FORT MYERS, Fla.- The Inspiration Academy Lions were in the wrong place at the wrong time Monday afternoon at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers as an angry Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers squad put a beating on the prep squad, banging out 16 hits and 24 runs in a 24-0 blowout in non-conference action.
The scoring started early and often for the Bucs as an RBI single from Albert Serrano with one out in the 1st got FSW on the board and the Bucs tacked on two more to take a 3-0 lead after one inning of action.
AJ Shaver took back over the Bucs all-time single season home run mark with his 15th of the year, a solo shot to lead off the 3rd to make it 4-0 and Yariel Diaz tripled and scored in the 4th to make it 5-0 FSW.
Bucs reliever Tyler Kennedy needed just seven pitches to cut through the Lions lineup like a hot knife through butter in the 5th and the Bucs blew the game open in the bottom half of the frame.
A two run single from Eddie-Boe Rodriguez and a bases clearing triple from Shaver highlighted an eight run inning for the Bucs to make it 13-0 at the end of five complete.
Unfortunately for the Lions, It didn't stop there as Anthony Westbrook ripped a two run single with the bases loaded to make it 15-0 and Derek Williams just missed his 15th homer of the season and settled for an RBI ground rule double to make it 17-0 two batters later. The Bucs added three more before reloading the bases for Westbrook who hammered a grand slam deep and out to right to make it 24-0 FSW when the dust settled.
Kevin Rodriguez came in out of the Bucs bullpen for a scoreless 7th with a pair of strikeouts to close things out as FSW took a 24-0 run rule victory in seven.
There were lots of crooked numbers on the final box score as Shaver led the way with a 3-5 effort, missing the cycle by just a double while driving in five. Westbrook was 2-2 with a homer and six RBIs, all in the 6th inning, while Rodriguez was 3-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. The Bucs effort on the mound was overshadowed by the offense as Jahir Perez went four shutout innings and allowed just one hit while striking out six for his second win of the season while Kennedy, Henry Hardie, and Rodriguez faced just one over the minimum in the final three frames to close out the shutout.
FSW improves to 28-18 on the year with the win while Inspiration falls to 1-8 against NJCAA opponents.
The Bucs are back in action on Wednesday in Fort Pierce with a huge Southern Conference matchup with Indian River who sits just one game behind them in the race for the final postseason spot out of the league.