State, which was the only other time during the season that it lost two straight games. After winning 11 of its next 13 games, SAU ended the regular season by losing its only GAC series of the year, two games to one at Arkansas - Monticello.
The Muleriders earned the top seed in the GAC Tournament and didn't have much trouble, winning four straight games to capture the program's sixth GAC Tournament title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. SAU earned the No. 2 seed in the Central Region, and with it, the right to host the Central Region 2 Tournament. In a very high-scoring tournament, the Muleriders won all three games, knocking off Washburn, 12-11, before defeating Henderson State, 28-5, to advance to the championship. Southern Arkansas then defeated Henderson State once again, this time by a score of 12-11, to win the Central Region 2 Tournament.
With fifth-seeded Augustana pulling an upset by winning the Central Region 1 Tournament, SAU was able to host the Central Super Regional. The Muleriders scored late in the opener to claim an 8-7 win, and then rallied with a seven-run ninth inning to sweep the super regional with a 13-11 win in game two, earning the program's first-ever trip to Cary, North Carolina for the NCAA II College World Series.
WHO TO WATCH:
The Tars have been led by their pitching and defense all year, ranking third in the country in ERA (3.29), fifth in WHIP (1.20), first in double plays (56), and ninth in fielding percentage (.975).
Jaylyn Whitehead, who has already been named an All-American by two organizations and Pitcher of the Year by three organizations, has been one of the top pitchers in the country, leading NCAA II in ERA (1.60) and ranking third in WHIP (0.93) and 11th in wins (10). Offensively,
Chase Achuff has had a stellar season, ranking among the top 10 in the SSC in a number of categories, including doubles (17, 1st), hits (83, 1st), on-base percentage (.481, 1st), batting average (.381, 2nd), runs (54, 3rd), and walks (31, 6th).
Southern Arkansas has one of the top offenses in the country, ranking fourth in runs (588), fifth in scoring (10.3 runs/game), fifth in home runs (111), eighth in on-base percentage (.447) and eighth in slugging percentage (.576). Individually, Chris Sutton ranks 11th in the country with 76 runs scored, while Brandon Nicoll is second in doubles (24) and seventh in RBIs (81). In addition, freshman Jeremy Adorno has had a noteworthy season on the mound, earning NCBWA and D2CCA National Pitcher of the Year honors. He is 14-0 with a 2.98 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, a .196 batting average against, seven complete games, four shutouts, and 130 strikeouts in 105.2 innings pitched, ranking among the nation's best in wins (1st), shutouts (1st), strikeouts (2nd), complete games (3rd), and hits/9 IP (16th).
UP NEXT:
The Tars will open the NCAA II College World Series on Saturday with a 1:30 p.m. matchup against No. 8 Southern Arkansas. The winner of that game will play on Monday, June 6 at 6 p.m., while the loser will play in an elimination game on Monday, June 6 at 1:30 p.m.
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