Winter Park, Fla. (May 6, 2023) - Rollins won another SSC series after splitting a doubleheader with the Saint Leo Lions on Saturday. The Tars now stand at 34-13 overall, with a 22-5 record in SSC play.
Game One
Saint Leo 8
Rollins 5
The Lions threatened in the first with a runner on third and one out. However,
Spencer Sarringar threw out a baserunner and starter
Nick Berger induced a weak groundout to escape the jam. Rollins returned the favor in the bottom of the second, putting two men on with no out, but could not score after a pop out and a pair of strikeouts.
Rollins was able to put
Joey Rubin on second in the third inning after a double, but was left stranded after the Lions rightfielder made a nice play on a flyball off the bat of
Jeslyn Whitehead to end the inning.
Saint Leo found the scoreboard in the fourth, starting the inning with three straight singles. Bobby Sparling was the fourth batter, and he flew out to center to bring in a run on a sac fly. On the play,
Cameron Meehan threw down to third and looked like he nailed the runner, but the umpire called him safe. On the next pitch, Jack Wyman also lifted a ball to the outfield for a second sac fly to make it 2-0.
The Tars started the fourth just like the second, with
Ryan Coleman leading off with a double, followed by a Meehan walk. The rally went a little longer this time, with Sarringar eventually earning a bases loaded walk to bring home Meehan to make it 2-1.
Inning five saw Rollins put together another run-scoring effort. Whitehead blooped a double to right with one out, and moved to third on a grounder. Meehan then worked another three-ball count before ripping a laser into left for a double of his own, to tie the game.
Andres Antonini then singled to right to bring in Meehan and give Rollins a 3-2 lead.
The Lions got one back in the sixth on a two-out, seeing-eye single through the left side to knot the score at three all. After stranding a runner at second in the sixth, the Tars would not make the mistake again in the seventh.
Ryan Coleman led off with a single, and then stole second. With two outs, Thies smashed a single through the middle to plate Coleman and put Rollins back ahead, 4-3.
Saint Leo had a man on second in the eighth, but reliever
Ryan Murphy picked up a pair of strikeouts and a groundball to keep him on the island and preserve the Rollins lead. The Tars then added an insurance run in the bottom half when Whitehead drove in Sarringar with a base hit.
Unfortunately, the insurance was not enough as Saint Leo erupted for five runs in the top of the ninth to secure the win in game one.
Game Two
Rollins 12
Saint Leo 4
Rollins could not have asked for a better start to game two. After
Joey Rubin singled and
Adams Torres was hit by a pitch, Whitehead tripled to right-center to score both runners. Then,
Ryan Coleman blasted his tenth home run of the year over the right field wall to make the score 4-0.
The second inning saw a two-out rally from Rollins bring in three more runs.
Axel Post singled and stole second base. After a Torres walk, it was Whitehead stepping up with a monster shot to left-center for his second homerun of the year.
The Lions roared back for three runs in the third, chasing starter
Kieran Casey from the game. It could have been more, but a beautiful relay from
Kyle Bullock to Rubin to Post had a runner cut down at home.
Whitehead came through again in the fourth. He ripped a shot down the third base line that might've gone for extra bases had the Lions fielder not gotten half a glove on it. He settled for an RBI single on the play, scoring Rubin.
Rollins added three more runs in the fifth on a two-run shot from
Parker Smith, and an RBI single from Torres. Smith then added a two-out RBI single in the sixth to make it 12-3.
The Lions added one more before the end of the game. However, seniors Steve Swift,
Carson Hauben, and
Jaxon Mills all pitched well to close things out.
Next up for the Tars is their final SSC series of the year at Embry-Riddle next week. The seeding in the NCAA South Regional is still up in the air, so all three games will be important for the Tars.
