WINTER PARK, Fla. (April 6, 2024) - Baseball suffered a pair of defeats on Saturday to #1 Tampa, moving them to 18-14 on the year with a 10-8 mark in the SSC.
Game One
After being two-hit on Friday, the Spartans were ready to attack on offense against starter
Nick Berger. In the top of the first, they used a single, walk, and another single to score the first run of the game. Rollins was in prime position to respond in their half of the inning when
Damaurys Rodriguez,
Jose Perez, and
Mason Wilson all singled to load the bases with no outs. Unfortunately, the next three hitters all popped out, leaving the ducks on the pond.
Tampa added another run to their lead in the second, collecting three hits in the inning.
After a quiet third, the Spartans put a man on in the fourth, but he was soon gunned down by Rodriguez from behind home plate to quell the threat.
The Spartan offense kept swinging to provide support for their starter. In the fifth, EJ Cumbo ripped a solo shot to right to make the score 3-0. This time, the Tar offense broke out of it's funk.
Jimmy Thies led off with a single, and moved to second on a beautiful bunt single from
Angelo Ramirez. After a flyout, Perez delivered a single to center that scored Thies. Wilson was up next, and took the first pitch he saw to right field to score Ramirez, making it 3-2.
The sixth inning was action-packed on both sides. Tampa struck for two on a two out single from Cumbo, putting them up 5-2. Undeterred, Rollins answered right back.
Jack Herring led off with a double to the center field wall, and scored two batters later on a double from Thies. After moving to third on a wild pitch, Thies then scored on a groundball from Rodriguez to make it 5-4.
Relief pitchers took the stage in the later innings, with
Jacob Burr and Eli Thurmond pitching effectively in the seventh and eighth innings.
After Burr had a third straight scoreless frame in the ninth, the Tars were down to their last chance at the plate. Rodriguez singled to left with one out, and moved to second on the play after an errant throw fro the fielder. He would move to third on a groundout from Perez, putting the tying run only 90 feet away. The Spartans called on Andrew Carson from the bullpen, and he recorded the final out on a strikeout of Wilson to save the game.
Four Tars ... Rodriguez, Perez, Wilson, and Thies ... had two hits and an RBI in the game. Berger added another quality start to his ledger in the loss, allowing three earned over six innings. Burr was great out of the pen with three scoreless frames.
Game Two
The back half of the doubleheader started at a much slower pace than the first. After a scoreless opening inning, Tampa got on the board in the second with an RBI groundout. Rollins would tie the game at one in the next inning, though. with one out,
Jose Perez ripped a double down the line. He then stole third on the next pitch. On the play, the throw from the catcher hit
Mason Wilson's bat, allowig Perez to come around and score.
Tampa threatened in the fourth with two men on, but
Ryan Furey worked a strikeout to leave them stranded.
The fifth inning saw Tampa threaten once more, putting a runner on third with two outs. Yet again, Furey was able to lock in and earn a strikeout to get out of the jam. In the latter half, Perez earned a two-out walk. A Wilson single moved him to third, followed by a base hit from Sparber to bring Perez in and give Rollins a 2-1 lead.
In the sixth, it was a similar outcome for Tampa. They had a runner on third with two outs after an error and a steal, but this time Furey was helped by Thies at third, who made a nice throw on a groundbal to end the inning. In the Tars' half of the inning, Thies sent a missile to left field, but a fantastic leaping grab at the fence from Jake Griffith robbed the home run.
Sticking with the script, it was another close call in the seventh. After two hitters singled, coach
Jon Sjogren made a all to the bullpen for lefty
Ryan Murphy. The big southpaw did his job perfectly, retiring the next two hitters to preserve the lead.
More drama was present in the eighth. With one out, a seemingly harmless groundball was sent to shortstop, but a throwing error allowed the runner to reach safely. That was followed by a single to center, putting two men on. Unphased, Murphy locked in and induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Rollins then padded their lead when Herring ripped a double to center to score a pair, making it 4-1.
It looked like an easy win for Rollins as Murphy retired the first two hitters in the ninth. But then chaos ensued as the Spartans used a walk, single, single, hit by pitch, and single to tie the game at four. The Tars got a man on in the bottom half, but could not bring him home.
Tampa put a man on third with two outs in the eleventh inning, but they were once again stymied by Tars pitching. This time, it was
Nate Thomas inducing a flyball to left to escape the damage.
The game blew open in the twelfth when Santiago Garavido hit a three-run home run to right to put Tampa up 7-4.
Up next for Rollins is a non-conference Tuesday matchup at Florida Southern. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm on April 9.
