Start Time for Series Opener Thursday at Rollins Pushed Up Two Hours

LAKELAND - The start time for Thursday's Sunshine State Conference series opener between Florida Southern and Rollins has been pushed up two hours from 6 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Alfond Stadium in Winter Park due to a forecast that calls for inclement weather later in the evening in the Winter Park area.

The game, which was originally scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, is the first of a three-game series between the two SSC rivals as the teams are scheduled to conclude the three-game series with a doubleheader on Friday, April 18 beginning at 1 p.m. weather permitting.

FSC comes into this week's SSC series with Rollins sporting a 26-13 overall and is tied for third in the SSC with Saint Leo with a 9-6 league mark. The Mocs, who are ranked 19th in the latest Collegiate Baseball Division II Poll, are scheduled to send senior right-hander Clay Chapman (Orlando, Fla.) to mound in today's series opener. On the season, Chapman is 3-4 with a 3.41 ERA and in 71.1 innings of work, he has recorded two complete games, one shutout and has struck out 69 and walked just 16 opposing hitters.

Meanwhile, Rollins comes into the series sporting a 13-23 overall and a 1-17 mark in the SSC. The Tars, who have dropped nine straight games, are slated to start senior Eric Morse in Thursday's opener. On the season, Morse is 1-3 with a 3.89 ERA and in 37 innings of work, he has struck out 24 and walked 11.

As a team, the Tars are hitting .258 and have a team ERA of 4.39, while the Mocs enter the series hitting .289 as a team and have a team ERA of 3.01, which is second-best in the SSC behind Lynn's 2.86 ERA.

Following this weekend's action, the Mocs will play four games next week beginning on Wednesday, April 23 as they travel to Lake Wales for a rescheduled game with Warner at 3:30 p.m., before closing out the home portion of its schedule with a three-game SSC series against Saint Leo.