MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—The top two softball teams in the Sunshine State Conference face off in Miami Shores this weekend as the conference-leading Barry Buccaneers host the second-place Rollins Tars at Buccaneer field on Saturday and Sunday.
The Bucs (23-7, 7-2 SSC) have won 19 of their last 23 games, including conference sweeps of Saint Leo on the road and Florida Southern at home. Dee Espinosa has been the engine that makes the Bucs go this year. The junior catcher leads the team with a .416 average, 16 doubles, seven homers and 36 RBI. Junior centerfielder Megan Copeland is right behind her with a .415 average and a team-best 19 stolen bases. The two are tied with 28 runs scored. Senior second baseman Kelly Martinez clocks in with a .315 average, 11 doubles and 20 RBI, while Julie Brito, a senior at first base, had five homers, 21 runs scored and 24 RBI.
Junior Taylor Sabol and freshman Haley Wiseman comprise the rotation. Wiseman is 10-4 with a 2.65 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 84.2 innings. Sabol is 8-3 with a 2.70 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 83 innings. Kristina Pazienza is 5-0 out of the pen and as a spot starter, with a 1.72 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 36.2 innings.
The Bucs are fourth in the SSC in batting at .320 and average 5.7 runs per game. They are third in both slugging percentage and on-base percentage. The Bucs are fifth in pitching with a 2.50 ERA. Barry is second in the league and 11th nationally with a .976 fielding percentage.
Rollins leads the league in batting at. 356, slugging at .522 and on-base percentage at .411. The Tars average 6.5 runs per game. At 1.63 ERA, the Tars are second in the league. They are third in the league, fielding .972.
Sophomore Hailee Keisling, who splits time at catcher and first base, leads the Tars with a .510 average, 33 runs scored and 13 doubles and has driven in 27. Centerfielder Chelsea Reed, also a sophomore, leads the team with five homers, batting .344 with 24 RBI. Junior rightfielder Rose Stevens, has 19 stolen bases to lead the team, while leftfielder Courtney Durbin, another junior, leads the team with 28 RBI, batting .326 with four homers.
Juniors Niki Fogle and Tiffany Osmanski handle the pitching. Fogle is 21-4 with a 1.53 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 151.1 innings. Osmanski is 7-0 with a 1.19 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 41.1 innings.
The Buccaneers own a staggering 73-23 edge in the all-time series, but that is a little misleading as the Bucs won the first 41 games between the two from 1987 to 1998. Since then, the series has been a much more even 32-23, and since 2009, Rollins has won 13 of 17 games.
The series begins with a single game on Saturday, Mar. 28 at 6:00 pm and concludes with Sunday's doubleheader starting at noon. All three game will be carried live on the Buccaneer Broadcasting Network, with Danny Rabinowitz calling all the action.
