Posted: Feb 13, 2024
FORT MYERS, Fla.- Through 6 ½ innings Tuesday afternoon, the #16 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers and the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans found themselves deadlocked at 4 at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers. With one swift swing of the bat, FSW slugger Nik Pereira changed that, sending a 1-0 pitch sailing over the wall in right center field for a grand slam to put the Bucs ahead for good as FSW went on to down the Banyans 9-4 to collect their fourth consecutive victory.
The Mighty Banyans came out swinging, picking up back to back hits to start the game in the 1st and later getting a sacrifice fly to take an early 1-0 lead on the Bucs.
Their lead didn't last long though as FSW answered right away in the bottom of the 1st when Victor Figueroa singled home a run through the right side to level the score at 1.
Three FSW walks on the mound, including one with the bases loaded allowed New College of Florida to plate three runs in the top of the 2nd to retake the lead at 4-1.
A one out double from Jared Davis followed by an RBI single from John Long put a run on the board for FSW in the bottom of the 2nd to cut the Banyan lead to 4-2.
Bucs reliever Nate Ward worked scoreless frames in the 3rd and 4th for FSW and the Bucs offense rewarded him in the bottom of the 4th as Long ripped a double inside the right field line to drive home a run before later scoring on a wild pitch to tie the score at 4-4 after four.
New College of Florida looked like they were going to respond right away, loading the bases with nobody out in the top of the 5th, but Abel Albarran punched out three straight Banyan hitters after that to leave all three runners stranded and keep the game tied at 4.
Josiah Velazquez kept the score right there with scoreless frames in the 6th and 7th and the Bucs and Banyans went to stretch time knotted at 4.
The Bucs loaded the bases without a hit in the 7th after taking advantage of three NCF walks and with one swing of the bat Nik Pereira broke the tie, sending a 1-0 pitch sailing over the wall in right center field for a grand slam, putting FSW up 8-4 in the blink of an eye.
Long stayed red hot with his third hit of the game, a double, with one out in the 8th to put the Bucs back in business and Evan Kircher, pinch running for long, scored moments later on a successful double steal to pad the FSW lead to 9-4 as the teams went to the 9th.
The Bucs handed the ball to Ryan Grzesiak to close things out and that he did, striking out the side in the 9th to finish off a 9-4 win for FSW.
Long and Davis combined for 5 of the Bucs 10 hits in the win as Long finished with a pair of doubles and two RBIs while Davis was 2-4 with a double of his own and two runs scored. Five FSW pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts in the win with each hurler contributing at least three. Velazquez earns his first win for the Bucs, going three scoreless frames and fanning four to even his 2024 record at 1-1.
The Bucs win their fourth straight to improve to 7-5 on the year while New College of Florida falls to 4-6.
The Bucs now turn their attention to Citrus Conference play where they open league action on Thursday on the road in Clearwater where they will take on St. Petersburg at 6 PM in the first of a three game set that will move to Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers on Saturday for two.