(TAMPA, Fla. (May 19, 2023) - An inspired effort on the mound and in the batter's box helped the Rollins Tars defeated the #1 seed (and #3 nationally ranked) Tampa Spartans 8-7 on Friday evening. Rollins now stands at 36-16 on the year, and is in prime position for the South Regional 1 title.
After a scoreless first inning, Rollins jumped on the board in the second.
Cameron Meehan led off with a single, and moved to third two batters later when
Parker Smith ripped a base hit to center. That set up
Spencer Sarringar, who came through as he has all year, smoking a ball through the right side to plate Meehan. Tampa responded quickly however when Jamarcus Lyons launched a solo shot over the left field wall.
The third and fourth innings were scoreless as both starters, Michael Paul for Tampa and
Nick Berger for Rollins, escaped jams, leaving runners on base in each frame.
In the top of the fifth,
Jeslyn Whitehead singled to right and was brought in on a two out, two-run opposite field home run from Meehan. Rollins furthered their lead with two more in the sixth courtesy of a
Joey Rubin sac fly and an
Adams Torres RBI single, making it 5-1.
Tampa had a big threat in the sixth, when two walks led off the inning. An EJ Cumbo single brought in Jordan Lala, and kept two men on base. However, Berger buckled down and induced a popout and a massive strikeout to escape further damage.
The Spartans kept fighting, and added two more in the seventh on a solo home run that scraped over the right field wall and a two-out single. This chased Berger from the game, and brought
Tate Stone-Frisina on to the mound to shut things down with the score now just 5-4.
With one out in the top of the eighth,
Parker Smith sliced a pitch just inside the right field foul pole for his 21st dinger of the year, the second-most in a season in program history. Stone-Frisina then fired a 1-2-3 eighth, putting the Tars three outs from victory.
Torres led off the ninth with a single, but the next two hitters were put out. Meehan stepped up, and after fighting off an array of tough pitches, launched his second bomb of the game high over the left field fence to put Rollins up 8-4.
They would need every bit of that insurance as Tampa's vaunted offense refused to go down quietly. Their leadoff man was hit by a pitch, followed by a strikeout. The next two hitters both singled, bringing in one. After a second punchout, JD Urso sent a missile to the left-center gap, scoring two more on a double. This set the stage for a battle between Stone-Frisina and Cumbo. The Tars righty was able to force a soft chopper to third where Thies made a smooth pick and throw to first to secure the 8-7 win.
Meehan finished the day 3-4 with three runs scored and four RBI. Torres added three hits, while Smith and Sarringar each had two hits and an RBI.
Berger was credited with the win with a final line of six innings, four hits, four runs, four walks, and six strikeouts. Stone-Frisina earned the three-inning save, his sixth of the year, with three innings, four hits, three runs, zero walks and two strikeouts.
Tampa will face #8 Spring Hill (who defeated #5 Valdosta State 5-4) at 1:00 PM on Saturday. The loser's season will end, while the winner wil have to regroup and face Rollins at 5:00 PM.
