Tars Survive Late Scare from Lions

SAINT LEO, Fla. (February 28, 2026) - The baseball team captured the series from Saint Leo with a wild win on Saturday, defeating the Lions 10-8. The Tars now stand at 12-4 on the season with an unblemished 5-0 record in SSC play. The Lions fall to 8-7, 0-5 SSC.

The Tars got the party started in the top of the second when Connor O'Sullivan and AJ Barrios ripped back-to-back doubles. After a flyout moved Barrios to third, Stephen Deans brought him in with a sac fly to center to make it 2-0. 

After Brett Dennis cruised through the second and third innings, Rollins went back to work in the top of the fourth. With one out and the bases loaded, Jayden Brown and Deans both score on consecutive wild pitches from the Lions. A pitching change was made, and the next three hitters went walk, Collin Hughes RBI double, walk to make it 5-0.

With two outs in the sixth, Saint Leo committed a costly error at second, loading the bases for the Tars. Mason Elrod made them pay instantly, ripping a single through the left side that brought home Hughes and Jimmy Thies, giving the Tars a touchdown lead at 7-0. In the bottom half, Dennis worked around a pair of baserunners to keep the shutout in tact. 

Stephen Deans led off the seventh inning with a solo blast to left field for his first home run of the season, and first since April 13, 2024. The dugout was hyped for their senior backstop, and Rollins looked like they were cruising to another win. Even after the Lions scored once in the bottom of the seventh, no one was really worried. The RBI single from Dylan Mass led to the first earned run of the season given up by Brett Dennis, spanning a total of 26.2 innings.

The Tars went down in order in the eighth, and then all hell broke loose in the bottom half. A leadoff double didn't seem to matter much as the next two hitters were put out. But then, the Lions went single, single, triple scoring three runs and forcing  pitching change. The move did not pay off as Saint Leo satyed hot at the dish with a single, double, and single, pulling them within one at 8-7. JR Struk was called on as the third pitcher of the inning, and induced a flyout to end the rally. 

Rollins loaded the bases to start the ninth with a single, a walk, and a hit by pitch. Following a groundout, Joey Rubin ripped a single to center that plated Brown, followed by a sac fly to left from Hughes that scored Deans to make it 10-7. 

The fun wasn't over yet. Amai Rivera-Martinez led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run. However, Struk was able to buckle down and retire three of the next four hitters to hang on for the 10-8 victory. 

Deans put together one of the best offensive performances of his Rollins career, going 2-3 with a three runs, two RBI, a home run, and a walk. Hughes and Elrod each added two hits and two RBI as well. Dennis earned his fourth win of the year with a final line of seven innings, eight hits, one run, and six strikeouts. Struk was awarded his third save of the year.

The Tars are riding a ten-game winning streak as they head into Sunday's series finale. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm from Southard Stadium in Saint Leo.