Posted: Mar 25, 2022
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #14 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers won their program record 12th game in a row in style Friday afternoon at City of Palms Park in Downtown Fort Myers, hammering the visiting and 20th ranked Polk State Eagles 10-2 to take a two game lead over Polk in the Suncoast Conference standings.
In a battle for the top spot on the Suncoast Conference table, the Bucs struck first Friday, using a two out hustle double from Paxton Tomaini to extend the bottom half of the 1st and then RBI singles from Hunter Fitz-Gerald and Yadiel Santana to take a quick 2-0 lead against the Eagles.
FSW starter Chase Chatman worked a quick 1-2-3 top of the 2nd and picked up a big strikeout to get out of a bases loaded jam in the 3rd to keep it a 2-0 game.
The Bucs added to their lead in the bottom of the 3rd as Fitz-Gerald and Matthew Corpas lifted back to back sacrifice flies to the warning track to double their advantage to 4-0.
FSW blew the game open in the 5th as Jose Izarra and Satchell Norman opened the inning with back to back home runs, Izarra's a towering fly to right and Norman's a bullet over the left field wall to make it 6-0. They weren't done yet though as later in the inning Corpas greeted the Polk State bullpen with a deep homer to left on the first pitch he saw for a two run shot to stretch the lead to 8-0.
Chatman left after six scoreless frames with an 8-0 lead and the Bucs added another run in the bottom of the 6th on back to back two out doubles from Izarra and Norman to make it a 9-0 ballgame.
Polk finally cracked the scoreboard in the 7th on a two out single to left and did the same in the 8th to make it 9-2, but the Bucs added an insurance run on a two out double to left from Izarra to make it 10-2 and Ben Petschke closed the Eagles out in the 9th to finish off an FSW win by that score.
The Bucs banged out 13 hits in the win, led by Izarra, Norman, and Tomaini at the top of the order who finished a combined 9-12 with five doubles, two home runs, and seven runs scored. Fitz-Gerald and Corpas were the beneficiaries of the traffic from the trio, combining for five RBIs in the contest. Chatman picked up his third win of the season with his six shutout frames. He scattered seven hits and struck out six without walking a batter to improve to 3-1 on the year.
FSW wins their program record 12th game in a row to improve to 24-11 overall and 11-2 in Suncoast Conference play. The Eagles drop two games back from the Bucs in the conference standings with the loss as they fall to 22-12 overall and 9-4 in league action.
The same two teams will be at it again on Saturday in Winter Haven in game two of the series with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 PM from Bing Tyus Yard.