Tars Split with #2 Spartans

WINTER PARK, Fla. (April 12, 2025) It was a beautiful day in Winter Park to honor Rollins softball's four outstanding seniors. With the numbers of Grace Germer, Emily MacMullen, Brie Michelli and Jaden Walker drawn in the dirt behind the plate, Rollins took the field with thoughts of an upset. In game one, Rollins did all they could, holding a lead for most of the contest, but falling short in extra innings, 6-2. Then, in game two, Camila Leon-Blanco's dominant performance brought the upset into reality. Rollins snagged a 6-0 win to send the seniors out in style.
 
Game One
Reese Twiggs took to the circle in game one hoping to knot the series, and got off to a good start, hurling a scoreless first inning. Twiggs worked around a single and a walk to send the Tars to the plate with a chance to grab an early lead. A leadoff single by Bri Perantoni gave her fifty knocks on the season, but two quick outs appeared to end any scoring threat. Senior Jaden Walker extended the inning with a single of her own, but Tampa starter Mariah Galhouse escaped the bottom half unscathed.
 
Twiggs once again pitched around a baserunner, ending the second with back-to-back Ks. Two quick outs after a leadoff single by Brie Michelli seemed to spell another fruitless inning for the Tars, but Grace Germer had other ideas. The senior found the outfield grass in left beneath the diving glove of the Spartans' Lauren Fanto, and hustled around for an RBI double. Germer's clutch hit gave the Tars a 1-0 lead and gave her an RBI on consecutive days. Galhouse had gone the last fifty innings allowing just one earned run prior to Germer's two-out extra base hit.
 
Twiggs sensed the momentum and kept things rolling in the third, pitching her first clean inning through the top of the Spartans order. The Tars also went down in order by way of an outfield assist which cut down Jaden Walker at second base after the senior singled to right.
 
Tampa seized the energy from the play and homered to begin the fourth to tie the score at one a piece. Twiggs settled in afterwards, though and the score remained 1-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth.
 
In Rollins at-bats, a "runner left early" call stunted the potential of a big inning, keeping the score deadlocked at one.
 
The Tars returned the favor with an outfield assist of their own in the top of fifth courtesy of Germer, helping Twiggs pitch around a leadoff walk. Rollins went down 1-2-3 with their chance, sending the game to the sixth still tied.
 
Twiggs once again worked around the leadoff batter reaching to toss a scoreless frame. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, after it appeared that Tampa would duplicate throwing up a goose egg, Rollins broke through. With two outs, Cambrie Todd got a bat on it and reached on an error. One batter later, Michelli did the same. The misplays by Tampa cost them a run as Walker hustled around to score from second base. The effort gave the Tars a 2-1 lead heading into the final stanza of regulation.
 
After Twiggs got the lead out, a walk and a single ended her outstanding outing. Twiggs finished the day with 6.1 innings, allowing six hits while striking out three and walking four, but was on the hook for the runners at first and second. Freshman Rachel Matthiesen stepped into the circle in a big spot, relieving Twiggs. After giving up a single to the first batter she faced, Matthiesen induced a fly ball to right field. Bri Perantoni camped under it for the second out and fired home, hoping to end the game by cutting down the runner at the plate. In as close of a play as you'll find, the runner was called safe, tying the game at two apiece. Mattiesen impressively settled in for the third out to keep the score tied, sending the Tars to the plate needing just one run to grab a win.
 
Tampa's Friday starter Gwen McGinnis entered the game in relief, shutting down the Tars to send the game to extras. 
 
An inning-ending 4-6-3 double play provided a spark for the Tars heading into the bottom of the eighth, but Rollins couldn't capitalize, sending the game to the ninth.
 
Tampa finally broke the tie in the frame, scoring two runs on an error and a wild pitch to double up the Tars. The Spartans tacked on two more with a two-run shot, ending Mattiesen's day. Fellow freshman Camila Leon-Blanco came in for relief and held the score right there.
 
Trailing 6-2, Rollins needed a rally to extend the game further, but McGinnis was just too strong in the circle. McGinnis held the Tars at bay, sealing the win for the Spartans 6-2.
 
Game Two
The Tars rode the hot arm into game two. After Camila Leon-Blanco recoded the final two outs of game one, she returned to the circle hoping to keep things going. Leon-Blanco did just that, shutting down the Spartans in order, highlighted by a strikeout to end the top of the first.
 
Tampa rode the hot hand as well, keeping McGinnis in the circle. Rollins managed a hit courtesy of senior Brie Michelli, but could not bring her around.
 
Leon-Blanco produced another quick inning thanks to a web-gem catch at the wall by Kaeli Zahradnik. Rollins took the juice into their at-bats, beginning the inning with three straight hits by Brooke Theisen, Todd and Germer, the last of which induced a run. That gave Germer an RBI in every game of the series. Later in the frame, Kaeli Zahradnik took her smooth defense into the batters box, doubling to extend Rollins lead to 3-0. Perantoni continued her hot streak with an RBI single to follow, and when it was all said and done, the Tars had built a 4-0 lead. Additionally, they had chased McGinnis out of the game. Game one starter Galhouse returned to the circle in her place.
 
Camila Leon-Blanco continued to throw up goose eggs, tossing a zero in the third. The Tars stranded the bases loaded in the third, but Tampa did the same with their at bats in the following frame. To start the inning, Zahradnik turned in another web gem, sending a roar through the crowd. The team sensed the momentum, tacking on another run by way of a Madi Carr RBI, making the score 5-0 into the fifth.
 
Leon-Blanco stayed on, throwing another scoreless inning, securing her longest outing in conference play all season. Cambrie Todd sent a missile over the center field wall in the bottom half, hyping up the dugout and increasing the Rollins' advantage to six runs.
 
The freshman continued to deal, keeping Tampa a ways away with another zero, with a nifty play by catcher Madi Carr up against the netting behind home plate to retire the Spartans.
 
The game appeared to be over as Brie Michelli sent a ball out to deep right-center field. The ball was over the fence, and would have been a three-run home run to put the mercy rule into effect, but Tampa's Lilly Kieste brought it back. The inning ended up scoreless for the Tars, sending the game to the top of the seventh remaining 6-0.
 
Camila Leon-Blanco finished the job in dramatic fashion. Loading the bases with two outs, the freshman closed the deal, solidifying the first complete game shutout of her young career.
 
The upset win adds a quality ranked-opponent victory to the Tars resume, and hands Tampa their largest margin of defeat since February 24, 2022. Following the two games, the coaching staff honored seniors Emily MacMullen and Brie Michelli in a small ceremony, while also giving flowers to fifth-years Jaden Walker and Grace Germer, all of whom had just played their final home game at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. 

Next week, Rollins heads to Eckerd for a three game set with the Tritons beginning on Thursday, April 17 at 7pm.