WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 7, 2023) - The Rollins Tars delivered yet another nailbiting win on Tuesday, needing ten innings to take down the visiting Saginaw Valley State Cardinals by a score fo 10-9. The win moves Rollins to 13-4 on the season.
The Tars were the first to strike in the first inning when
Ryan Coleman stayed hot at the plate, delivering a two-rub single up the middle that scored
Joey Rubin and
Jeslyn Whitehead.
Rollins' joy was shortlived, however. Saginaw started the second inning with a single, walk, single, walk, walk, sac fly, single, sac fly to score four runs.
Nick DiMiceli was called on out of the bullpen, and was able to leave runners on second and third before any more damage was done.
The next action came in the fourth when the Cardinals added one on a base hit from Collin Cornwell.Rollins would respond immediately when pinch-hitter
Andres Antonini took the first pitch he saw into left field to bring home
Jimmy Thies.
Rollins would then pull within one at 5-4 when a
Cameron Meehan groundball brought in Whitehead for the second time.
Saginaw would score again in the sixth to go up 6-4. That set the stage for the first of a couple of dramatic Rollins comebacks.
Parker Smith walked, and would be brought in on a sac fly from
Axel Post.
Joey Rubin followed with a two-out double, giving
Adams Torres a chance to hit. He took advantage, launching a wall-scraper over the right field wall to give Rollins a 7-6 advantage.
After a scoreless seventh from
Jaxon Mills, the Cardinals were able to get to the submariner in the eighth. A one-out single tied the game at seven, and then a walk and a single added another run. With the bases loaded, a chopper was sent to second. Torres flipped it to Rubin at second for the first out. Rubin then faked a throw home, catching Cornwell rounding third base too hard. The double play limited any further damage, making it 9-7.
The eighth inning and top of the ninth were scoreless, bringing the Tars up for their second dramatic inning in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs and an 0-2 count, Meehan sprayed a liner into left-center for a double. Next up was pinch-hitter
Jorge Ramirez, who was able to punch a ball through the right side for a single.
Parker Smith stood in the box next, and shot a grounder to third. The ball was bobbled and all runners advanced ont he error.
Kyle Bullock then delivered a sharply hit grounder through the left side to score pinch-runner
Mason Wilson and send the game to extras.
Michael Cullen breezed through the Cardinal lineup in the tenth, recording two strikeouts in the frame. Rubin led off the bottom of the tenth with a single, and moved to second on a sac bunt. Whitehead was intentionally walked, bringing up Coleman. The big lefty smoked a liner into right field. However, the ball was hit so hard, that it gave the right fielder plenty of time to gather and fire home, hosing Rubin at the plate by a good ten feet. After Meehan walked to load the bases, Wilson took the first pitch he saw through the right side, bringing in Whitehead, and giving the Tars a 10-9 win.
Whitehead and Coleman each had three hits to spark the offense. Seven different Tars scored a run, and seven different Tars had an RBI. Cullen earned the win on the mound with two scoreless innings and three strikeouts.
This is the third walk-off win for the Tars in their first 17 games.
Rollins will take a day off from Baseball Week activities on Wednesday befoe returning to the diamond on Thursday to host Notre Dame College. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 pm.
