Brandon Grover
Brandon Grover

Rollins Uses 12 Hits for an 11-4 Win over Bentley; Grover Extends Hit Streak to 5

WINTER PARK, Fla. – Junior right fielder Brendan Brundage (Coconut Creek, Fla.) and freshman DH Like Reidy (Brentwood, Tenn.), the first two batters in the Rollins College lineup, each had three hits as the Tars posted an 11-4 win over Bentley University in non-conference college baseball Monday afternoon at Alfond Stadium.

After giving up a run in the bottom of the first, Bentley took its only lead of the game with two runs in the second inning. Consecutive singles by junior right fielder Brandon Grover (Rocky Hill, Conn./ Rocky Hill HS), sophomore left fielder Luke Figueira (Taunton, Mass./Taunton HS) and sophomore shortstop Christopher Butler (Danvers, Mass./BB&N)) produced the first run and Figueira later scored in a single to center by sophomore third baseman Jake Pierce (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater HS).

The lead stood until Rollins (6-3) scored twice in the third on a two-out, two-run single through the left side by junior catcher Billy Lamm (Melbourne, Fla.).

Rollins sophomore left fielder Nick Santucci (Franklin, Mass.) drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth to make it a 4-2 game and he homered during a three-run seventh as the Tars opened the game up. It was Santucci's sixth extra base hit and seventh RBI of the three-game series.

Bentley picked up single runs in the fifth and ninth innings. Sophomore center fielder Max Troiani (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Mendon HS) singled and scored on a ground out by classmate Ryan Berardino (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury HS) in the fifth, and graduate catcher Nathan Littman (Abington, Mass./Abington HS) homered in the ninth.

Grover, who has a five-game hitting streak, was the only Falcon with multiple hits as he had two for the fourth time in five games and pushed his average to .409.

Sophomore righty Garrett Leonard (Fort Mill, S.C.), the first of three Rollins pitchers, improved to 2-0 after allowing six hits and three runs in five innings of work.

Bentley, 1-5, will return to central Florida for five games Mar. 4-8.