FORT MYERS, Fla.- The Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers suffered a 5-4 loss to the Eastern Florida State Titans Thursday afternoon at home at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers, fighting back from a 5-1 deficit to make it a one run game late, but couldn't come up with the equalizer as they fell to 20-12 on the year. 

 

Eastern struck first, using a one out walk and a two out single to plate the game's first run and take a 1-0 lead in the top half of the 1^st inning.  

 

The Bucs answered right away as Michael McAloose drilled a two out RBI single through the left side to even the game at a run a piece, but they left the bases loaded on a strikeout to keep it a 1-1 game at the end of one inning of action. 

 

An FSW error in the 2^nd allowed Eastern to score a pair of unearned runs, giving the Titans the lead back 3-1 at the end of an inning and a half. 

 

The Bucs had a chance to do the same to the Titans in the bottom half of the inning when an Eastern error extended the frame for FSW, but a fly out ended the inning with two ducks left on the pond as Eastern held their 3-1 lead after two. 

 

Runners left on continued to be an issue for the Bucs as they stranded two more in the 3^rd and another in the 4^th as the score remained 3-1 Eastern through five. 

 

Bucs starter Landen Burch shook off a slow start to work through six innings on the mound, but again the Bucs offense couldn't draw even as back to back foul outs ended the 6^th with a runner on to keep it a 3-1 game in favor of the Titans into the 7th. 

 

Eastern manufactured runs in the 7^th and 8^th to extend their lead to 5-1 as time began to run out on the home team. 

 

Jared Davis beathed some life into the Bucs in the 8^th with a solo home run to start the inning and later in the frame Cooper Clapp launched a two run bomb to right to get FSW back to within one at 5-4.  

 

Nate Ward worked a quick 1-2-3 top of the 9^th for the Bucs on the mound to keep it a one run game and give FSW a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the 9th. 

 

After two quick outs to start the bottom of the 9th, Eastern gave the Bucs a chance with an error on what would have been the third out and then gifted the Bucs a runner to scoring position with a wild pitch, but a strikeout ended the inning and the game with the Bucs 10^th stranded runner of the contest on the bases to close out the afternoon. 

 

FSW finished with just five hits in the loss. Eric Blair reached three times, going 1-2 with a pair of walks. Burch suffered the loss on the mound, going six innings and allowing five hits and three runs, just one earned, while striking out six to fall to 1-2 on the year.  

 

The Bucs fell for the third time in their past four games, dropping to 20-12 overall and 11-5 in Citrus Conference play where they remain tied for first.  Eastern Florida improves to 16-15-1 on the year and 7-9 in league play with the victory. 

 

The two teams will try to play through the raindrops on Saturday in Melbourne with a doubleheader scheduled for 1 PM.