CARY, North Carolina (June 3, 2023) - Rollins could not have asked for a better start to their 2023 NCAA Championship, taking down the #5 seed CSU San Bernardino Coyotes by a score of 7-1 on Saturday in the opening game of the tournament. The Tars now have a 40-17 record on the season.
After starter
Nick Berger set the Coyotes down in order with two strikeouts in the top of the first,
Jeslyn Whitehead provided a spark with a two-out, solo home run in the bottom half to give Rollins the early lead.
After a scoreless second, Berger once again set down San Bernardino in the third, and then received a massive boost from his offense.
Spencer Sarringar led off with a single, and
Joey Rubin followed suit with a base hit of his own. That set up
Adams Torres for an absolute bomb to left field for a three-run home run. After a pair of outs,
Cameron Meehan then followed with a solo shot that scraped over the wall in left center to make it 5-0 Tars.
The Coyotes picked up their first hit in the fourth inning, but Berger left the runner stranded. In the sixth, Berger walked a pair, and a flyballl put them both in scoring position. However, the righty was able to buckle down and induce a flyball to Meehan in center to quell the threat. Rollins put two more on the board in the bottom frame, thanks to an RBI double from Sarringar and a base knock from Rubin that brought in
Parker Smith.
Berger gave up back-to-back base hits to lead off the seventh, but a lineout and a 5-4-3 double play kept the Coyotes off the board. That would wrap up Berger's day with a final line of 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K.
Tate Stone-Frisina worked a scoreless eighth, but the Coyotes did manage to break through against
Ryan Furey, scoring once on two hits to make the final of 7-1.
Adams Torres made a phenomenal play on a slow chopper up the middle to wrap things up for the Tars on day one.
Seven different Tars recorded at least one hit, with Rubin, Whitehead,
Jimmy Thies and Sarringar all recording two. Torres had three RBI on the day. Rubin's run was his 67th of the year, putting him five away from the school season record. Whitehead now has 94 hits on the year, and trails the all-time mark by five as well.
Next up for Rollins is the winner of #1 Millersville/#8 UIndy, which is being played Saturday evening. Rollins will face the winner on Monday, June 5 at 6:00 pm, while San Bernardino will face the loser in a win-or-go-home matchup at 1:30 PM.
