WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (May 3, 2025) – The Rollins College softball team took the diamond for the final time of the regular season Saturday, double dipping with the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish in the conference slate finale. Jumping out to an early advantage in game one, the Tars cruised to a dominant 10-2 win. Game two's start was no different as the Tars once more got on the board first and never looked back, snatching a 3-1 win. The pair of victories secured the fourth straight 30-win regular season for Rollins and a series sweep.
Game One
Before Rollins starter
Reese Twiggs could even throw a pitch, the Tars provided her with run support, courtesy of a
Madi Carr double which scored
Brooke Theisen in the top of the first. After Twiggs worked around an error to begin her outing, the Tars were back at it, benefiting again from an RBI double, this time produced by
Jenna Borkey. The two-bagger scored
Grace Germer, who at the start of the inning rewrote the history books. After reaching first on a bunt single, Germer stole second for the 100
th stolen base of her Rollins career. Hitting the century mark is an achievement on its own but doing it for the school record is even sweeter. Congratulations, Grace!
Beyond Borkey's run scoring double, Rollins added two more runs, thanks in part to sloppy defense by the Sailfish. Bri Perantoni tacked on an RBI single following a SAC bunt which scored Borkey and allowed
Makayla Layton to reach via a wild throw. In total, it was a three run inning for Rollins and a stolen bases record for good measure.
The teams traded goose eggs in the third and fourth innings, and Rollins extended the lead to 6-0 by way of a
Jaden Walker two-run dinger. Walker leads the team with five on the season.
Twiggs continued to slice up the Sailfish hitters, once again hurling a zero, and the Tars tacked on in the top of the sixth. Pinch hitting
Chloe Bauer brought home
Kaeli Zahradnik with a single who had led off the inning with a base knock of her own. Later, Marissa Edevane ripped a double to pour on another run, making it 8-0.
Needing just three outs to win via the mercy rule, the Sailfish would not go away quietly. Three straight hits brought home two runs to cut the Rollins lead to 8-2.
The Tars answered with two of their own in the final stanza.
Claire Long singled to open the frame for her second hit of the ballgame. Long later scored via a sac fly from Zahradnik. Perantoni also had a productive out, grounding out to the left side to bring in Germer.
Twiggs gave way to
Grace Hautzinger in the seventh after an outstanding performance in the circle. In her final start of the regular season, Twiggs went six innings, allowing just two runs off five hits. After Hautzinger shut the door in quick fashion to seal a 10-2 victory, Twiggs clinched her ninth win of the season, tripling her total from last year.
Game Two
Freshman
Camila Leon-Blanco stepped into the circle in the regular season finale for game two, and like Twiggs, she had received run support even before throwing a pitch. A leadoff single from Bri Perantoni set the table and after a
Madi Carr single put two runners on,
Jaden Walker capitalized on another RBI opportunity. The senior captain singled to left, bringing home two and giving the Tars a 2-0 advantage in the blink of an eye.
The Tars spoiled first and second with nobody out in the top of the second, but Leon-Blanco continued to cruise until a two-out single in the bottom half of the third cut the Rollins lead in half.
Trading 1-2-3 frames in the fourth, Rollins scratched one across in the fifth to find some breathing room. With two outs, the speedy Perantoni took home off a wild pitch, extending the lead to 3-1. The two run advantage was more than enough for Leon-Blanco.
The freshman sat down the final nine batter she faced, slamming the door of the Sailfish and clinching her third consecutive complete game victory. The freshman led the team in ERA among qualifying starters (1.44), tied the team lead in wins (9) and surrendered just a .179 batting average against – not bad for your first year of college softball!
Riding high off the sweep, the Tars now await to see if their stellar season was good enough to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. The selection show will take place on Monday, May 5
th. Regardless, there are many positive takeaways from Saturday and the season to build off of!
