The Rollins Tars are just one week of games away from a national championship following their Super Regional sweep of the Barry Buccaneers last weekend. As the Tars prepare for the opening game on Saturday, let's take a look at what they are up against in Cary, North Carolina.
Left Bracket
#4 Rollins vs. #5 Cal State San Bernardino - Saturday June 3, 1:30 PM
#1 Millersville vs. #8 UIndy - Saturday, June 3, 5:00 PM
Rollins was awarded the four-seed after posting a record of 39-17 so far. Their wins on the year include four against #3 Tampa (all on the road), one against #5 Colorado Mesa, and twice against #6 Quincy. Their reward is a matchup against the Coyotes of San Bernardino, champions of the West with a 43-17 record. A few of their top victories include twice against #4 Point Loma and a sweep of #9 Cal State Monterey Bay in the Super Regional. Millersville was a bit of surprise at #1, despite their 45-8 record this year. They only have three Top 10 wins on the season, with two of those coming at the Atlantic Super Regional over #8 Seton Hill. UIndy (39-19) was the #7 seed in the Midwest Region, but took down #16 Illinois Springfield, #25 Maryville (twice) and #6 Quincy twice to secure their spot in Cary.
On the right bracket, the #1 team in the country, and defending national champion, North Greenville (49-9) was given the #2 seed. They will face #7 Augustana (47-19) out of the Central. Angelo State (52-9) checks in at #3 and will take on #6 Southern New Hampshire (42-11). Rollins would only see one of these four teams in the championship round.
Offense
|
Rollins |
CSUSB |
Millersville |
UIndy |
| Avg |
.312 |
.323 |
.310 |
.322 |
| Obp |
.399 |
.409 |
.407 |
.430 |
| Slg |
.499 |
.506 |
.490 |
.494 |
| R |
431 |
485 |
397 |
499 |
| H |
625 |
678 |
542 |
607 |
| 2B |
118 |
110 |
124 |
128 |
| 3B |
14 |
12 |
21 |
23 |
| HR |
76 |
83 |
50 |
50 |
| SO |
391 |
339 |
357 |
394 |
| BB |
235 |
234 |
247 |
340 |
| SB |
67 |
42 |
124 |
150 |
There are two distinct styles of play on the left bracket ... power for the Tars and Coyotes, and speed for the Marauders and Greyhounds. While Rollins is not top in any offensive category, they are strong across the board. They benefit from facing elite Sunshine State Conference pitching for most of the season, and should be one of the more powerful offenses that any of these teams has seen this year. It's hard to find a hole in the lineup 1-9 for Rollins, as head coach
Jon Sjogren has done a great job crafting his batting order to balance out hitters, power guys, and OBP machines. For instance, SSC home run leader
Parker Smith, who has 21 dingers this year, bats from the eight-hole, while catcher
Spencer Sarringar, who is hitting .377 with a .462 OBP is the nine-hole. At the top of the lineup,
Jeslyn Whitehead is threatening the season hits record for the Tars, while leadoff man
Joey Rubin has scored the third-most runs in a season in school history. Rollins also boasts
Ryan Coleman (31 XBH),
Cameron Meehan (1.023 OPS) and All-South Region second baseman
Adams Torres (.361/.414/.513).
San Bernardino features an offense with four players who have double-digit home runs. Gio Del Negro is slashing .387/.480/.649 with thirty extra base hits and 65 RBI. The Coyotes have outscored their opponents by 149 runs this year. Bren Taylor is the catalyst for Millersville with his .420 batting average and 59 runs scored. Thomas Caufield is their big bopper, posting totals of 23 doubles, nine home runs, and 51 RBI on the year. Drew Donaldson was recently named a D2CCA All-American for UIndy with eye-popping numbers that include a 1.218 OPS, 38 extra-base hits, and 62 RBI. Caleb Vaughn is one of the top speed merchants in the country, totaling 43 steals in 45 attempts while hitting .346.
Pitching and Defense
|
Rollins |
CSUSB |
Millersville |
UIndy |
| IP |
496.1 |
510 |
446.1 |
469 |
| ERA |
4.91 |
5.01 |
3.27 |
5.35 |
| WHIP |
1.49 |
1.50 |
1.23 |
1.66 |
| R (ER) |
303 (271) |
336 (284) |
191 (162) |
355 (279) |
| SO |
344 |
420 |
432 |
504 |
| BB |
235 |
208 |
170 |
296 |
| Opp Avg |
.268 |
.277 |
.226 |
.262 |
| Field % |
.978 |
.976 |
.968 |
.963 |
| Errors |
46 |
51 |
60 |
72 |
Rollins has seen strong performances from All-SSC selections
Edward Berry and
Nick Berger all year long. Berry is the team leader in strikeouts with 68, and has held opponents to a .229 batting average. Berger has thrown the most innings at 88.1, and also boasts a team-best 3.54 ERA.
Tate Stone-Frisina has been a workhorse out of the bullpen, eclipsing 56 innings in 24 appearances. He is tied for the team lead with a 6-1 record, and also leads the Tars in saves with six.
Ryan Murphy has been nearly untouchable this year. The southpaw has a 0.86 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and has not allowed more than two hits in any of his twelve appearances.
Millersville has arguably the best pitching staff in the entire country, as seen by the numbers above. Carson Kulina is a certified ace with his 2.19 ERA in 70 innings. Alex Mykut is the team leader in strikeouts with 72. For CSUSB, Austyn Coleman has a 10-1 record with a 58/19 K:BB ratio across 83.2 innings. Dylan O'Connor has the most strikeouts with 86, but has also allowed 13 dingers this season. Brandon DeWitt made headlines for UIndy earlier this year when he tossed a no-hitter and hit for the cycle in the same game. He is more than just a headline though; DeWitt leads the team in ERA, wins, complete games, innings, and is second in strikeouts. Seth Spencer is a K machine with 117 punchies in 81.2 innings.
Off the mound, Rollins is one of the elite teams in the entire nation when it comes to fielding. They average less than one error per game, and have also turned a whopping 51 double plays. Look for Sarringar to have a huge impact from behind the plate with his rifle arm. The senior has thrown out 17 of 27 attempted base thieves, with runners successful only 37% of the time.
The double-elimination tournament begins on Saturday, June 3rd with Rollins and CSUSB opening things at 1:30 PM. Regardless of outcome, all four left bracket teams will play again on Monday afternoon.
Fans can watch the games live here
