LAKELAND, Fla. (April 30, 2023) - Rollins completed the weekend sweep of the Florida Southern Mocs in a wild one on Sunday, with the Tars taking the game by a score of 24-16. Rollins now stands at 31-12 on the season with a 20-4 record in SSC play. It's the fifth win in a row for the Tars.
The offense for Rollins was locked in for this one, as they have been all weekend. Four of the first five hitters reached base on two hits and two walks to put the first of many runs on the board. Then, with two outs,
Kyle Bullock knocked one over the fence in left center for a grand slam. The Tars also added one in the second on a
Jeslyn Whitehead sac fly to make it 6-0.
After Florida Southern scored a pair, the Tars rallied again in the third. They pieced together eight runs in the inning on six hits, three walks, and a wild pitch. At one point, five straight hitters recorded an RBI in the inning. By the end of the madness, it was 14-2.
The score remained that way until the bottom of the fifth when Southern struck for two more, making it 14-4. Things then got tight when the Mocs added six runs in the sixth inning to pull within 14-10.
Rollins stayed composed and added to the lead in the next half inning. Southern made a couple pitching changes that they would regret as reliever Jake Curry came into the game and promptly hit two batters, threw a wild pitch, and walked a batter. After another pitching change, the
Parker Smith was hit by a pitch to drive in a run, followed by RBI from
Ryan Coleman and
Joey Rubin to make it 17-10.
The Tars decided to rally once more in the eighth. After Whitehead and
Cameron Meehan reached,
Mason Wilson launched his first career home run to bring in three more runs. Rollins then added two walks, a single, two more walks, and a double from Meehan to score a total of seven runs in the inning, making it a 24-10 game.
Southern added two in the eighth and four in the ninth to make the final of 24-16.
Both teams recorded twenty hits.
Joey Rubin went 6-7 at the plate, a career high for a game for the sophomore. Five other Tars recorded multiple knocks, including four from Bullock and two each from
Adams Torres, Whitehead, Meehan, and Wilson. Ten different Tars scored in this one.
Rollins set season highs for at bats (44), Runs (24), hits (20), RBI (23), sac flies (3), and hit by pitches (5) in the game. They scored 49 runs in the three-game series, and swept Florida Southern for the first time since 2010.
Up next is a single game on Tuesday against Eckerd at home, followed by the last homestand of the year during the weekend as the Tars host Saint Leo. First pitch for the Eckerd game is scheduled for 5:00 PM.
