LAKELAND, Fla. – Rollins softball completed the series sweep over Florida Southern on Saturday, taking game one in six innings, 13-5, before securing a 5-1 victory in game two.
Game One – Rollins 13, Florida Southern 5 (6 inn.)
Rollins wasted no time getting the offense going.
Brooke Theisen recorded the first hit of the afternoon with a single into the right-center gap, and a Mocs miscue put two runners aboard.
Madi Carr capitalized, doubling to left center to score Theisen and move
Rachel Matthiesen to third.
Isabella Golas followed with productive contact to plate another, giving the Tars a 2-0 lead after one.
The momentum continued in the second.
Daylin Hejtmanek singled and advanced on an error to put two on with one out. Theisen added another base hit, and though a strong throw home cut down a run, Rollins kept applying pressure. Matthiesen delivered an RBI single to right to score
Brianna Perantoni, and Carr followed with her second hit of the day to bring home Theisen.
Cambrie Todd provided the big swing of the inning, launching a three-run home run to right field to extend the lead to 7-0 and force a Florida Southern pitching change.
Florida Southern threatened in the bottom of the second, loading the bases, but the Rollins defense worked out of the jam to keep the Mocs scoreless. The hosts answered in the third with a two-run hit and added three more in the fourth on a trio of base hits, trimming the deficit to 7-5.
Rollins responded immediately. Golas drew a walk and used her speed to create pressure on the basepaths, eventually coming around to score and push the lead to 8-5.
The Tars put the game out of reach in the sixth.
Alondra Maldonado-Ortiz and Theisen opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Matthiesen reached on an error, allowing Maldonado-Ortiz to score. Carr collected her third hit of the day to drive in another, and with two more runners in scoring position,
Makayla Layton added an RBI to stretch the lead to 11-5.
Kaeli Zahradnik capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly, plating the final runs to secure the eight-run margin and end the contest in six innings.
Camila Leon-Blanco earned the win in the circle, improving to 3-1 on the season.
Game Two – Rollins 5, Florida Southern 1
The Tars continued to generate early traffic in game two, as Perantoni, Matthiesen, and Carr all recorded hits in the first inning, but Florida Southern worked out of the frame to keep it scoreless. That held through the first three and a half innings before the Mocs broke through with a pair of hits to take a 1-0 lead.
Rollins answered in the bottom half. Zahradnik and Perantoni both reached safely, and a double steal forced a throwing error that allowed the tying run to score while moving the go-ahead run to third. Matthiesen followed with an RBI single to left, giving the Tars a 2-1 advantage.
The score remained steady until the seventh, when Rollins created separation.
Gabriella Barrera delivered a pinch-hit single up the middle, and
Chloe Bauer followed with a bunt single, with both runners advancing on a Florida Southern error. Bauer later crossed the plate on a wild pitch to extend the lead. Maldonado-Ortiz added a triple to left, and Matthiesen doubled to bring her home before Carr added another RBI to stretch the advantage to 5-1.
Florida Southern put two aboard in the final frame, but the Rollins defense stranded both runners to complete the sweep.
Reese Twiggs earned the complete-game victory in game two, moving to 4-1 on the year.
Rollins improves to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in SSC play. The Tars return home Thursday, February 26, to host Saint Leo at MLK Jr. Park, with first pitch set for 6 p.m.
