Rollins baseball on roller coaster

A wild start to conference play has left the Tars (17-13, 4-5) with a string of lopsided games in their wake, culminating in a series sweep of Eckerd last weekend on the diamond.

Only one of Rollins’ nine Sunshine State Conference games so far has been decided by less than three runs. The rest have been a rollercoaster of blowouts, with the Tars letting Lynn win 38-4, then being swept by a Tampa team that scored a combined 37 runs in three games.

Against Eckerd (13-16, 1-11), the Tars fought back. It started from the mound: Anthony Figliolia struck out the first two batters he faced in the first game. He would go on to strike out 10, pitching his second complete game of the season in the process.

The batters made sure it wasn’t even close. In game one the Tars capitalized on small ball to pick up enough runs for the win. Then as the sun sank past the horizon in left field, designated hitter Boston Langley blasted a homer to try to chase it down. The Tars finished on top 7-1.

The next day, in what was set to be a grueling doubleheader finale to the series, the Rollins pitching staff made it look easy. Starter Taylor Smith punched out all but the final batter himself, allowing only four hits while striking out 10. Catcher Evan Rivera supplied an unusual combination of offense for three RBI, hammering a double, then a sacrifice fly, and a walk with the bases loaded. The Tars cruised to a 7-1 win in that game.

In the doubleheader finale the Tars dominated from the mound again, with starter Brett Mueller striking out seven in five innings of shutout work. Center Fielder Zach Persky collected the most bases in the game, stealing two in an inning then smashing a bases-clearing triple en route to three RBI. The Tars capped off their finale with an 8-2 score.

After hosting Flagler at press time to try to avenge an 11-5 March 26 loss, the Tars will host Barry for a three-game series, taking the field at 6 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. the same day.

Knights

UCF has kept fans on their toes with an up and down start to Conference USA play that’s left them with an 18-11 and 4-2 record.

After a series sweep at UAB, the Knights came back home for a three-game matchup against Southern Miss that wasn’t decided until the final out, as a comeback fell just short.

The Knights traveled to face the Florida Gators (13-15, 4-5) at press time, and will hit the road for Memphis (15-13, 2-4) starting with their first game at 7:30 p.m. April 5. After that they’ll play two more at 3 p.m. April 6 and 2 p.m. April 7. Then they’ll take on Interstate-4 rival USF (13-13, 3-1) at 7 p.m. April 10 in Tampa.

Good news for the Knights: The last time they played the Bulls, on Feb. 28 of last year, they won in a 12-1 blowout. Fun Knights trivia: UCF slugger D.J. Hicks had four RBI and struck out two as the starting pitcher in that game. He was intentionally walked in the second inning, but gave up no walks while he was on the mound.