WINTER PARK, Fla. (May 5, 2023) - Rollins picked up their seventh straight win on Friday, coming back for a nice win over the Saint Leo Lions. The Tars now stand at 33-12 with a 21-4 record in the SSC.
The crowd at Alfond Stadium was electric as things got underway, thanks to a hundred or so players from the North Orlando Kiwanis Little League in attendance.
Both teams left a runner stranded in scoring position in the first. Saint Leo then struck for the first run of the game in the second on a solo home run from Mike Wyman.
Saint Leo put another runner on second in the top of the third, but a big strikeout from starter
Edward Berry kept him stranded. Lions starter Dariel Fregio returned the favor, keeping
Joey Rubin at second after he singled and stole a bag.
Rollins finally broke through against Fregio in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs,
Jack Herring worked a full count walk. That was followed by a bloop single from
Jimmy Thies to put men on the corners. Next up was
Parker Smith, who also worked a full count before unloading on a fastball, easily clearing the left field wall for a three-run blast.
The Lions rallied in the sixth, starting with leadoff man Buck Anderson reaching on a throwing error. After stealing second, he moved up to third on a flyout, and scored on a single from Eddie Nieman. Two batters later, Brennan Reback blooped a single into left that brought in Adrien Roa to tie things up at three. Saint Leo had runners on second and third still, but Berry induced a grounder to escape further damage.
Once again, the Tars found success with two outs on the board. On a 2-0 pitch,
Jimmy Thies shot a liner down the left field line, barely staying inside the foul pole for a solo home run.
Parker Smith then followed with a double, and was promptly brought in on the next pitch when Sarringar ripped a grounder up the middle for an RBI single. The catcher then showed off his wheels, stealing second base. After Rubin walked, Sarringar took off for third, and was safe for his second steal of the night. However, the Saint Leo catcher threw down to second with no one there, allowing Sarringar to trot home for the third run of the inning, making it 6-3.
Saint Leo made things interesting in the seventh.
Tate Stone-Frisina was called on out of the bullpen, and allowed the first two hitters to reach base on a single and a walk. After a sac bunt, the next two Lions were struck out as the senior righty dug deep, keeping it a 6-3 Tars advantage.
Rollins added to their lead in the eighth as the lineup worked deep into counts and found good pitches to hit.
Jimmy Thies doubled with one out, and was run for by
Drew Howard. Smith was up next, and he sprayed a single into right for his third hit of the night to score Howard. Sarringar followed with a double to left that scored Smith, and then Rubin singled to bring home Sarringar, making the final of 9-3.
Rubin, Thies, and Smith each had three hits to lead the offense. Smith also scored three times and drove in four. His homerun was number 18 on the year, the third-highest total for a season in team history. It was also number 32 for his career, putting him in a tie with
Nick Santucci for the third-most all-time.
Berry earned the win with six innings of four hit ball, and Stone-Frisina picked up his SSC-best fifth save of the season with three innings of relief.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 2:00 pm. The coaching staff will honor the Rollins seniors before the game, with festivities beginning around 1:15 pm.
