Posted: Feb 08, 2024
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #16 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers banged out 10 hits and got four shutout innings of work on the mound from lefty Alex Walsh to start their four game homestand with an 8-2 win over the visiting TNXL Ducks Thursday afternoon at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers.
The Bucs didn't waste any time jumping out to an early lead in the 1st as Luca Danos picked up an RBI single and was followed by an RBI double from Cooper Clapp to drive him home to make it 2-0. After loading the bases with two outs later in the inning, Nik Pereira worked the count full before watching ball four sail past him to force home a run and make it 3-0 FSW at the end of one.
Alex Walsh worked scoreless frames in the 2nd and 3rd for the Bucs on the mound, getting some help from his defense with a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the 3rd to keep FSW in front 3-0.
TNXL showed some life in the 4th, loading the bases with two outs, but Walsh finished his afternoon with a fastball at the knees for his fifth strikeout of the game to get out of the jam and keep the Ducks off the board through four.
The Bucs offense padded the lead in the bottom of the 4th as Justin Thomas drove home a run with a sacrifice fly and another run scored later on a wild pitch to make it 5-0 FSW at the end of four.
The Ducks cracked the scoreboard for the first time in the 6th, getting a leadoff double and a two run home run to left to cut the Bucs lead to 5-2.
The Bucs matched it in the bottom of the frame, getting a two out, two run double off the bat of Danos to cushion their lead back to five at 7-2.
The defensive play of the game came to end the top of the 7th as the Ducks threatened to get back into the game with a two out shot to the wall in left, but Bucs left fielder John Long climbed the ladder and robbed a would be two run home run to close out the frame and keep it a 7-2 game at stretch time.
As the story always goes, the defensive hero got his chance to do it with the bat in the bottom of the inning as Pereira singled with one out and Long drilled a triple to left to drive him home and extend the lead to 8-2.
Isaac Upole worked the game's only 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 8th and Ryan Grzesiak finished it off on the mound for the Bucs in the 9th as FSW took the game 8-2 to start their four game homestand.
The Bucs banged out 10 hits as a team in the win led by Danos who finished 2-5 with a double and three RBIs. Thomas and Pereira each had two hits and scored two runs. Walsh threw four scoreless innings, striking out five to earn his first win as a Buc while Upole and Grzesiak combined for three scoreless frames to close out the win.
FSW improves to 4-5 on the year with the win while TNXL falls to 0-3 against NJCAA competition this season.
The Bucs are back in action on Saturday when they host A3 Academy in a doubleheader beginning at 1 PM at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers.
