Rollins baseball returns to NCAA Div. II championship match for first time since 1954
The Tars flipped their script in the Division II College World Series semifinals.
The No. 4 seed Rollins (42-18) beat the No. 5 seed Cal St. San Bernardino (46-19) 10-8 at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C., on Friday.
The Tars missed their shot at the national title last season after losing to Point Loma (San Diego) 2-0 in the semifinals.
The Tars neared the same fate after falling to the Coyotes 16-11 on Thursday in what turned out to be Game 1 of the double-elimination format.
The rematch victory, however, advances Rollins to the championship stage for the first time since 1954.
Rollins will face the No. 3 seed Angelo State (Texas) Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
San Bernardino took an early 2-0 lead. Danny Garcia singled to left center, bringing DeShawn Johnson and Jason Shedlock home in the first inning.
Rollins responded with its own two-run single to equalize the game. Ryan Coleman found right field, allowing Jeslyn Whitehead and Joey Rubin to cross home plate.
Takuto Kataoka took advantage of a muffed Tars throw in the top of the second, scoring the Coyotes’ third run.
The Tars turned the tables, remembering the disappointment of last season’s defeat.
Jimmy Thies slid home on Whitehead’s single to shortstop in the second.
Cameron Meehan scored after Parker Smith reached base on a fielder’s choice, and Smith ran in after Rubin’s single up the middle in the third.
Meehan’s single in the fourth scored Coleman for a 6-3 lead.
Although the Coyotes rallied for two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth, the Tars responded.
Meehan’s two-run single in the sixth drove in Whitehead and Coleman for their second runs to regain the lead.
Coleman’s homer to right field in the eighth also scored Adams Torres to give Rollins a needed cushion.
Angelo State (55-9) is on a six-game winning streak, undefeated in the World Series. It will take an even greater offensive effort for the Tars to hoist the trophy.
